Free Speech or the lack thereof...

Many "Western" governments have a clause in their founding documents or laws guaranteeing a right of free speech. However these clauses and laws rarely extend to private venues where the owner is the determining factor.

In forums and other communities this can cause problems because people feel they have a right to say and do anything because of their misinterpretation of these laws. So my question to you is how do you deal with these people on your sites?

 

I tend to let them run off at the mouth unless/until the inevitable name-calling, insulting, put-down type of posts start, then I step in. After a warning or two, I'll close the thread if they can't contain themselves.

 

If I were in a western country I would like to allow free speech except the name-calling.

But in my country, there is no real freedom, so I cannot afford the free discussions in politics (may lead me to jail) and religions.

 

Two warnings and then a punishment. May be a temporary suspension or something longer depending upon the user's action. I use a fairly generic Terms of Service so I can point to it for the more objectionable posts.

 

Our rule of thumb is thumb is pretty much any discussion goes so long as the topic is not illegal and everyone is being respectful of one another.

I personally love telling the idiots who tell me I'm violating their first amendment (America) right to free speech by removing trolling and stuff to sod off. They're the only people in the world I actually enjoy pissing off.:p:lol:

 

I try to uphold this right as often as I can, but I limit discussions that are cruel and don't maintain respect for other members. I also sometimes restrict discussions for morality reasons. For example, in one of the vB 4 threads here I asked that in-depth speculation of the "leak" and direct distribution of the leaked information be kept to a minimum.

But in general, I try to allow members their right of free speech. On forums I visit, I wouldn't want to be censored or stricken of my rights without good reason.

 

Feel free to discuss what you wish, as long as it doesn't insult, or hurt/harm any other member. Depending on the seriousness, these members usually are placed on a 3 day ban, and if they continue upon arrival they will be looking at a permanent ban.

 

I'm glad you people are asking these questions. When I made the switch from phpbb3 to vB, I lost a ton of threads...including my rule thread I just now noticed it and that some of my sub forums rules got messed up as well.

Anyhow, I typically allow most anything within reason. Now due to the nature of my forum I don't all the discussion of making or selling illegal firearms. I come down pretty heavy on this subject as well as the discussion of harming people...especially political figures. I don't mind people talking a little smack about our political figures but keep it as clean as possible.

 

I don't really put restrictions on what can be discussed as long as there is no...

• Personal attacks made against members
• Excessive cursing (an inordinate amount - but this depends on the forum)
• Threatening gestures or direct threats made towards other members, people, or organizations
• Intense flaming (also known as "flame wars")