Open thread, Apr. 10 - Apr. 16, 2017

MrMind

If it's worth saying, but not worth its own post, then it goes here.

Notes for future OT posters:

1. Please add the 'open_thread' tag.

2. Check if there is an active Open Thread before posting a new one. (Immediately before; refresh the list-of-threads page before posting.)

3. Open Threads should start on Monday, and end on Sunday.

4. Unflag the two options "Notify me of new top level comments on this article" and "Make this post available under..." before submitting.

If it's worth saying, but not worth its own post, then it goes here.

Notes for future OT posters:

1. Please add the 'open_thread' tag.

2. Check if there is an active Open Thread before posting a new one. (Immediately before; refresh the list-of-threads page before posting.)

3. Open Threads should start on Monday, and end on Sunday.

4. Unflag the two options "Notify me of new top level comments on this article" and "Make this post available under..." before submitting.

I don't think that freedom of speech is enforceable inside a private-owned network.

We're talking about "should", the normative approach. A private entity can do a lot of things -- it doesn't mean that it should do these things.

Freedom of speech is not just a legal term, it's also a very important component of a civil society.

2username29y

Lumifer didn't say anything about enforceability. E.g. the boy scouts have the right (as a private group, if you accept that a group with the U.S. president as their figurehead is in fact private) to disallow membership based on gender, sexual orientation, or religion. That doesn't mean it is right for them to do so. One should expect that in a civilized society groups like the boy scouts shouldn't discriminate based on things like sexual orientation. But that doesn't necessarily imply that there should be regulatory action to enforce that. Likewise, Facebook should be a public commons where freedom of speech is respected. But that doesn't mean I'd call for regulatory enforcement of that.