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I just got an official response from mastodon.social over someone from bofa trying to get us silenced for being free speech oriented.
I got an official response from the moderators over there and told #QOTO will NOT be silenced. They did not find any justification for the report.
@freemo I'm not familiar with this matter at all. Can I ask what bofa is?
bofa.lol is a mastodon instance.
And I quote their site "Where the bofa.lol roam. A refuge for shitposting leftist birdsite exiles. Home of the Fightin' Phone Weasels."
Loud emphasis on "shitposting"
@commandelicious @hashtaggrammar @freemo I have trouble understanding people who want to silence differing opinions because it makes them uncomfortable.
Personally, I'd rather know where people stand in relation to myself. It allows dialogue. Gotta face that cognitive dissidence someday.
@Surasanji @commandelicious @freemo I agree with you completely, and I love to debate. However, unfortunately I do think lately, here in the US anyway, there hasn't been much distinction between "opinions" (of say, a policy matter or how to fix issues) and actual values that our country was founded on. I miss the days when I could just debate gun policy, abortion, tax policy here in the US rather than feeling like instead I'd like to remind people that marginalized groups deserve to be treated like people. That's just where I draw the line, you know?
@hashtaggrammar Can't argue with any of that. The lack of healthy debate in the USA is a good part of why i left.
@hashtaggrammar @Surasanji
Don't go into politics Commandelicious, just don't ... :D
I am very happy to have you here @freemo
This is brain drain. And you have a beautiful one at that <3
@commandelicious @Surasanji @freemo Well let's put it another way. I guess the contrarian in me is always at work, so another part of me is like...what if you're a pedophile and you want a safe space to talk about wanting to act on your impulses? Are we just going to be like... you do you, boo?
The line does need to be drawn somewhere, no?
@hashtaggrammar
That would violate our policy as physical harm to another. We certainly have a line and have banned people who crossed it.
@freemo @commandelicious @Surasanji Some things are just unquestionable. I'm basically saying, I'll debate differing opinions all day long as long... as they aren't bigoted views. In real life I've had successful debates; a few months ago I even got a Vietnam Vet wearing a MAGA shirt to admit he'd vote for Michelle Obama. ;) I reject the notion that engaging with the other side is totally pointless, and I actually usually feel like a minority with that opinion in my real life.
@hashtaggrammar
Very well said, your views seem to line up very closely with my own. In the end we NEED this sort of dialogue if we have any hope of fixing the wounds society has right now.
The only alternative is screaming at each other across the aisle, each side getting progressively more violent and angry, until we have people killing and assaulting each other. Hell we are already there!
@freemo @hashtaggrammar @commandelicious
There are certainly things which are absolutely wrong. I'm fully all for people to believe and act however they want- but the important caveat is if those actions/beliefs are of the damaging sort. If you are going to harm another or yourself, then it's something that is unequivocally wrong.
The sticking point comes, unfortunately, in the definition of harm. It's one of those "I know it when I see it" sort of things.
@Surasanji
I agree, for the most part. Not sure I agree that self-harm is wrong. While it is something we should try to prevent I do feel people have a right to self-harm if they wish without being deemed an immoral actor.
But for the most part I think we agree.
@freemo @hashtaggrammar @commandelicious
Yeah, that's why it's one of those 'I know it when I see it thing'.
For instance: Someone who is a smoker. They are harming themselves. They do not really need an intervention or anyone to step in to protect them.
However, what about the guy who wants to jump off a building in a suicide attempt? They, in that moment, truly believe what they're doing is the right course of action. I've been very close to that place, before.
I know it when I see it.
@Surasanji @freemo @hashtaggrammar @commandelicious
But can you use a person's subjective knowing-when-seeing as the rule?
I think something more objective is required so people can agree on what they know as they see and so people know themselves when they're crossing the line of acceptable discourse.
@SecondJon
Well either that or when you "see it" a moderator talks to the person first to get them to stop doing whatever the amoral act happens to be. As long as you don't insta-ban then strict codified and objective rules arent needed.
With that said not having objective rules can be a turn off to a potential new user since they dont really know if their personal expression is one that is later going to be held against them or if they will be demanded to stop later. Once they are already invested and a few thousand posts in they may not want to find out they are on the wrong instance for them.
@freemo
That's true. And that's a big benefit of how Mastodon is set up - we know we're here at the discretion of the moderator(s) of the instance. I joined because I thought the rules at #qoto are great - very straightforward and objective. Thanks!
@Surasanji @hashtaggrammar @commandelicious