Freedom of Speech

you, perhaps?
anyways, this topic attracted my attention due to my.. uhh.. history here. sooo... in the constitution us americans are guaranteed freedom of press.. (i think that's the one that best applies to this) so i will simply leave it at this... the Americans should be allowed to say whatever they want here, as long as the profanity is not too bad... but the Canadians should have no rights whatsoever

Ya!!!!!!

uuum....that is a big no no here...

It has long been established that Entmoot is not a democracy.

So please remove that sig. Now that I think about it, I think you were asked to remove that sig once before....even before today.

Freedom of speech is something I cherish highly. If I had my way, it would be perfectly legal to run around spewing any sort of profanity and hatred imaginable whenever and wherever you want (if you're willing to risk the subsequent beatings at the hands of whoever you've offended). It would also, however, be legal to share one's faith, one's political views, and one's ideas and thoughts with impunity. If you censor the former, you're on a slippery slope towards censoring the latter.

Up here in Canada, we have freedom of speech. However, it is, in the words of the Supreme Court, not absolute. They are of the opinion that freedom of speech, like all other freedoms, must be balanced to maintain a livable society. The prospective control that the government could wield over my freedom of speech, given the proper mix of liberal (lower-case l, FYI) judges and corruptible police officers. However, I'm comforted by the fact that it could be a lot worse - in Britain or the United States, for example.

On a more personal note: NTS allows swearing, and it's pretty much my model of the ideal bulletin board (although I admit that I am *slightly* biased :P). Oh, and I had been using the F-word since I was... nine or so - a habit that I have only gotten out of within the last year and a half.

Conclusion: Ben, do what you want, and enforce it at your leisure. It's your board.

I too prefer not to limit which words I can and cannot use. Since it's conception Entmoot has had a strict policy on swearing and offensive language. I may not totally agree with the rule but I will try to enforce it. I try to remind myself that there are young people who visit this board and I would like to repect them, not to mention those who it could possibly offend. Remember there is a time and place for everything.....even swearing. If you feel the need, go to NTS.

Swearing is allowed at my board.

Well, there are some who prefer not to listen to profanity, no matter what age they are. I guess it's a matter of trying not to be offensive to anyone, - that way this can be a site for every one.

I personally appreciate "whoever you are" for the censorship. Thanks!

Eowyn99 - we've been through the Canada Wars already, if you go archive-digging i'm sure you'll find that thread...

freedom of speech -
IRL i have a terrible habit of swearing. something i try to filter out in writing & posting (pretty successful because typing is editable while speaking is not). it would be interesting to see total freedom of speech at this board, but the flamefests (resulting from stupid & downright insulting posts) would still be burning years from now.

my position on any freedom of expression: if you don't like it, don't look/read/listen. but if you do something i don't like & DO see it, i of course have the freedom to tell you what i think of it.

and let's not forget - this is not "my" board. this is bmilder's. & if the admins don't want swearing here, i'm willing to at least attempt that.

i know there's a lot of stuff out there that i don't want written on MY webpage...

aryne *

Gilthalion here, too lazy to change identities in this "New and Improved EZ-Board. (Which is an infringement on my rights to Freedom of Identity!)

I first said "d@mn" at the age of 10 after knocking a knee rather sharply on a dresser drawer I had left open.

It was downhill from there.

It got to the point some 20 years ago that I began paying my co-workers 25 cents everytime I uttered a profanity or obscenity (there is a difference).

After just a few days, it was remarkable how much cleaner my language became.

Much more expressive too, since I actually had to find words to describe my feelings rather than rely on the crutch of mindless cursing.

my name is not Joe or Jon.

It was of interest yesterday that on the first day of Journalism class, Professor Albert Arnold Gore, Jr. taught a lesson that the students were forbidden to report.

Nice.

Do tell...