This is a closed platform dedicated to chess. You may speak freely elsewhere.
But I see that you can't even post this without releasing an irrelevant political conspiracy theory, so you're probably kinda addicted.
Free Speech on chess.com
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Sred - I support your right to have an opinion and express it. I refer you to Voltaire's quote above. However, it is not a closed forum. It is open to everything - everything except religion and politics. Thus, anything can be discussed: natural disasters, the arts, Hollywood actors, German beer, chess, and Cheetos - just not religion and politics. Off topic is off topic which, of course includes religion and politics. And yes, all of us can go elsewhere to discuss those items (which I do, including standing in our local farmer's market on box and sharing my views), but I and I'm sure many others enjoy discussing those things in our online communities. Other online communities I'm a part of do not have this ban (beginnertriathlete.com). Why the fear of freedom of expression?
Jan 21, 2020
0
#4
SquirrelGravy wrote:
...
It is open to everything - everything except religion and politics
....
If it's not open to religion and politics, it's obviously not open to everything, case closed. But why am I feeding the trolls anyway?
The opening of every comment has a "be kind and relevant" statement. I don't believe I've been unkind or irrelevant. I apologize if I have. Yet you have called me a 'troll' and accused me of being a conspiracy theorist. I've been a loyal chess.com player now for over a year and have played over 10,000 games. Why the animosity?
My comment on the 'openness' of this forum was in your response to it being closed. And you haven't answered my question. Why the fear of having a completely open forum on chess.com?
enoniugnep - thank you for the response. I've received a similar one from moderators before (perhaps that exact one). However, it doesn't address my points in the original post regarding the importance of free speech in online communities. I think an actual discussion on the topic would be interesting and informative...as opposed to cut and paste responses.
Free speech means you don't have to pay to talk, right? So if you use a payphone, it's paid speech.
RonaldJosephCote wrote:
"it doesn't address my points in the original post"........ maybe its pointless.
You nailed it! Free speech is just a pointless theory. Lol
TheGreatAttorney wrote:
Free speech means you don't have to pay to talk, right? So if you use a payphone, it's paid speech.
Spoken like a true Attorney. Ahem....
Pol-Potnoodle wrote:
but its free if you use someone else's phone without them knowing.
You are right, if you use someone else's phone you can have free speech to talk about Buddah, Jesus, Hinduism, Obama, Trump, Global Warming, The Bible, The Koran, Mohammed, God, Shintoism, John 3:16, Mark Twain, etc. I guess you can have Free Speech if you use someone else's phone 
Jan 21, 2020
0
#12
SquirrelGravy wrote:
"To suppress free speech is a double wrong. It violates the rights of the hearer as well as those of the speaker." - Frederick Douglas
"If we do not believe in freedom of speech for those we despise, we do not believe in it at all." Noam Chomsky
"I disapprove of what you say; but I will defend to the death your right to say it." Voltaire
"If freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led like sheep to the slaughter." - George Washington
"If liberty means anything it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear." George Orwell
"Reason and free inquiry are the only effective agents against error." Thomas Jefferson
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." Martin Luther King Jr.
"I don't agree that when you become students at colleges have to be coddled and protected from different points of view." - Barak Obama
"Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to conscience above all liberties." John Milton
"Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freedom of speech." Benjamin Franklin
"
Erik, this is a request for you to remove the 'religious/political' ban on the off topic forum. Free speech is how humanity learns and grows. In today's online world, it is important to engage in free debate in our chosen online communities. Arguing is not bad; it is constructive. Free speech is not free unless allowed in the public forum (not just clubs.) Do some research on free speech and it's importance in the online community. Even FB understands this and allows it...much to the chagrin of it's left-leaning leadership. Chess.com and yourself should not be afraid of freedom of expression; but instead embrace it.
I am a huge believer that free speech is necessary for the good of our country. However, chess.com was designed for chess, not free speech. Although I'm not mad at chess.com staff for their decision, I think it would be better if they removed religious/political bans. There are obvious reasons why swear words and similar things are removed, however. That part I agree with in full.
RonaldJosephCote wrote:
Free speech ran its course at a different place & a different time in history. Most people are so stupid that if I say......"hey, look..its a U.F.O". I guarantee you that by the end of the day, they'll be 4 dead, 3 injured because they'll be looking for the U.F.O. Weather it was real or not is completely irrelevant.
I point you to Thomas Jefferson's quote, "Reason and free inquiry are the only effective agents against error".
imagine
imagine going to a political event
and somebody comes down and slams his fists on the table and just goes
"e4!"
and as they get dragged away they shout some quotes about freedom of speech
" However, chess.com was designed for chess, not free speech.
Then why have an 'off topic' forum? Almost every web community for a special purpose has an off topic forum for discussions beyond the scope of the site which are open to anything. The user base of chess.com is 23 million. If it was a state it would rank #3 behind California and Texas. It would seem complete free expression would help not hinder the community.
RonaldJosephCote wrote:
That's my point. We don't live in the age of Thomas Jefferson. Today, you can be arrested for enticing a riot if ...."hey look at the U.F.O"....led to 4 dead, 3 injured. It doesn't matter what Thomas Jefferson said.
It doesn't matter what Thomas Jefferson said (?) - I honestly don't even know how to respond to that.
RonaldJosephCote wrote:
" I honestly don't even know how to respond to that". Yeah that was my reaction when Alex Jones said Sandy Hook never happened. That was my reaction when rapper Eminem released an album entitled "Music To Be Murdered By" glorifying the mass shooting in Los Vegas in 2017. You prefer to live in the past. I'm glad we understand each other.
Your examples point out why free speech is important. Those people have the right to say ignorant things; free speech gives you the right to point out their ignorance. That is why all those quotes at the beginning of my post are important - and they are not all in the past; including Barak Obama's. Truth is truth whether uttered centuries ago or today. And I did not mean to insult you.
isaacasimov777 wrote:
For your information, I know from experience that chess.com will be banned in China if there are any politics on here.
I concede that is a perplexing problem for running a site like this. It seems that FB is completely banned in China because of being used for political purposes. It would be interesting to hear from Erik on that issue ...
RonaldJosephCote wrote:
Well you certainly meant to insult the site by pushing the subject of a controvercial thread. This isn't rocket science.......its an electronic chess site with a few basic rules. Go talk religion & politics in the groups that are set up for that.....not in the main forums.
Nope, not at all. Many similar sites have no such restrictions in their off-topic forums. I don't see where asking the question and challenging the status quo should be insulting.
"To suppress free speech is a double wrong. It violates the rights of the hearer as well as those of the speaker." - Frederick Douglas
"If we do not believe in freedom of speech for those we despise, we do not believe in it at all." Noam Chomsky
"I disapprove of what you say; but I will defend to the death your right to say it." Voltaire
"If freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led like sheep to the slaughter." - George Washington
"If liberty means anything it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear." George Orwell
"Reason and free inquiry are the only effective agents against error." Thomas Jefferson
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." Martin Luther King Jr.
"I don't agree that when you become students at colleges have to be coddled and protected from different points of view." - Barak Obama
"Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to conscience above all liberties." John Milton
"Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freedom of speech." Benjamin Franklin
"
Erik, this is a request for you to remove the 'religious/political' ban on the off topic forum. Free speech is how humanity learns and grows. In today's online world, it is important to engage in free debate in our chosen online communities. Arguing is not bad; it is constructive. Free speech is not free unless allowed in the public forum (not just clubs.) Do some research on free speech and it's importance in the online community. Even FB understands this and allows it...much to the chagrin of it's left-leaning leadership. Chess.com and yourself should not be afraid of freedom of expression; but instead embrace it.