Is Global Internet Censorship Shaping Our Social Values?

[Greg Bernhardt]

The graphic above is part of a slideshow about Internet censorship around the world.* I wanted to give you a preview of this great presentation and encourage you to go to the site to see what sort of content is … http://virtualnavigator.wordpress.com/2011/04/03/infographic-on-internet-freedom/" http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=virtualnavigator.wordpress.com&blog=11498882&post=567&subd=virtualnavigator&ref=&feed=1

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[DanP]

The graphic above is part of a slideshow about Internet censorship around the world.* I wanted to give you a preview of this great presentation and encourage you to go to the site to see what sort of content is … http://virtualnavigator.wordpress.com/2011/04/03/infographic-on-internet-freedom/" http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=virtualnavigator.wordpress.com&blog=11498882&post=567&subd=virtualnavigator&ref=&feed=1

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I don't see censorship as a problem Greg. You do it here on PF.com for your own reasons, good or bad reasons that's not important. For the sake of what you and your mods think its mainstream information, and for maintaining traditional social values of the forum. You have your reasons. So does China.

Censorship is just another tool to make your own voice heard louder than the voice of others. It won't go away.

 

[russ_watters]

PF is not "the internet", it is a specific site on the internet. The existence of PF does not preclude you from making your own site that says whatever you want.

 

[DanP]

PF is not "the internet", it is a specific site on the internet. The existence of PF does not preclude you from making your own site that says whatever you want.

Indeed it doesn't. But is irrelevant. The only difference is in scale. You have no power to control anything outside this site. So you control the flow of information according to your own power. Governments do have the ability to control information on a much larger scale than you do. China or Australia are not "the internet" as well. They just don't want the members of the social groups over which they have control to see or say some things they consider "crackpot". Whatever those things are really crackpot or not is also not important IMO for a study of censorship.

The root behavior is the same. A social group chooses to use the tools of censorship to impose their own social values. The fact that one group has a way lower power to enforce than another, doesn't change anything.

It is somehow ironic when a group of humans who censor others start to cry foul play when a higher power starts to censor them. Ironic, but so human.

I make no reference to PF with last phrase, just to make it very clear to all.