Censorship

[cynthia Hunter]

There is a lot of censorship going on these days. A few people where offended by what one person said, and the man would not say he was sorry for what he said. Because he contintuned to speak the Truth is has been kicked off.

My Faith has been insulted and I have been called all kinds of names.(one the old TBD and here on the new as well) Yet the people who did this are still on TBD.

What is the difference between them and the man who was thrown off.

I didnt go crying to the Adm. about the offenses. I let the people who offended me what I thought and ignored them.

What a novel idea! Im not the only person who has been attacked verberally,others have too..

Im not saying Im perfect I have let my tongue go before my brain, but I have never gone out of my way to be mean. (You know who Im talking about there are 4 who are really bad at this)

[P.A.]

Quinn is completely right as usual.

[animak]

I understand and respect the fact that the owner so to speak has the right to say what the rules are,but if they apply it to one then they must apply to all.

I agree, Cynthia Hunter.

[cynthia Hunter]

So did I, the day my son was murdered.

[Quinn]

Cynthia...I understand what you are saying and I don't disagree that rules should be consistant but, I learned a long, long time ago that life isn't fair...

[cynthia Hunter]

Its more like friends not liking what one person said.The person is still on ning just not TBD.
I just see it as hyocritical that the person that was thrown off was nearly as offfensive as others on this site(TBD) like I stated before I have dealt with all kind of nastiness as others because of either thier Faith or their Politics.Yet the people who did the verbal assaults are still here. Why because we havent seen the need to go runnig to those in charge of this site and who started it. Instead we deal with the attacks not because we are martyrs but, because we believe in Free speech. Since these attacks happened on groups that deal with politics,we felt that had the right to say what they wanted whether we liked it or not. If we didnt we just didnt respond to the poster.
I understand and respect the fact that the owner so to speak has the right to say what the rules are,but if they apply it to one then they must apply to all.
The person kept updating his post on politics and what was being said so he was kicked off.
Yes, they can do this it is their site but as to it being right, I say no.
I might not like what you have to say but I will fight for the right for you to say it. I have for those who where kicked off a conservitive group and I did it for those who where thrown off a liberal group.
If one is silenced then we all lose!

[Quinn]

I posted this last week in We The People...

I think too many people are confusing censorship with Freedom Of Speech.
The Constitution does protect the freedom of speech of every citizen, and even of non-citizens — but only from restriction by the Congress (and, by virtue of the 14th Amendment, by state legislatures, too). There are plenty of other places where you could speak but where speech can and is suppressed.
For example, freedom of speech can be and often is restricted in a work place, for example: employers can restrict your right to speak in the work place about politics, about religion, about legal issues, even about Desperate Housewives. The same restrictions that apply to the government do not apply to private persons, employers, or establishments. For another example, the government could not prohibit the sale of any newspaper lest it breech the freedom of the press. No newsstand, however, must carry every paper against its owners' wishes. This also includes the Internet.
Whether you agree or not, right or wrong, this site is free to censor in whatever manner it pleases and/or deems necessary.

[animak]

I have seen you around here and there, Cynthia Hunter, but unfortunately, I don't know what this is all about. I am surprised that anyone would get kicked off, unless he or she continuously disobeyed the rules.

A large portion of my professional career has been spent defending people's right to say what they wanted. I ran a public access tv station and we allowed people to say anything that was protected by the first amendment. That said, there are a lot of things not protected by the first amendment. More relevantly here, the first amendment does not protect anyone here at all. Ning is perfectly within their rights to make any rules they like for users of their system.

The first amendment is the federal government's guarantee to its citizens that they are free to say and do certain things. How often do you actually deal with the federal government? The first amendment does not pertain to your dealings with television, newspapers, radio, magazines and lots of other things. If you want to be free to do whatever you want in print, you will need to buy a newspaper or magazine. Same with television and radio.

Because we live in a commercial world, and more specifically, a world where there is absolutely nothing more important than money, many media outlets (including web sites) have rules designed to make advertisers comfortable. That is the lifeblood of places like Ning. Some places have rules designed to make sure all users are comfortable. Again, more users means more advertising revenue, so that is not uncommon. And, of course, there are usually prohibitions against making claims for your snake oil, or yelling "fire" in a crowded building. So there are often rules that at first may not seem to make sense, but with a little thought you can usually figure out what is going on.

So. Did your friend violate some obscure rule? Did he get a warning first? Remember, it is the Ning rules he has to pay attention to here. (Don't ask me, I've never read the Ning rules! I got one warning once, and once I knew that what I did was frowned upon, I was perfectly willing to not do it again.)