Friday, October 06, 2006

News Flood - Speech

Schools punishing kids for what they say online
I understand the positions of the schools. Like so many other youthful squabbles, this kind of thing can spill into the halls, even if it originated outside the building. It's good to put a stop to it while you can.

Still, the admins had best keep a tight grasp on it. If it really does violate freedom of speech, such as punishing controversial religious/political views for being "disruptive to class," then the schools will have gone too far.

Columbia Students Attack Minuteman Founder
Quite the story. College Republicans invite the Minuteman founder to speak at the school, and protestors storm the stage and end up attacking the guy. Freedom of speech . . . when it's the right kind of speech, I guess.

Michelle Malkin
has the low-down, including video.

Banned by YouTube
Speaking of Michelle, some of her anti-jihadi videos were yanked by YouTube for being offensive. She thinks the charge is dubious.

If I understand correctly, the process for complaints on YouTube is such: You "flag" a video if it is inappropriate or offensive. If a video receives enough flags, the admins remove it, no review process needed. If a user has enough videos removed, their account is suspended. Again, no review process.

While I suppose that's the easiest method for a site as large as YouTube, it certainly seems like a bit more discretion would be advised for their admins, given the nature of the intertubes.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

this kind of thing can spill into the halls, even if it originated outside the building. It's good to put a stop to it while you can.

Dude, you can't stop it...it starts in the halls!