Freedom of speech

[nereas]

meh...

A) Freedom of Speech doesn't apply in private situations, rather, it's a restriction on government.
B) Even if it did, there is much precedent for censorship, even in the nation of which you spoke.

You are becoming a pretty good philosopher, Dude!

I think you are part Greek!

[Remembering, that Athens is where demokratia was invented.]

 

[nereas]

As TS&M has stated... attack the idea all you want, just not the person with the idea.

What then, is freedom of speech? Is it free speech when the neighborhood bully is screaming at you so LOUDLY that you can not make your point? Is it truly censorship to quiet the bully so others can speak? I am sure the bully surely thinks so! The others are simply grateful to hear others for once. Sometimes, it's not just one bully, but a crowd.

To be frank, I never saw the thread in question or even the reports that were made about it. I certainly don't need to.

ScubaBoard is a place where we want EVERYONE to be able to come and express their questions, their fears and even their opinions. When personal attacks are leveled, it stops the flow of ideas. While YOU may think in terms of winning a debate, this is a discussion forum. There is no need to "win", even though our egos often make us feel that need.

FWIW, there are two and only two ideas which we will expunge if they are ever mentioned here on www.ScubaBoard.com:
Advocating the learning of Scuba without an instructor.
Advocating the learning of penetrating an overhead environment without an instructor.

That's it. Everything else is open for civil discussion and even a bit of debate.

Now, if you EVER think that a Board Guide, Moderator, Advisor or any other staff member has overstepped their boundaries, then PLEASE either PM or E-Mail me. You can use either NetDoc@ScubaBoard.com or Abuse@ScubaBoard.com as you see fit. I take criticisms to heart and make a conscientious effort to resolve issues as they arise.

You can also see, that unlike MOST forums, we aren't nearly as sensitive about you dissing ScubaBoard. We allow complaints about the moderation and the staff in general to stay. We feel pretty good about our track record here. HOWEVER, the only staff member that you can attack publicly is me! I am not inviting it, but I won't stand for having individual staffers, who do this on a volunteer basis, to be castigated because you feel that they have somehow wronged you by their pruning. No, that shouldn't stop you from questioning a decision in the proper forum, or even expressing your anger. I only ask that you respect those who spend time trying to make this a wonderful place!

NetDoc is from Florida, a great place to dive, with warm waters, beautiful coral reefs, and even Spanish treasures, and also with their own special form of democracy there.

 

[Walter]

I would still maintain however, that discussing potentially knifing someone whilst at the same time making an embarrassing picture of yourself publicly available mitigates my actions.

I was wrong, but I was justified because he was wrong? What did our mothers teach us about two wrongs? OTOH, I commend you for apologizing. I would suggest letting it go or starting another thread about the concept of knifing someone to keep them from getting your primary.

 

[InTheDrink]

I would suggest letting it go or starting another thread about the concept of knifing someone to keep them from getting your primary.

Probably opt for the former. The latter has played out.

 

[Sas]

I don't have any objection to people saying nasty things on the internet to each other, but it is boring to read and I try to avoid it if possible. If I am really into reading troll posts and posts from the people who fall for their trolling I'll go read Youtube comments or 4chan /b/, I don't need Scubaboard to be like that as well. So because of this I am glad the moderators remove or move comments like this from threads.

A few people here have said that people shouldn't have such thin skins, yes this is very true. One thing that irritates me here, is that people get offended when you simply disagree with them and then they get narky and then things descend into a flame war. I think disagreements, if done respectfully and only attacking the idea not the person, are very educational and people should harden up when others disagree with them. But personal insults like 'you're an eejit' and stuff like that, are unnecessary.

With regards to that OOA stabbing thread, to me it was clearly trolling. Trolls love the attention and controversy their posts cause. The best way to get them to go away is to not feed them!

 

[Coldwater_Canuck]

You guys are from the nation of free speech - I struggle to see what was more offensive in my posts that what was in the OPs. Is moral outrage banned these days?

I hear this sort of thing a lot, and I'm pretty sure a lot of people don't understand what free speech is. Free speech means that you can't get arrested, the government can't stop you, you aren't allowed to be beat up or killed, etc. from saying what's on your mind. As a private forum, the owners and their representatives (the moderators) can certainly pick what they want on here and what they don't.

If a porn producer wants to air a commercial on a children's TV channel, is the TV channel stopping freedom of speech by saying "no"?

Do you feel you have the right to go up to the CEO of your company and swear at him and call him an idiot, after all you have freedom of speech? I guess you shouldn't expect any repercussions from this?

Freedom of speech means you should be able to say what you want and not be arrested, physically harmed, threatened, etc. It does not say that the owners of a private message board, business, etc. have to allow everything on their "property". So unless you got arrested or beat up or something based on what you said, you have no "freedom of speech" claim.

And I am about as big a believer in freedom of speech as they come, however I am also a big believer in ownership rights: the right the people paying for the hosting and managing access to this forum to block whatever they want. If you don't like it, no one forces you to post here, find a board you like more or start your own and you can have whatever rules or lack of rules you want.