@Demosthenes Did you just say that out loud? I feel qoto.org might be about to drop off our relay...
@trumpet no no, I personally am tolerant. Racism is bad, discrimination is bad, yada yada. But rules forcing that is a limit on free speech.
@Demosthenes @freemo Let’s hope so, eh?
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Yes I am the QOTO admin... what exactly is the issue here.. Seems @Demosthenes is saying "its ok and even right to limit speech in certain circumstances, but it can not be described as complete freedom of expression if those limits exist, even if they happen to be good and constructive limits"
it seems then that trumpet took offense to this remark. Either Trumpet simply misunderstood what was being said and wrongly assumed something worse than what was being implied, or I simply dont understand the situation at hand.
I would say freedom of speech as a legal principle only guarantees your right to be free to hold opinions, it does not give one the freedom to say anything they like. However freedom of speech as a legal principle is also not complete and absolute freedom of expression as the term may suggest, as a principle it doesn't guarantee all forms of utterance, for example it doesnt give you the right to shout fire in a crowded theater.
Anyway all that said I have no clue why there is an issue here at all over what was said and hoping trumpet just misread something.
@freemo @Demosthenes I’ve issued a statement to my instance stating that free speech is the right to express yourself freely (safe from impediment by your government or other influences) but that if that expression is in breach of our rules then it would be moderated, As you say, it does not give you the freedom to say anything you like (and, as I said, without consequence). I’m hopeful that is in line with qoto.org’s policy.
yes that is in line with our rules, and neither Demosthenes nor myself have said anything at anypoint to suggest otherwise.
@freemo @Demosthenes Well that’s a relief, isn’t it.
@freemo @Demosthenes And honestly it’s a real kick in the butt when people try to tell you how to run an instance that you pay for and put your time into and ultimately have the final say on, which I’m sure is something you @freemo are very familiar with 😜
Of course, but I dont think that was Demosthenes intent, to tell you how to run your instance. In fact they seemed to be more interested in pointing out the inaccuracy of your wording than to actually have any complaint about your rules themselves. I do not see demosthenes criticising your rules at any point, simply nit picking the language.
Obviously it seems like just a miscommunication and you happened to read it that way. Obviously given the hostility in the mastodon community I can understand your defensiveness but really, its not needed here, I doubt that was their intent.
@freemo @Demosthenes I’ve slightly edited my post which will hopefully please the lawyers out there.
@trumpet I deleted my root comment so your users don't get confused. Have a good one! Sorry for the confusion
I dont think anyone needed you to do that. I think it was just an intellectual insight on some phrasing. Most people like to comment things and point out interesting observations (interesting to them) to strike up conversation. I probably would have done the same in their shoes.
Criticism doesn't mean something negative, (though sadly on the internet it often can be), its usually just intended as a starting point for a discussion.
@freemo @Demosthenes No hostility here, but @freemo I think in total we oversee the same amount of users overall and really the last thing any of us need is aggro 😜
Agreed, I meant no agro, Demosthenes meant no agro, and I have no doubt you meant no agro. No worries, and im glad we can all get along. It was mostly just some idle chit chat that came across the wrong way, it happens, the internet is a hostile place, puts us on the defensive sometimes. But luckily we all recognized it was just some good mannered conversation
@freemo @Demosthenes To be fair I’m probably slight more prickly than usual given the challenges of running an instance in a post-Trump cancellation world, in full lockdown (again) in Scotland with a four year old and wife who broke her (dominant hand) wrist yesterday! Everything is a challenge!
I hear ya, no worried its trying times for everyone. The important part is we caught and got back on track. No worries, no hard feelings, its trying times. Look after yourself, and dont stress, no worries on this end.
@Demosthenes Do you speak for qoto.org or are you only a user there?