Urgent Evoke

A crash course in changing the world.

Censorship versus Freedom in Urgent Evoke

censorship is the absolute enemy of freedom. censorship is a weapon used by corrupt governments, cowardly corporations and conservative extremists to SILENCE dissent, restrict INFORMATION and enforce their 'morals'. simply take a look at the extreme on-going cases of Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia and China. even in places with laws protecting FREE SPEECH, the battle is on-going.

the arguments for censorship consists of sheltering people and children from 'inappropriate' media. those are merely a skewed rationale. what is the TRUTH? censorship takes away the RIGHTS and RESPONSIBILITIES of citizens to CHOOSE what is suitable for themselves and their children. censorship is about CONTROL.

the worst is something i call 'pre-emptive tyrannical' censorship; where a special select few choose what is 'suitable' for public viewing. in addition, this type of censorship has NO transparency and NO formal process to appeal.

sound familiar? Urgent Evoke moderators have been engaging in opaque, arbitrary censorship from the very beginning. posts and comments disappear without warning. when they occasionally grace someone with a reason, those given are ill-defined, vacillating and personal. hardly the actions of an ETHICAL organization that claims a focus on freedom and social activism.

those of us that have thought on these issues know what the TRUTH is. Urgent Evoke is still trying to CONTROL every aspect of UE. they seek to constrain the public image of Urgent Evoke to their own vision. using their stealth censorship, they are trying to silence voices of dissent and any material that does not fit with their 'safe, happy family' version of UE.

the real world can be an ugly place, sickened with murder, hatred and greed. this is WHY we are social activists. censorship does not make the bad things go away..

here's a short list of organizations that regularly fight against censorship:

http://www.aclu.org/ - American Civil Liberties Union (USA)
http://www.amnesty.org/ - Amnesty International
http://ccrjustice.org/ - Center for Constitutional Rights (USA)
http://en.rsf.org/ - Reporters Without Borders
http://www.eff.org/ - Electronic Frontier Foundation
http://www.ncac.org/ - National Coalition Against Censorship (USA)
http://www.fair.org/index.php - Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting
http://www.indexoncensorship.org/ - Index on Censorship (UK)
http://www.chillingeffects.org/ - Chilling Effects Clearinghouse
http://www.thefirstamendment.org/ - The First Amendment Project (USA)

addendum - @Michele Baron has summed up everything i have been trying to say better than i could.

remember, seek the TRUTH.

Views: 293

Comment by Benjamin Michael Jones on April 24, 2010 at 1:29pm
Wow this is clearly quite a sensitive subject. Might I ask what 'Panamerica' had written that was banned is it possible to replicate it again, assuming it is not too offensive.

If I may guys, you have all had some really good input and it's a really difficult subject to tackle. I really detest censorship in any form, just because I do not like what the person says or agree with it does no mean I have a right to ban it, hide it or sabotage it. HOWEVER, the way they present must be of a mature and passive manner.

For example; This example! I intend to add my thoughts in a non-abusive and as impartial manner a possible including my opinion perhaps back it up with some evidence and then allow others to comment, rebuttal and discuss. Now if my presentation was of clear, careful manner, which was both direct and carefully administer e.g. not targeting individuals or races etc. then my post has No right to be removed. If I decide to attack the world bank, again as long as I follow this format the administrators of Evoke must allows the post. To attack an organisation (In the form of discussion not physical violence) is important because one must have a format in express distaste towards it as others too may feel this. If an organisation dislikes these attacks then they should, if they are any good, provide a member from the world bank. This member then should be able to defend the actions of the organisation and correct any misinterpretations of facts. Expanding briefly on this point. Perception is a key issue. Which I think we need to expand on allow a more thorough view on censorship.

Koshy I'm gong to use you as an example I hope you don't mind.

Quote: "...by the way for me coming from india world bank has done us more harm than good..."

So in this statement we immediately have someone[Koshy] who's perspective on the world bank is hopefully based upon some direct life experience with the organisation. It will be naturally biased one way or another depending on the outcome of what occurred. If Koshy were to suddenly drill off a range of abusive comments on the world bank, even though his perspective is correct his methodology would backfire. Psychologically people would probably either see him at one end of the extreme or the other - Freedom Fighter [Champion of Freedom] or Terrorist [Sociopath & Fanatic beyond reason]. Now this is quite important to recognise as it allows us to disseminate whether censorship is occurring. If Koshy places a strong viable and rational argument stating the various issues faced and challenges faced because of the world bank and the administrators removed it, we could see clearly something is going on behind the scene as something so well presented, calm and clear would allow lot's of people to read it without judgement, empathise and then reach their own conclusion. This is terrifying for the world bank as this kind of persuasion is usually noted in psychology when a minority argument overturns a majority. At which point their is a shift in conscious thought. Now to delve with the other side of the coin. If Koshy placed a damming and abusive post against the world bank and it remained this does not prove there is a non-censorship if fact the opposite is occurring as radical views are being deliberately being left to incite mixed feelings and this creates something more dangerous than disinformation - radical passion to contradictory concepts. The concept of Freedom of Expression inherently comes with the Responsibility of Methods of expression. Look at art the most extreme views can be create without offending people because the guise of art covers the emotions and feelings. Also it is passive people choose to look and admire or be repulse, but no one was forced upon to view the art and format used to express the emotion. Hence the important of art in society even in the future as it is a medium of hopefully non-offensive messages allowing profound though to grow without cause too much of a disturbance to the psyche of the individuals. Ever had the blunt truth told to you? I know I have and it hurts sometimes, sometimes it's good, sometimes it's unnecessary to be so harsh when perhaps a guide and prompt are needed depending on if the message is sinking in. Now to return more to the world bank example. If a post then was abusive an full of damming language etc. and was subsequently deleted I would argue that it is not censorship in the same form as it is trying to prevent radical incitement which could be impressionable on younger minds and give the impression that being abusive and offensive, perhaps even violent in accusations is acceptable way to sharing our opinions. I would also argue not only is this unacceptable, as offending people really just isn't going to progress us any further into the future, but also should be common sense for us to realise a moderator is trying to be impartial but aware that certain comments may upset or worse still tarnish the representation of what Evoke is trying to achieve. If it enters into the press that world gamers, racists and fanatics are all throwing their opinions wildly how on earth can we convince the population that we are striving for a better world. [Before any one picks me up I am well aware mainstream media is heavily biased, however the ma**** are fond of it and believe it, that is their choice, however if we limit the fuel they have to start the fire it will quickly burn out leaving them cold and exposed] It's also worth noting I have made these mistakes in the past and am always trying to learn and not make them again, although I know exactly what it's like when we get caught up in something were passionate about however I figure if I make a statement or opinion in a post I should be able to rationalise the thought process so others can see what I've done and provide evidence. These simple tricks would then mean to offend someone would be very difficult and I would always read their comments to gain their perspective, in turn hopefully expanding my view. Now if my post were to be deleted - my attitude would then change to something more poignant as at this point I am now being directly attacked and thus my right to defend myself has full right to be introduced. In short if they make the first move and it is the wrong one they will have to deal with the consequences, think chess people! And think that many of the institutions and organisations that we come up against can play these games slowly, patiently, very well and ruthlessly. We should play by our own rules, ones that take into account that the person writing a comment is a human being on the other side of the planet. The eat, drink and sleep, feel emotion, cry and laugh just as we do, so even when I am told I'm an idiot or Idealist (why these two are always together I'll never know ^_^) I try and keep in mind that - yup I've made so many mistakes in the past and probably made that same mistake too so actually turns out that insensitive person and I have more in common that we first both assumed! A bit of a Tangent, but felt it was need to provoke some thoughts with people - if were to busy arguing over censorship - then were too busy to be world changing!
Comment by Benjamin Michael Jones on April 24, 2010 at 1:31pm
Apologies for lack of paragraphs was in a flow. Forgive me!
Comment by nomadHAR on April 24, 2010 at 1:45pm
@darklogos: i never said that children have to experience that stuff, my issue is that censorship takes the choice away from the PARENT.

why should you or anybody else get to choose what is right for MY children?
Comment by darklogos on April 24, 2010 at 2:24pm
"
the arguments for censorship consists of sheltering people and children from 'inappropriate' media."

This is the line that stands out the most in my head when I wrote my comment. I stand by my statement. The kid I gave example of who was exposed to porn was exposed to the element by her parents. Under your logic that is fine. The same goes with the kid that was a nihilist. The issue is that some ideas are not appropriate for kids no matter the situation.
Comment by A.V.Koshy on April 24, 2010 at 2:42pm
conversation abruptly came to a stop is it? lol
Comment by Turil Cronburg on April 24, 2010 at 2:44pm
NomadHAR, I agree that people should be free to choose what they bring into their lives. I also see the importance of ensuring that people are free to not promote and/or host stuff that they don't want to promote and/or host. I want you to have the freedom to offer whatever you believe is important to you to offer, while I also want the freedom to not have you offering it in my own bedroom, kitchen, office, school, or website.
Comment by darklogos on April 24, 2010 at 2:47pm
How did the conversation stop if I responded?
Comment by Mita Williams on April 24, 2010 at 2:49pm
Hello. Sarah just posted some images that were already deemed inappropriate to Evoke - and this message had already been told to Sarah. I've deleted the post and temporarily suspended Sarah from the network. I'm considering this is a "time-out". I'll be conferring with the other game runners as to the next step.

This discussion thread had been a good one and I understand the irony of deleting a post in one dedicated to censorship. At this point, I'd like to remind folks of the Evoke Code of Ethics - especially this portion:

"Keep in mind, too, grade school students all over the world are studying EVOKE. (As described earlier.) Keep the tone appropriate for them.)"

Being a moderator means trying to find a balance between players being able to express themselves and making sure that the experience is a good one the rest of the players. I am trying to do my best to make this balance.
Comment by A.V.Koshy on April 24, 2010 at 3:02pm
ok listen you guys sarah just put up her pics that were censored by urgent evoke here and that comment was removed and she has been banned
of the pics only one could be called objectionable, not by me, but by prudes, the rest were all humorous or cool or beautiful
we are talking of uevoke which is a game
supposed to be only for 13 year olds and above
what form of censorship should we have here?
what we just witnessed? go look at sarah's stuff if you dont believe me =she has been taken out just like panamericana was for being his boy friend and bringing evidence of censorship whereas if the pics censored were here we could have discussed calmly if they are worth censoring or not
at turil
evoke 4 ever doesnt want to be active now
we are waitng for evoke to get over

anyway, so evoke hasnt changed at all, unlike what i thought
to dark and benjamin and turil - no one is talking here of feeding a 5 year old kid porn or a ten year old being taight nihilism or things like that ok
Comment by Paul Gibbins on April 24, 2010 at 3:11pm
I don't understand is this for grade school students or for 13 and up?
How are we supposed to have an adult conversation here
and have it in the terms that a child can have it.
Isn't this a contradictory proposition??

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