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[FYI] (Fwd) FC: SurfControl dubs libertarian discussion site "hate speech"
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- Subject: [FYI] (Fwd) FC: SurfControl dubs libertarian discussion site "hate speech"
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- Date: Tue, 24 Sep 2002 09:25:12 +0200
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------- Forwarded message follows -------
Date sent: Tue, 24 Sep 2002 02:43:54 -0400
From: Declan McCullagh <declan@well.com>
To: politech@politechbot.com
Subject: FC: SurfControl dubs libertarian discussion site "hate speech"
Send reply to: declan@well.com
http://www.libertyforum.org/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=news_computers&Num
ber=233878&t=-1#Post233878
Libertarian Free-Speech site categorized as *Hate Speech* site by
SurfControl LibertyForum September 18, 2002
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Libertarians Speak and Nannies Freak
CYBERSPACE - September 19, 2002: LibertyForum
(http://www.libertyforum.org), a libertarian web-based news and
political discussion site, has been listed as a "hate speech" site
shortly after its September 13, 2002 opening. This categorization
comes courtesy of SurfControl (http://www.surfcontrol.com), which
characterizes itself as "The World's Leading Web Filtering Software
Company." A capture of LibertyForum's Home Page
(http://www.libertyforum.org/free-speech/020918_home.html) at the
time the information was first posted by a forum member, reveals
"Editor's Choice" articles with titles such as, "Libertarian
Party's Women Release Calendar," "Was Jesus a Pacifist?,"
"Socialism and Capital Stock," as well as a couple of articles with
titles such as "Racism and Collectivism: A series," and "Racism and
Collectivism: Racism FAQ." The latter two articles criticizing
racism as a form of collectivism and thus antithetical to
libertarian principles. LibertyForum is a self-described
free-speech site, where members discuss and debate, often heatedly,
news stories and topics such as economics, philosophy, religion,
drugs, the Middle East, international affairs, computers, and
technology. It currently has a growing membership of over 700
members and a daily posting volume of 1,500 to 2,000 posts per day.
The site is self-regulating to a large degree and utilizes a Post
Rating System based on Slashdot.org's (http://Slashdot.org) "Karma"
moderation system which allows its members to rate posts based on
their content. Posts that contain personal insults or bigoted
comments are routinely rated down by the site's membership, as are
"trolls," purposely inflammatory posts intended to evoke strong
reactions. Interestingly, a cursory search of SurfControl reveals
that other discussion sites with a longer history and far greater
membership than LibertyForum, are not categorized as "Hate Speech,"
even though their content is often far more extreme than that found
at LibertyForum. One such example is FreeRepublic
(http://www.freerepublic.com), a popular site with conservatives,
that bills itself as "The Premier Conservative News Forum." A
Google search of FreeRepublic for the word "ragheads," a derogatory
term for Arabs, returns links to comments such as "I think the IDF
has been thinking payback for over a decade. It should be fun to
watch, when it happens. Molten ragheads all around." (Source:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/624469/posts?page=44#44) Yet
SurfControl categorizes FreeRepublic as "Government & Politics."
John Deere, one of the site's founders, finds it "ironic, that we
would be termed a 'hate speech' site, since one of our goals is to
challenge and debunk the fallacious attitudes that racism and
collectivism are composed of." He continues, "Ayn Rand wrote,
'Racism is the lowest, most crudely primitive form of collectivism.
It is the notion of ascribing moral, social or political
significance to a man's genetic lineage . . . . Which means, in
practice, that a man is to be judged not by his own character and
actions, but by characteristics and actions of a collective of
ancestors,' " and adds that "libertarians are first and foremost
advocates of the individual and of individual responsibility.
Racism is, at its core, a violation of our libertarian principles."
As a result of SurfControl's listing of LibertyForum as a "hate
speech" site, access to the site is blocked for subscribers and
users of SurfControl's web filtering software. Businesses,
concerned about legal liability often implement web filtering
content to keep employees from accessing content on the internet
that might leave the employer open to lawsuits. Families also use
web filtering software to limit access to internet content for
children and teens. John Deere states that he will be contacting
SurfControl immediately to determine what can be done to remove
LibertyForum from its "Hate Speech" category, and wonders at the
speed with which the newly opened site was negatively categorized
by SurfControl. "It certainly is peculiar," he concludes.
LibertyForum is found at http://www.libertyforum.org . Contact:
John Deere forums@libertyforum.org http://www.libertyforum.org ###
Edited by John Deere on 09/19/02 11:53 PM.
Editor: Excerpt from article: LibertyForum
(http://www.libertyforum.org), a libertarian web-based news and
political discussion site, has been listed as a "hate speech" site
shortly after its September 13, 2002 opening. This categorization
comes courtesy of SurfControl (http://www.surfcontrol.com), which
characterizes itself as "The World's Leading Web Filtering Software
Company."
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