[PEN-L:2390] pen-l and censorship

[Michael Perelman <michael@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Here are my thoughts on censorship:

I do not believe that free speech should be censored when that speech occurs
in the public domain, such as publishing in books or broadcasting.  I do not
regard pen-l as the public domain.  Instead, pen-l is a space created for
people to meet together to learn about how to promote progressive causes.

We may disagree about what progressive means, but I think that most of us
can accept that even those with whom we may disagree have progressive
intentions.

>From time to time people do come onto the list trying to stir up debates that
are not within the scope of this list.  I regard this behavior as an
intrustions.  I know that many people who share our interests are forced to
leave the list because of the volume of the mail.

I have read Hayek.  I even once taught a course on him.  But to begin a
debate on Hayek would dilute the value of the list to most of us, especially
because there are so many alternative sites where you can carry on such
a dialogue responsibly.

The point Jim Devine was making, I believe, was that we have very few places
where we can carry on a progressive dialogue.  I do not think that it is a
violation of free speech to ask someone to bug off if they intrude on a
personal family conversation.  While pen-l is more public than a personal
family conversation, it does have a definite [but not well defined] scope and
purpose.  I do not think that it is wrong to ask people to respect it.

 --
Michael Perelman
Economics Department
California State University
Chico, CA 95929

Tel. 916-898-5321
E-Mail michael@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx