🚀 go-pugleaf

Bruce White 3807 <bw@WS029.TORREYPINESCA.NCR.COM> writes:
>> and we kicked you off.
>
>"We"? Also incorrect.

Essentially correct. I was the founder of the mailing list, you know,
and was part of the group that discussed the decision. Ultimately, of
course, Harry had to "pull the trigger", so to speak, as he was the
person who got assigned the authority to do so.

>> We can't do that on Usenet, however.
>
>Exactly. That's why I strongly agree that the extropians list be moved
>to an alt newsgroup. It would allow true freedom of speech, unhampered
>by any censorship imposed by either Harry Shapiro or ExI.

Its amusing that you think of ExI, the group of people who started the
entire extropian philosophy, as individuals that the idea must be
liberated from. However, lets get down to brass tacks.

We (and I feel free to use the collective noun as I doubt that anyone
associated with list governance would disagree with me) prefer to see
the group continue unhampered by people attempting to deliberately
destroy it, much as most people feel free to kick out a houseguest who
starts trying to eat the family pets. Urinating in a well is not
freedom of expression. Going up to someone and yelling at 110dB in
their ear is not freedom of speech.  A well functioning society has
ways of dealing with people who look like adults but are only six
years old inside. Presumably, you would like to have the list open to
you again so you could continue to defecate in the center of other
people's living rooms, but those people are not anxious to have you
back after you've done it the first time.  This is not censorship.
Censorship is only when someone stops you from ruining in your own
living room -- but thats not what happened here. Other people are free
to associate with, or not to associate with, whomever they like. When
a group of people decide not to talk to a malicious child, they are
not committing censorship -- the child is still free to say whatever
it likes. What they are doing is ceasing to listen, which is well
within their rights.

You can post anything you like about extropianism and how much you
hate us and how awful we are and what a bunch of bozos we are, and you
can do it right here. No one will stop you. No censorship, see? We
can't help it if, however, you haven't been supplied with an audiance.
You can call me any name you like, right here, and no one will stop
you -- or listen.

You effectively wrecked yourself, you know. You are equivalent to
someone who goes up to a man with a gun, sticks a knife at the guys
throat, and says "I'll kill you if you don't shoot me", and then gets
suprised that the guy pulls the trigger.

In any case, I'm sure you'll post what you imagine to be a witty
rejoinder or two about this topic later on. We await your next missive
with baited breath.

--
Perry Metzger		pmetzger@shearson.com
--
Laissez faire, laissez passer. Le monde va de lui meme.