Re: [libreplanet-discuss] helping newcomers start blogs - but where?

[John Rooke]

J.B.

Sorry for taking so long to reply.

On Sat, 2017-08-19 at 20:02 -0500, J.B. Nicholson wrote: 

> John Rooke wrote:
> > Anyone who visited the Daily Stormer prior to its takedown knows that
> > there is plenty of evidence to vindicate Cloudflare's decision.
> 
> None of which you name, point to, 

Well, obviously, the site has been taken down - and before you make the
obvious point - no, it's not a good idea to allow people to go on
organising crimes, just so you can prove that they are organising
crimes.  There are real victims involved here.  However, in addition to
the material I referred to in my earlier reply to David Isaac, I
remember a delightful piece which argued that women should be hit from
time to time for their own good.

> nor do you address the issue of this 
> being extrajudicial which is the chief problem here.

I disagree.  We cannot rely on the courts to protect us from fascism.
This has never worked in the past and is unlikely to work in the
future. 

>  This merely confirms 
> the danger in hosting with someone else 

On the other hand, it could be taken as demonstrating the power of the
market to regulate civilised discourse on the internet.  The owners of
Daily Stormer are free to go elsewhere for their hosting, providing of
course, that they are able to find anyone at this point who is still
willing to associate with them. 

> 
> > As for Chomsky, he may not have "kicked anyone off the internet", but he
> > has to my certain knowledge, used his power to silence critics.
> 
> The problem here is one of attacking character as a means of distracting 
> from the underlying point 


Please remember that it was you who introduced Chomsky's name in order
to bolster your argument.  I think it is reasonable to point out that he
has not found the 'wisdom' of his position to be workable in practice.
The fundamental point is not that Chomsky is a hypocrite, but that his
line of reasoning has not been successfully implemented in practice.
Dragging RMS into the argument clarifies nothing.

Limits are properly placed on the freedom of speech, when it materially
infringes on the freedoms of others.  The history of anti-fascist
struggle dates back a hundred years and many lessons have been learned.
One of these is that fascists will shamelessly use the doctrine of free
speech to defend their activities while simultaneously working to
undermine it.

All the best,

John