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- Joined
- Jan 8, 2009
Studies show that getting reminded of voting does make it more likely you will vote. So I am taking this moment to encourage people not just to vote, but to remind family and friends to vote as well.
I dropped my ballot off Wednesday.
Of course, my links and words in the previous thread remain relevant.
Thank you everyone who reached out to tell me you registered because of that message. It means a great deal.
A couple people have asked me what exactly I expect to happen if the former president regains his office.
From the perspective of continuing to run this site, there are three primary concerns. There are other potential angles, of course, but these are the ones I am mindful of in the event of a Republican victory on the 5th. Still, I am not going to add it to my stress-pile until it actually happens.
By far the greatest of these are attacks on the Section 230 Protection. This law effectively makes this site possible. Without it, this site cannot exist. Republicans have been gunning for it for some years now.
Anywhere.
It is difficult to convey just what this law has done for forums all over the world. Because so many are hosted in the United States, the going assumption is that anyone trying to shut down a site like this, is going to have to contend with this law.
Section 230 is what has built the modern Internet as you know it. No matter what country you live in.
Naturally, every major social media owner has a vested interest in the protection of this statute; the threat is they will have some ladder-pulling exception to indemnify them, while smaller sites simply cannot establish themselves.
The second concern is laws making it untenable to run a site like this one directly.
For example, if I am required to verify the age and identity of every person visiting this forum, as is the law in Texas and other states.
If this were enacted federally, I would be legally required to identify and verify each and every one of you.
Of course, the state laws are being challenged, and some of the newer conservative justices are ostensibly more pro-free-speech than their predecessors. That said, they did not grant an emergency stay of the law in Texas, so I do not exactly have my hopes that a national law would be overturned.
The third concern is the targeting of politically disadvantaged groups.
Certain Republican and other 'right' leaning groups are dehumanizing others - particularly trans* persons.
This group makes up roughly a quarter of these forums.
If the political environment reaches the point where I would be forced to report them the way I am currently legally bound to report material to NCMEC, I cannot continue to run these sites in good conscience.
With the former president openly talking about using the military against his political opposition, it is a very real threat things may reach this point, in one fashion or another.
In any case, thank you for reading, everyone.
I dropped my ballot off Wednesday.
Of course, my links and words in the previous thread remain relevant.
Thank you everyone who reached out to tell me you registered because of that message. It means a great deal.
A couple people have asked me what exactly I expect to happen if the former president regains his office.
From the perspective of continuing to run this site, there are three primary concerns. There are other potential angles, of course, but these are the ones I am mindful of in the event of a Republican victory on the 5th. Still, I am not going to add it to my stress-pile until it actually happens.
By far the greatest of these are attacks on the Section 230 Protection. This law effectively makes this site possible. Without it, this site cannot exist. Republicans have been gunning for it for some years now.
Anywhere.
It is difficult to convey just what this law has done for forums all over the world. Because so many are hosted in the United States, the going assumption is that anyone trying to shut down a site like this, is going to have to contend with this law.
Section 230 is what has built the modern Internet as you know it. No matter what country you live in.
Naturally, every major social media owner has a vested interest in the protection of this statute; the threat is they will have some ladder-pulling exception to indemnify them, while smaller sites simply cannot establish themselves.
The second concern is laws making it untenable to run a site like this one directly.
For example, if I am required to verify the age and identity of every person visiting this forum, as is the law in Texas and other states.
If this were enacted federally, I would be legally required to identify and verify each and every one of you.
Of course, the state laws are being challenged, and some of the newer conservative justices are ostensibly more pro-free-speech than their predecessors. That said, they did not grant an emergency stay of the law in Texas, so I do not exactly have my hopes that a national law would be overturned.
The third concern is the targeting of politically disadvantaged groups.
Certain Republican and other 'right' leaning groups are dehumanizing others - particularly trans* persons.
This group makes up roughly a quarter of these forums.
If the political environment reaches the point where I would be forced to report them the way I am currently legally bound to report material to NCMEC, I cannot continue to run these sites in good conscience.
With the former president openly talking about using the military against his political opposition, it is a very real threat things may reach this point, in one fashion or another.
In any case, thank you for reading, everyone.