Censorship is defined as the 'suppression of speech...' Removing content is one of the ways that speech can be suppressed. Flagging is the means of preventing spam, so it obviously suppresses speech. That suppression is cited as the reason flags exist on Hive. It is obviously true that reducing the reputation and earnings potential of someone on Hive by flagging every single comment and post they make suppresses their speech.
There is censorship I believe in. In fact I just published a post with that title. However, flagging someone for the content of their speech because you disagree with it is not censorship I believe in, and it strongly discourages not only the user flagged, but the community generally, and worst of all, it discourages people from becoming users of Hive.
Hundreds of Hive users have left because of exactly being flagged for the content of their speech in the years I have been using Hive, and if you have been here very long, you are very unlikely to be unaware of that.
@logiczombie posts quality content and has a following that values his posts. I hope you care about improving the quality of the platform enough to refrain from censoring his posts from now on, and discouraging him, other users, and potential users of Hive. The best way to improve Hive is to attract new users, and retain the ones already here.
Thanks for the courtesy of your reply.
There is no suppression of speech. There is no content removal due to downvote. The content is there and anyone can read it. This is a fact and there is no argument against this fact.
Only the monetary rewards were removed in a downvote. People who likes to leave should. There is no compulsion.
So, according to you flagging does not discourage spam? I disagree, as did the creators of Hive, and hundreds of users that have used flags to discourage spam on Hive. Driving people who aren't spammers away from Hive by discouraging free speech is the complete antithesis of Hive, and destructive of it's purpose.
I do not believe your statements are forthright, honest, and sincere. Your participation in Hivewatchers reveals you do use flags to discourage spammers, and are fully aware you suppress speech by flagging.
It is facile to claim that flags, the sole mechanism on Hive competent to suppress spam, don't also suppress other content as well. You don't have to speak honestly, but when you don't you earn the low opinion of everyone that finds deliberate falsehoods exclusively the resort of people without merit. No one finds your protestations convincing.
You are acting to degrade and denigrate Hive. While I don't care about the token value, I do value the ability to speak freely, and to consume content provided by those that can speak freely on Hive. If you don't and want to use a platform that does not allow free speech, you can go anywhere else on the internet where other censors will openly acknowledge your agreement with censorship and intent to suppress free speech there.
Please stop censoring here.
Thanks.
I never said downvote doesn't discourages spam (I hate double negative). It does. I DV to discourage spam. I also downvote to disagree with reward and will continue to do so. This is my last word and end of this discussion.
You can quit speaking at your convenience. I assure you the discussion won't end just because your participation in it does.
Regardless, I do appreciate the opportunity to discuss the matter with you.
Flagging Hive users other than spammers and scammers is opinion flagging and censorship. Censoring Hive users is bad for the platform, and bad for society. People depend on free speech because it provides safety signals that can be a matter of life and death. Censorship kills.
You can censor on numerous platforms where it is expected by those using them. Hive is not such a platform. The value of the platform to it's users is largely determined by it's censorship resistance, and by flagging Hive users that are not spammers, you are degrading the platform and reducing it's value to the community.
Please do not do this on Hive. The current token price is artificially suppressed precisely because of the censorship that has been undertaken here, and the denial that is commonly resorted to by the censors who have refused to use the actual definition of censorship and claim a plethora of excuses to justify that censorship that are seen as duplicitous by ordinary users of social media. This causes them to not come here and post, which would benefit all Hive users if they did.
If you cannot restrain your urge to flag and censor, go ruin some other platform.
Thank you.