Re: Censorship in Debian
Roberto C. Sánchez <roberto@debian.org> writes:
> On Fri, Jan 04, 2019 at 10:17:56AM -0800, Russ Allbery wrote:
>> Scott Kitterman <debian@kitterman.com> writes:
>>> If censorship isn't the right word (and at best, it's not ideal), what's
>>> the right word for the chilling effect on willingness to speak in public
>>> due to the risk of being ejected from an organization like Debian?
>> Being an adult.
> That was uncalled for and inconsistent with the high bar you have set
> for yourself in so many other discussions.
How was it uncalled for? It says exactly what I meant. I'm not saying
anything at all about Scott's behavior; it's the very simple answer to his
question.
I apologize for apparently giving you the impression that it was an attack
on Scott. I probably should have unpacked it a lot more. But having to
mediate your behavior to follow standards that you may not agree with or
face consequences around what organizations will have you as a member is
*exactly* being an adult. This is how the world works.
You have to watch what you say at work, or you might be fired. You have
to be careful of what you say among groups, or that group may eject you.
You have to follow the standards of an organization of which you're a
member, or that organization will expel you.
This is just ordinary, perfectly normal adult behavior. Everyone watches
their behavior and their wording all the time.
The idea that there is any forum in which people interact as adults where
there is no chilling effect on one's unfettered speech and where no one
has to watch their language, tone, or presentation is pure fantasy
nonsense. Even 4chan has social norms and consequences for going against
them.
People seem to feel they're unreasonably put-upon by having to think about
what they're saying *at all*, but this is absurd. Everyone else in the
world is doing this all the time.
--
Russ Allbery (rra@debian.org) <http://www.eyrie.org/~eagle/>
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