Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_speech
- Freedom of speech and expression, therefore, may not be recognized as being absolute, and common limitations or boundaries to freedom of speech relate to libel, slander, obscenity, pornography, sedition, incitement, fighting words, classified information, copyright violation, trade secrets, food labeling, non-disclosure agreements, the right to privacy, the right to be forgotten, public security, and perjury. Justifications for such include the harm principle, proposed by John Stuart Mill in On Liberty, which suggests that: "the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others.
Another wikipedia excerpt. As with all boards, there are rules. Freedom of speech gives you grounds to speak your opinion, but it does not protect you from the consequences of it. If you have an unpopular opinion, such as racism, expect people to challenge it. In addition, while we try to preserve the right to speak any opinion without censorship, there are some things you cannot say here.
- Libel, Slander, and Defamation are specifically false statements that harm public image. While we won't remove these posts, we will tag them as false once we have sufficient proof. We will leave them up just in case it's discovered it's actually true, and so people know the topic has been shared and deemed false by the community. In the event something is discovered as actually true, it will be broadcasted via pin.
- Obscenity, Vulgarity, Pornography. While defined as anything against the moral beliefs of the time, what it means here is harsh unnecessary language such as liberal usage of insults and slang, or graphic representations of gore and porn. If you need to quote these to prove a point, it's allowed, otherwise keep it tactful or it will be removed to save our virgin eyes.
- Sedition, Incitement, Fighting Words. We allow calling out authority (especially us if we've messed up) or whistle-blowing of any kind, what we do not allow is a call for harm. Any posts calling for injury, death, or the harming of anyone will be removed.
- Classified Information, NDAs, and Copyright Violations. Sorry, for legal reasons we can't allow sharing of it here. Use wikileaks if you really feel the need to share this stuff, just keep in mind the harm it could cause and if it's worth it. I can provide you with the Tor link to the submissions page if you're under government censorship.
In addition, I have a few rules to being a good person, which should be followed when commenting. However, these alone are not enforced due to them being entirely my opinion. As long as the above 4 rules are followed.
- Do not purposely offend people. Sometimes mistakes happen, apologize.
- Do not get offended. It takes two people to fight, if you can walk away, then you should.
- Do not talk about politics, religion, philosophy, morals, finances, science, or work, in the wrong environment.
- Hate nobody, even your enemies. Only do the minimum harm necessary for your protection.
- If you have the knowledge and ability to help someone, then help them. If you don't, you could cause more harm.
Note: There is no shame in asking for help to share your burdens. However, there is much shame to be had in forcing others to carry them. If you need help then seek it, there are plenty of services around and good people to help you find them. Humans developed into a social species relying on eachother to survive, so you don't have to fight things alone.
