Censorship On TulsaNow

[billintulsa]

Ok.  I know this is going to ruffle a few feathers.

Ever so often I see someone here complaining that they were "censored."  

Perhaps they posted something innapropriate.  Perhaps they posted something which violated the membership requirements.  Perhaps it was something that the TulsaNow people didn't like.  No matter what the reason, it's not censorship.

What that really means when some makes that claim is "someone wouldn't let me say what I wanted to say on this forum."  But the fact is, there are hundreds of places where that same person could make the statement.  In fact, if one had a hard time finding a place to make their voice heard, they could simply begin their own blog, website, forum, etc.

Just because a person's post is deleted here doesn't mean that censorship was in place, it just means that the powers that be within TulsaNow have the final right to say what is allowed here and what is not.

I host a forum elsewhere that allows people to post jokes.  The only requirement is that the jokes are family-friendly.  Who makes that determination?  Me.  Am I an authority?  No.  But that's beside the point.  It is my forum, and I have the right to say what is posted and what is not.  If someone posts something I feel is innapropriate, I have the right to get rid of it.  That person, on the other hand, has the right to go elsewhere and post whatever they like.  They also have the right to begin their own forum.

I am not trying to defend the people at TulsaNow (they are certainly capable of doing that themselves).  But by claiming they have the power to censor anyone at anytime is giving them a little more power than they have or deserve.

In truth, no one is censored.  On the internet no one can be.  Everyone has the ability to post anything they want at anytime, and make it globally available.

To those people who regularly complain that they were censored: GET OFF YOUR DUFF AND MAKE YOUR OWN FORUM!  Quit riding the coattails of other people's work and form your own place where you can post anything you want.

There.  I feel much better now.