Hello, Im kind of new here and trying to get used to Lemmy and I was wondering about if this is true since I am considering donating on this site to support alternative projects but wanted to hear other users before doing so. That being said, what have been your experiences?
My point is this: SPEECH IS NEVER FREE. Not in the way you mean, i.e. without consequences. Find me one place in the entire world where you can say whatever you want without any consequences. I’ll wait.
In your daily life you can also say what you want. People might get pissed at you, refuse to talk to you, break off friendships, get you fired from your job if you go too far, whatever. That’s just life. What you say and do has consequences. Even online. Even at Lemmy.
Freedom of speech means your government won’t arrest you and lock you up for your opinions, but any other consequences in your social circle, for example, are just that. When you’re an asshole, people will think you’re an asshole. Sounds normal to me. And if you’re surrounded by assholes, they will act like assholes no matter what you say. If an instance has values so diametrically opposed to yours that they end up banning you, then good riddance, no? Edit: E.g. getting thrown out of a Nazi bar is no huge loss.
Sorry, I meant to say that speech isn’t as free as people are saying in this thread. We have people essentially screaming “punch a nazi” as if it’s a controversial opinion here, when there are other milder opinions that would create some serious outrage and get you banned on a whim.
I think it’s universally understood that there are consequences to what you say, and even how you say it, and when. I think that’s part of my point. I’m not here to argue for absolute free speech. I don’t believe in that.
I’m merely pointing out that the Fediverse as a whole is a lot more policed than people say. It doesn’t take much to create animosity.
I don’t think that’s how it works. You can very much agree with a community the overwhelming majority of the time while getting along fine, and still create some friction by touching specific topics. At least, that’s been my experience in general everywhere, both online and IRL.
Oh absolutely. You can’t agree with someone 100% of the time. Or well, you can, but it’s rare. ;)
You’re obviously right, there is no absolute free speech and there shouldn’t be, imo. I see Lemmy a bit in the same way I see my real life. Everyone has rules in their own house and if you want to be invited in, you’ll have to live by them. If you don’t want to do that, that’s fine, but you can’t expect them to keep inviting you - and you’re welcome to go to another party where another group of people might not be invited.
Does this mean there are instances where I won’t be welcome? Sure. But it also means there are instances where I won’t be forced to see/read things I really don’t want to see. I can’t speak for anyone else, of course, but in my experience it’s perfectly possible (with few exceptions) for me to say what I want, as long as I sometimes go about it with a little tact (but the fact that I don’t want to be a huge asshole probably helps. ;))