In Kathy Sierra’s case it wasn’t a free speech issue, but more one that would fall under threats of violence.

A few of my favorite authors couldn’t be read for many years because their works were considered offensive when it was first published. Much art pushes the envelope on what would be considered inoffensive. And can you even say anything abut religion or politics without offending someone?

Dustin (nice to see you by the way. been awhile) I’m against censorship in all forms. Like I just said I think freedom of speech is the backbone of a free society. There’s a reason why freedom of speech is the very first amendment and not the second or the tenth.

I moderate a couple of forums and no matter how many times you check in there’s always some spam threads. I’m sure some get forever missed. There’s simply no way you can police every comment that comes across your blog to know if they’re legit or if they’ve been published elsewhere or if they might possibly offend someone. And there’s no reason you should have to.

I’m a couple of weeks away from finishing spring softball here. We started the first week of March and fortunately the weather held up ok. Last year we played in 60 mph winds. It was impossible to hit the plate with a pitch. Next up is summer and then fall. I’ll be playing till late October/early November.

Great post, and I agree! While I’m typically very conservative, the internet is one place where I absolutely HATE censorship. (although that’s not really the main bullet of this post…). But when people start telling me what I can and cannot blog about I get very frustrated. Who are they to try to control what I blog about? How is blogging different than talk? (other than the fact that its written…).

I agree, I would take responsibility for my own words, of course. But in one of my forums the SPAM was so incredibly bad for a while it was almost impossible to stay on top of. And we’re talking graphic graphic porn. While we did our best until we could find a tool…. It’s just another one of those things that are semi-out-of-our control.

D

PS: another softball season is upon us

A year ago they passed a law making it a crime to write offensive material online. This may have been a Washington State law, I don’t remember, and haven’t heard anything about it since. This sort of thing is unenforceable … partly for the reason you pointed out.