Livejournal implements "Boldthrough" policy and bans users - right or wrong?

[hyena]

A lot is going on these days in the fanfiction communities gathering around LiveJournal. It's a typical freedom-of-speech type of issue and I'm really interested in your opinion.

http://www.fanhistory.com/index.php?title=Livejournal (Scroll down to "Strikethrough II/Boldthrough)

http://community.livejournal.com/lj_biz/

 

[plintus]

Did you find out about this from that Harry Potter pedo-porn thing?

 

[Taliesin]

Im all for complete freedom of speech. Im not a big Harry Potter fan, so I cant say what it feels like to have all these stories spun around him and his world, but what's the problem with simply not reading what you dont want to read?
I mean, this whole fanfic scene looks like guerilla territory, everyone writes what he feels he has to and everyone reads what they feel they have to.. why doesnt everyone fill his basket up the way they want to? If someone gets off on necrophilia or incest, a deleted post isnt going to change anything, besides, what's better than people openly discrediting themselves?

 

[plintus]

If someone gets off on necrophilia or incest, a deleted post isnt going to change anything, besides, what's better than people openly discrediting themselves?

So, among all you stand for homosexual propaganda. I see...

I wouldn't want my kids to see all that. If someone wants to spread their opinion about whatever in whichever way - let them have their own website, where virtually no one will limit them in the ways of expressing their "opinions". But using a third party blogspot - operating such service I would set limits: fuck your freedom of speech, I don't want to be sued. For starters.

 

[hyena]

well, actually that's part of the problem - the connection people make between the HP fandom and child porn. i hang around the fandom a lot and i have never seen ANY child porn to speak of, assuming that one does not think that a story featuring sex between two 16 year olds is child porn (i don't think it is. bret ellis wrote a whole lot of teenage sex and i don't think nobody ever accused him to be a pedophile. same story for irvine welsh. or films such as ken park). i do not exclude the possibility that somewhere in the dark recesses of fandom somebody runs websites with stories of adults abusing kids of eleven, but i have never seen any of them and they certainly are not featured on livejournal or any of the major fandom archives.

 

[Kenneth R.]

The internet should have full freedom of speech. I suppose if you're violating the EULA then the site has the right to nix you. But you should be free to speak as you wish elsewhere.

I do not condone the actions for which these people were banned, but I do support our dwindling freedoms in the face of political correctness.

 

[Taliesin]

If someone wants to spread their opinion about whatever in whichever way - let them have their own website, where virtually no one will limit them in the ways of expressing their "opinions". But using a third party blogspot - operating such service I would set limits: fuck your freedom of speech, I don't want to be sued. For starters.

Shouldnt we first question the laws that make the platform sueable before we stand their with our tails between our knees? I mean, what's the worst that can happen? Someone sueing them, saying he's into pedophilia and necrophilia now because of bad hp fanfiction?
I see why you would want to protect your children from such stuff, but I believe that children are better off with a combination of thorough upbringing and some serious learning experiences than a general world-censorship. The internet is and has always been about general freedom of information and expression, if you feel sites like these are a threat you arent well off ever giving your children a computer with internet access.

 

[hyena]

I do not condone the actions for which these people were banned

Why is it so?

Said action can be found for one of the banned people here (not linking directly to the porn to protect the inattentive readers, but the drawing is linked somewhere at the end of the first post, I believe).

I don't like the drawing, I hate the Snarry pairing, and I am not a fan of slash in general.

But it is not child porn. I don't see how it could be otherwise. It's a drawing depicting gay sex between two fictional characters, one of whom looks like an adult, and one of whom looks like he's in his late teens. This has nothing to do with pedophilia IN ANY WAY.

 

[plintus]

well, actually that's part of the problem - the connection people make between the HP fandom and child porn. i hang around the fandom a lot and i have never seen ANY child porn to speak of, assuming that one does not think that a story featuring sex between two 16 year olds is child porn (i don't think it is. bret ellis wrote a whole lot of teenage sex and i don't think nobody ever accused him to be a pedophile. same story for irvine welsh. or films such as ken park). i do not exclude the possibility that somewhere in the dark recesses of fandom somebody runs websites with stories of adults abusing kids of eleven, but i have never seen any of them and they certainly are not featured on livejournal or any of the major fandom archives.

Freedom of speech is cool, but I wouldn't leave a single loophole for sickos, so, doesn't matter how BADD I would love to see Germiona and Harry gangbanged by that old wizard with Rickman watching and getting off - I'd leave this to my vivid imagination instead of depicting even Xiao style and/or posting online with detailed description.

I don't think LJ guys monitor journals (or do they?) In this case - that thing just might have been simply reported.

 

[plintus]

Shouldnt we first question the laws that make the platform sueable before we stand their with our tails between our knees? I mean, what's the worst that can happen? Someone sueing them, saying he's into pedophilia and necrophilia now because of bad hp fanfiction?
I see why you would want to protect your children from such stuff, but I believe that children are better off with a combination of thorough upbringing and some serious learning experiences than a general world-censorship. The internet is and has always been about general freedom of information and expression, if you feel sites like these are a threat you arent well off ever giving your children a computer with internet access.

Ha - there could be much worse and less exotic lawsuit from HP copyright holders

That combination you are talking about is something I mean, but I wouldn't want random shit messing with that... so I might have parent control on certain things - I wouldn't want to let ADULTS know what sites I'm visiting... yay

Russian home shot porn is not for weak people anyway...

 

[Salamurhaaja]

It's a typical freedom-of-speech type of issue and I'm really interested in your opinion.

You may have freedom of speech, fortunately site owners have the right and
responsibility to censor anything they see fit, if you don't like it, start your
own site or go somewhere with less censorship.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for freedom of all kinds and if I owned a similar
site, I wouldn't care what you do with you part of it.

Of course I will never own such a site as I think there are currently 3 poisons
ruining the world and internet: Blogs, MySpace and any organized religion.

 

[plintus]

Of course I will never own such a site as I think there are currently 3 poisons
ruining the world and internet: Blogs, MySpace and any organized religion.

Four: Finnish guys with unpronounsable names.

 

[Kenneth R.]

Why is it so?

Said action can be found for one of the banned people here (not linking directly to the porn to protect the inattentive readers, but the drawing is linked somewhere at the end of the first post, I believe).

I don't like the drawing, I hate the Snarry pairing, and I am not a fan of slash in general.

But it is not child porn. I don't see how it could be otherwise. It's a drawing depicting gay sex between two fictional characters, one of whom looks like an adult, and one of whom looks like he's in his late teens. This has nothing to do with pedophilia IN ANY WAY.

doesn't bother me then. people get flipped out over drawings of prophets and politicians all the time and i care just about as much.