Private censorship or free speech?

[Declan McCullagh <declan@eff.org>]

With the right to speak freely comes the right to decline to speak. John, 
as the owner of the computer maintaining the cypherpunks list, has the 
right to decline to speak and to kick off a user who violates the 
covenant of the mailing list.

The kicked-off user has the right to start his own mailing list with
different standards. If he likes, he can establish the rules as a type of
contract to which participants must agree. And observers can criticize
either or both of them. 

Is this censorship, double standards, and hypocrisy? I think not.

I say this as someone who has no animus towards Vulis. I've communicated
with him cordially in private email. 

-Declan


On Sun, 3 Nov 1996, Gary Howland wrote:

> > But there's probably a logical reason for taking this "action", although it can
> > apparently be easily circumvented, even though many of us don't understand what
> > that logic could be.
> 
> Yes.  If only you knew what they knew ... :-)
> 
> The mail filter is dead! Long live censorship, double standards and hypocrisy!
> 
> Gary
> 


// declan@eff.org // I do not represent the EFF // declan@well.com //