Posted on 01/15/2021 4:57:52 AM PST by Bonemaker
Yesterday, we announced that we are closing comments at American Thinker. We immediately received a couple of hundred very unhappy, angry, and sometimes insulting emails about that decision. Without divulging why we made that decision, here are a few points to ponder.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
Blah, blah blah. Well I will divulge. For whatever reason you chickened out.
Conservative publishers often run shoestring operations.
Apparently at American “Thinker”, you’re only allowed to “think” silently. Open opinions not allowed.
Conservatives dont have the in depth infrastructure ability to weather a media blackout imo. There’s no way a site like that is going to survive when it happens, perhaps they’re concerned about family members getting threatened and attacked like Roger Stones wife, only more systematically the way these revolutions go.
Its going to happen, and its going to shock people, and its also probably going to be effective enough. Republicans will be allowed to be an oppo party, but elections and free speech will be effectively dead.
BUMP BUMP...not reading further.
Effective compromise already in place: repost the articles here, and see if we can post comments of a high standard as should befit FR.
Horrible tone.
when the choice is the arm or the patient die...
you choose the arm
Likely they were threatened with deplatforming due to comments.
As noted in all posts here on FR before clicking the post button:
Loose lips sink ships.
skidMark thinking oar CHYna thinking.
Do what the author suggested, go post your opinions on a blog someplace. American Thinker's website is there to provide them a platform to get their content out. It's not there to provide people a platform to voice their opinions. The fact that they opened up that functionality to viewers was just graciousness on their part. If they feel they need to shut that function down in order to protect their business, then that's their prerogative, and doesn't affect peoples ability to post their thoughts on line in one bit; other than making people actually have to do a little work in order voice anonymous opinions on line.
They're also pretty arrogant. Consider this dinger:
Second, it’s lovely that many of you came here for the conversation in the comments. To have the comments abruptly turned off was the equivalent of our breaking up your party, the great party at which all the guests were interesting and delightful. We appreciate what an unpleasant shock and disappointment that was, and we hate to be the mean parent who broke up the party but, again, sometimes you have to do what you have to do.
Huh? What? Who died and made you the Arbiter of All That is Mature?
And most importantly, Ms Widburg doesn't even give a reason in her hundreds of words. The closest we get is:
All of us who work here agree that the choice was binary: Shut down the comments or shut down the site. Or to use an analogy, amputate the limb or watch the patient die. Looked at from that perspective, there really was no choice.
Or, put another way, their hosting supplier gave them an ultimatum and they sided with the server host. Fair enough - it was a business decision. But be honest, AND don't talk down to us...without our (soon to be zero) clicks, you don't eat.
Its going to happen, and its going to shock people, and its also probably going to be effective enough. Republicans will be allowed to be an oppo party, but elections and free speech will be effectively dead.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Quick correction. Free speech and elections ARE dead. We have arrived already.
Maybe the feds will threaten prosecution over what is said in the comments, as “incitement”?
Even if charges won’t stick, the process will be costly.
I notice a lot of conservative sites have shut down comments or else made them available only to subscribers (ie, private, and not for the general public).
That may be for monetary reasons; but perhaps (guessing here) it could also be a legal defense?
I don’t believe that. Reader comments are an integral part of online media. I’m sure the advertisers would agree with me. As a business owner, I would much rather advertise on a site with an active, engaged reader comment section.
AT may not have the resources to moderate the content of their comments. They should deal with that quickly or they might be at risk of losing the business.
As well, if you get sued by a major entity (like Dominion),
for defamation,they have millions to spend on the suit; you, a blogspot,
don’t, and can’t afford to be in litigation for a decade or so (at least);
and be faced with the possibility of hostile judges who will rule against you at every turn.
Justice in the USA is blind, don’t you know... (sarc/off)
But didn't trot out your editor Ms. Widburg (who in theory knows how to write) to give us an arrogant and condescending "you children can't handle the truth" non-explanation.
What I perceive is going on is that Antifa types have been spending a LOT of time and energy as Agent Provocateurs on conservative sites, posting comments that are over the line, and baiting others to join them, exactly as they did at the Capitol protest. We have to take some deep breaths here, look around ourselves carefully, and figure out how we show these people up for who and what they are. Remember, what we are seeing right now is the culmination of GENERATIONS OF PLANNING, since the 1930’s and ‘40’s. A great deal of thought has gone into how we are going to react, and how to use our reactions to destroy us. We need to be smart, not just passionate. And the first observation I’ll make is that we need to think about how to use the energy of the swinging pendulum to help us, not destroy us.
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