A request for a serious experiment on Free Speech

I would like to propose an experiment on the issues of free speech. We have many members here who may not value the freedoms that they do have. Partisan attacks on either side of a political spectrum tend to fuel speculation as to the value that free speech holds.

My proposal. It's simple. I will open a single thread on a partisan issue, and would like initially, one mod to delete any comment that seems "too out of bounds" of political discourse, then at a specific point in time, have another mod with an opposing viewpoint, utilize the same delete option and see if a real discussion can take place.

Can we have a true debate with free speech negated?


It would take the time of two mods, who's time (I know) is often stretched. But it would only be a single thread that could be deleted once a solution to the question has been delivered.


Can debate occur without the option of free speech?

An honest, open, serious question that I put forth.

Humbly yours,

beez

reply to post by beezzer


hear hear! I second that!

reply to post by beezzer


If this thread works , I am personally going to enjoy this rollercoaster ride.

reply to post by OpinionatedB


Thank you, ma'am.

Freedom to express, is (I think) our most important freedom.

We argue, debate, fight, spew venom daily on this site.

A simple exercise, that would affect/influence both sides might put in perspective, the true value that free speech holds.

overanocean
reply to post by beezzer

 

If this thread works , I am personally going to enjoy this rollercoaster ride.

I hope more people (if this works) take it to heart and understand the real value of free speech.

beezzer
We argue, debate, fight, spew venom daily on this site.

Sounds like my first marriage...

Seriously though,

I'm curious where this idea may possibly lead.

That is an interesting idea for a thread, I would like to see it done with the different oposing views being scrutinazed closely. Would make a good topic for a sociology class.

In all honesty though I do not believe that any real debate could exist without the freedom of speech. In all likelihood you will end up with the same thought process going back in forth that is displayed in the book 1984 "double plus good" no no no it is "double plus ungood" and so on. With freedom of speech infringed our thought process/vocabulary would slowly eradicate.

I still would be interested and would look in on the thread from time to time to see where it goes.

brandiwine14
That is an interesting idea for a thread, I would like to see it done with the different oposing views being scrutinazed closely. Would make a good topic for a sociology class.

In all honesty though I do not believe that any real debate could exist without the freedom of speech. In all likelihood you will end up with the same thought process going back in forth that is displayed in the book 1984 "double plus good" no no no it is "double plus ungood" and so on. With freedom of speech infringed our thought process/vocabulary would slowly eradicate.

I still would be interested and would look in on the thread from time to time to see where it goes.

And this is what I want to explore.

Can an idea, a concept, be put forth is such a manner under which free speech is denied?

reply to post by beezzer


I just saw some footage of some young Ladies doing a very peaceful protest in Kiev.
The Russian police immediately sprayed their eyes with pepper spray and started to whip them even after they tried to escape.
We are very lucky here in the U.S. for our free speach. Having been born here , Its hard to realize
Any different. We can see the atrocities that the common man has to endure living under the straps of a dictator owned country thru the media , but if you werent born into that environment how can a freedom loving person be blamed for being born into the only world they know.

reply to post by beezzer


I have enjoyed my free speech mabye too much. Ive been kicked off of God like Productions , constantly keep getting my message erased from Before its news , and my reactions to my post in Luinitic Outpost usually gets a double take or expunged . Im careful here, because I respect most of the folks that have an opinion here. I get bumped every so often here but Hey, where only human. I enjoy being myself , but I do admit that there are threads here that I want to go full throttle on but i dont want to get locked out of Ats.

reply to post by beezzer


Haha can mods ban each other it could get ugly. I think it would be a very interesting experiment.

beezzer
reply to post by OpinionatedB

 

Thank you, ma'am.

Freedom to express, is (I think) our most important freedom.

We argue, debate, fight, spew venom daily on this site.

A simple exercise, that would affect/influence both sides might put in perspective, the true value that free speech holds.

No business or organization was ever supposed to be able to violate free speech as long as it was in America.

All the brainwashed on knee pads to TPTB sheeple will espouse that businesses are able to. but they are wrong.

reply to post by beezzer


Sorry, But due to the potentially harmful effects this thread may have on the emotions of some users, your request has been denied.

This is a very interesting idea, I'd like to see it possibly pan out. It can't hurt to see how strangled a topic could be with authority figures really cracking down on it.

Very interesting idea!
If you watch the documentaries of Adam Curtis (I highly recommend doing so) he seems to suggest that a "true debate" is incompatible with free speech due to the tendency of some individuals to dominate the discussion through means that are irrelevant to the debate itself, like personal charisma and emotional appeals. Perhaps the mods should also be given instructions to remove anything that is not factual.

reply to post by beezzer


I don't mean to be a debby downer here...but...

The Issue Of Freedom Of Speech On ATS

The main issue here is that freedom of speech, doesn't exist in a private venue. It never has here.

By definition proper debate and conversation has occurred...hundreds of thousands of times on ATS ( if you look at the thread count/post count) WITHOUT freedom of speech in a sense.

Pretty much every single thread that doesn't get binned for a T&C violation is proof of that.

~Tenth

reply to post by tothetenthpower


So, is your point that this question has already been answered just by the existence of debates on ATS, that it's impossible to carry out this experiment here due ti the structure of the site or that you feel ATS is not an appropriate place to do this? It would seem that speech is relatively free here as long as we all respect each other. I think what's being suggested here is what would happen if freedom of speech was arbitrarily restricted at the whim of two individuals beyond the normal level of normal moderation. I personally would love to see the results but yes, I can see the argument that ATS isn't meant to be a platform for social experiments.

Abraxas23
reply to post by tothetenthpower

 

So, is your point that this question has already been answered just by the existence of debates on ATS, that it's impossible to carry out this experiment here due ti the structure of the site or that you feel ATS is not an appropriate place to do this? It would seem that speech is relatively free here as long as we all respect each other. I think what's being suggested here is what would happen if freedom of speech was arbitrarily restricted at the whim of two individuals beyond the normal level of normal moderation. I personally would love to see the results but yes, I can see the argument that ATS isn't meant to be a platform for social experiments.

But we have done some social experiments here in the past. During the last election year, we had an election here, that was a major social experiment and it was also a lot of fun (although we drive Intrepid absolutely NUTS). So since we have had various social experiments here in the past, it's not out of the realm of possibility to once again conduct one...

Personally I'd like to see another round of elections, but alas, that isn't going to happen..

reply to post by beezzer


I thought this was how ATS operated anyway.

reply to post by tothetenthpower


Thats strange, I never saw it in the TnC where it said, "You agree that your right to saying what you want is waived" thats not in there. I can say what I want here, whenever I want really, its a mod or someone higher that can take it away if they disagree. Its funny because that happens in other places in the real world to. You have freedom of speech in the real world but if someone disagrees, law suit, make it go away tactics (think escalation of force, etc) I can understand moderation of civility but I wouldn't hide behind a TnC as an end all know all answer.


I also wanted to add that this site thrives on "user generated content (speech of others and there collective research)" and the owners reserve the right to "throw away" what they think is garbage (what they claim is against their terms because it isn't appealing to them or their idea of the collective good) either by them or their enforcers they are running a business