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Censored and banned from Politics on Imzy for defending Trump supporters against violence
Censored and banned from Politics on Imzy for defending Trump supporters against violence
A week later, I submitted my most recent political thought-piece on Donald Trump, and it was removed. I asked why it was removed and mrjazzy told me it was because the post contained conspiracy theories.
trentlapinski




Your headline is what they call "fake news", Trent.
It's not fake news when there's literal quotes from you in the article. You aren't doing your job and aren't enforcing your community policy because you yourself seem to be pushing some kind of political agenda.
Okay.
Go ahead censor me. I know you're thinking about it. Can't wait for your boss to read this.
Oh no greenie! Can't you see that you're OPPRESSING this poor internet person?? Look how sad he is!! Is there no JUSTICE in the world???
I, too, look forward to seeing the boss read this. But probably for different reasons.
Minor correction on your article-
Much like bell hooks, my name is never capitalized.
While I'm responding anyway:
We stand behind our community leaders. If you only ever submit your own content and don't post other than that, it is not at all unreasonable that a community may not value your participation.
I am entirely fine and supportive of an anti-Trump political agenda.
If Trump were to join Imzy (I know you want to), I think he'd get banned pretty quickly for targeting, harassing, and lying about facts.
BTW Trump, If you're reading this, join /polls, it's a fabulous community. We have the best polls. Everyone knows our polls.
-- Definitely not the owner of /polls
Edit: Did I say "our"? Err, no, I mean "their", not our, cuz I'm definitely not affiliated with /polls in any way. At all.
His polls will be YUGE.
After this, I think
Ithe owner of /polls might need to change their description to:/polls: The most tremendous polls on Imzy
I like the bit where you have no idea who greenie's boss is, but are somehow sure of their character.
Okay, first of all, this is a privately run website. You have no guarantee of a voice, here. This is like coming into someone's house and spouting an unwanted opinion, then getting mad when they kick you out. Yeah, it might be unfair. But, you know what...tough tacos, dude.
Freedom of speech doesn't mean that you get to say whatever you want to say wherever you want to say it and not have anyone challenge or censor you. It means that the media...journalists...will not be censored by the government. It's to keep the government for swooping in and putting people in jail for voicing unpopular opinions. It's not there to protect you from the meanies on forums who don't like what you have to say.
Okay, people don't like your posts here. Pick up your marbles and go post somewhere else. There's a whole, grand, wide internet out there for you. Post away! Shout to world what you think! That's fine. Just don't do it on our lawn.
Relevant XKCD:
I was banned for my political opinions which is against the community policy. I can't even submit content and let the community decide. Many of my posts were well received.
Dude, just go to reddit. I'm sure /r/the_donald would love to have you.
Let's not just assume this guy is a racist misogynistic Islamaphobic Anti-Semitic white nationalistic nazi, which, to be clear, is what the people of /r/the_donald are.
I feel fairly comfortable making that assumption about any trump supporter.
He already posted this article there, don't worry.
IMHO, if our message is not grouping people as a monolith (not seeing all Muslims as terrorists, all refugees/immigrants as rapists, not all POC as violent, etc.), then we have to extend that to all people, even our enemies. A lot of Trump supporters are just ignorant or mislead, but not all are evil/believe in all these things.
Wow nice. Hopefully we don't get brigaded.
no they weren't
What a crybaby
You were banned because you never participated other than when you posted your own articles. Over and over and over. This isn't discussion. This isn't generating discussion. This is self-promotion and spam. The fact that your opinions were shit was secondary.
Each community is allowed to ban whoever they want for whatever reasons they want. That's kind of how leadership works in these communities. Hey, I may decide I don't want you in one of my communities. Even if you don't break any written rules, I could still say I don't like people named Trent and ban you just because.
This is still a private forum. @greenie, @Dan, and the rest of Imzy staff don't need to make it so that you and your temper tantrum get catered to. People who participate and generate actual content and discussions on Imzy and aren't toxic to the overall community are far more likely to actually be listened to and worked with.
In the near future we will ban trump communities.
The frozen peaches... they're everywhere!
Trent. You got censored, just cause, that the people listening, think you're an asshole. And they're showing you the door...
It's poor judgement making a comment like that IMO. That sort of partisanship won't encourage community growth.
I understand that Trump supporters are seen as peddlers of 'fake news' and hate in some quarters but there are some pretty rabid, and immature, comments from the other side even in this thread.
Trump supporters (as in denizens of places like /r/the_donald) aren't "immature", they're fascists. Fascists should never be given a platform, period. This has been explained over and over by multiple people over the last few weeks, I can give you some links if you want.
My observations tally more with this article, http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2017/02/anti-fascists-need-look-mirror/
So much for the tolerant left!
I have no time for smug neocons muddying the waters.
The irony is why does mrjazzy or any other leader have more of a voice than members of the community? It is clear both myjazzy, does_not_compute, and greenie are pushing their own political agendas instead of enforcing their community rules or this sites community policy. They broke the rules, I did not.
Why am I being harassed, censored, and punished for following the rules?
That's the issue here.
Look further down and you'll see a comment that answers that question. Those are not official Imzy communities run by Imzy staff. They are just communities created by Joe Community Person on a topic they like.
Once Imzy re-opens the doors to community creation, you are more than welcome to create one of your own and post whatever you like. But, as the community creators, myjazzy and does_not_compute are free to run it however they like.
This is like getting angry at Tumblr for what an individual posts.
It's a personal community. The owners get to control the content on their personal community. (See my comment below... It's somewhere down there).
Here's @AnonHighwayAmelia 's post about it: https://www.imzy.com/feedback/post/censored_banned_from_politics_on_imzy_for_defendin/comment/7fb01f0a-efc4-11e6-8826-e96af5a609c3
I fully understand these are users, but considering the fact community creation is closed and these users now control /Politics as a community name, and nearly 8,000 people are members and do not know the leaders are purposely censoring the community and pushing an anti-Trump agenda is not right. They are violating their own community rules, and the community policy of Imzy.
If someone supports violence against half the country on Tumblr and someone contacts Tumblr for violating the sites policies then that post and possibly the persons account will be removed.
As far as individual community rules, there is nothing you can do. These are rules made up by whoever made the community and they are free to change/ignore said rules as they see fit.
Is there an Imzy policy that says a person can't censor their own community? I think not. The idea of being "inclusive" to Imzy means that anyone can come and create a community of their own and post what they like. For instance, when they reopen creation, I'm sure you would be more than welcome to create a pro-Trump community and post all you like. That's what the inclusion means.
It doesn't mean that individual people have to tolerate whatever is posted in their community.
I am not a Trump supporter, so I have no intention of starting a Trump community. I merely defended Trump supporters from violence because I'm against violence. You should have read my article.
Why don't you set up your own comm, where you're the leader, and post all your stuff there and stop whining
"censoring"
Buddy, no one is kicking in the door, and burning your writing. They're just tossing your pieces out of their community hall. Ssh.
I can't they've turned off community creation.
Wait, you're not?
I voted 3rd party. I submitted it there because that community needs to know Imzy, including their own employees, condone and support violence against Trump supporters.
"patience is a virtue," and if you hold out for a little while, you can have your own comm to rant on
I voted 3rd party. I submitted it there because that community needs to know Imzy, including their own employees, condone and support censorship and violence against Trump supporters.
WHAT CENSORSHIP? if you had been smart enough to set up your own comm, you could post your stuff there and Imzy would be fine with it! But because you hadn't the foresight to do so, and got kicked off a comm with a large audience, you're bitching, not realizing that you got kicked off because you brought down the quality of the comm.
JFC. Take a hint.
This isn't the first time you've posted there. That community is a cesspool of hate. Some of them have suggested killing innocents. Why do they need to know about this? So they can target us?
Just so folks aren't too concerned: It does look like both the_donald and KotakuInAction mods "censored" the free speech of that post and removed it.
I await a new medium article about it.
Community creation is turned off.
This is the community you want to "know about" Imzy:
http://imgur.com/9KEv2H4
Click to view image
Oh, and in case someone accuses me of making those up, here's an archive of a comment with 38 upvotes: http://archive.is/D2zhK
Pushing an anti-trump agenda is not only right, it is the only right thing to do.
❤
Number of people supporting violence against Trump supporters in the original thread? I think it might have been George Soros.
Actually, I hoped it would convince reddit trolls to stay away from here
I'd like to take a moment to appreciate @mrjazzy and @does_not_compute's modding and leadership on Imzy. They are clearly on the ball when it comes to moderating /politics.
Giphy wins this thread
This whole medium rant is just the "You can't cut back on our free speech! You'l regret this!" image macro stretched out impossibly thin
Poor rich white tech bro :(
https://medium.com/@wilw/dear-privileged-white-condescending-tech-bro-12760cbc70c9#.3zuqznezp
lol you know their shit is weak when they're getting owned by Wesley Crusher
I really like Wil. He writes a lot of things worth reading.
He's one of the good ones
Good on you @greenie and @mrjazzy. Don't see why Trump supporters need so much defending. Are they on the ropes or something? Did they lose? Has there been a ban against them? Or some systematic oppression targeting them? I'm happy Imzy is letting this go the way it is, and that this comment thread is so darn rational.
Hearting responses in this post like
I have nothing constructive to add because other lovely people have already covered so many good points :)
I think you're missing something. /politics isn't an official Imzy page. It's a "personal" page run by the individuals who are leaders. The owners and leaders get to decide what is put on their community because it's their space. If it was an Imzy-own-and-run community it'd be a different story. But as long as it's a private community run privately by private individuals, I think they will get to decide what goes on there. Once community creation opens back up, I would suggest making your own community if you dislike the content on other communities.
I do think Imzy should consider making "official" comms where the Imzy staff chooses reliable leaders.
I understand how Imzy works, and I'm aware of how communities work. Both of these users are violating their own community rules as well as the community policy on Imzy and should be removed for doing so.
What is the point of having rules and community policy if they are not enforced?
To be entirely clear, I absolutely consider the leaders of /politics to be reliable and I support their decision if they considered this content to not belong there.
So you support @does_not_compute calling Trump supports Nazis, and condoning violence against them?
Why exactly are you so hung up on that point? No one called you specifically a Nazi (and honestly I highly doubt they were calling anyone Nazis, except, perhaps, you know, actual Nazis. Who do in fact deserve to be punched in the face.) Where is your leg to stand on for that particular offense? Did anyone call you a Nazi and condone violence against you? No.
Trent, I believe that you are (likely intentionally) misrepresenting what was said in that thread.
Unless you're considering disagreement to be violence.
I believe one of the leaders has removed several comments they made which is why I contacted support. They should be able to see the comments this person made and realize that this person did in fact violate their community policy, and should not be granted the privilege of being a community leader.
I assure you, the leader you refer to a few comments above did no such thing.
I really want to make fun of this guy's lack of understanding of how online social spaces work and his sense of entitlement, but I've got to run out the door. Just pretend I said clever things about frozen peaches and how Internet Random's incorrect idea of how the site runs is more valid than reality.
Trent, I have a serious question, and I would appreciate a serious answer. Please feel free to deviate from the subject, but only after you answer.
When you stir shit, do you use the same stick, or do you use a different stick each time, like getting a clean plate at a buffet? If it is the same stick, do you clean it between uses?
It's rather sad when grown adults decide to throw theyr figurative toys out the figurative pram because they think the entire world ought to agree with them.
*Grabs Popcorn*
Let the drama begin.
http://i.imgur.com/kGhIjsP.gif
...Today was the day I learned IMGUR no longer allows you to upload gifs, but instead, converts them to MP4.
RIP, Imgur.
You can still hack it by changing it to
.gifinstead of.gifv, though that might end badly if it's a super large gifv (which a lot of theirs are)No, it went direct to .mp4.
link to the URL?
munches popcorn
I despise Trump, always have my view on that orange twat can be summed up in one sentence; "There is nothing good about who he is or what he does"!
However, I am truly relieved that it is said "Orange Twat" that took residency in the White House, cause Hilary Clinton would have been 998% worse!
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, George Soros and every crooked banker under the sun would have moved in with her and worst still, she'd be taking orders directly from them. You really want someone in the White House who's in the pocket of the scumbags who fund Isis and about 85% of terrorist groups and attacks since the 1950s?
Are you serious with that conspiracy theory?
What "conspiracy theory"??? It's common knowledge that the Clinton's (Hilary in particular) have been taking money from those scumbags and nations for years. Watch 'Clinton Cash' or any of the other excellent documentaries on the subject, or read the hundreds of articles and books out there. Educate yourself
And Trump is squeaky clean and doing nothing that helps his crony friends while fucking over America....
(and I'm not American but the rest of the world is still affected by the president your country chooses and I can tell you that from the outside you guys made the worse decision possible)
Also that Clinton Cash book was written by a dude who definitely has ulterior motives and associations with some of the nastier people involved with Trump
[Content removed by community leader]
I don't appreciate you using the R slur.
Your comment said this ridiculous thing: "I am truly relieved that it is said "Orange Twat" that took residency in the White House, cause Hilary Clinton would have been 998% worse!"
And anyone who believes that is clearly reading some very out there conspiracy theories and doesn't live in the real world, and America's not that great dude.
I just want to be really clear here:
The leaders of /Politics made it a point to leave Imzy and go through my Medium account, find articles they disagreed with that had nothing to do with anything I had submitted to Imzy, and then posted and quoted these unrelated articles completely off-topic in an attempt to discredit and harass me because I disagreed with one of the leaders support of violence against Trump supporters (I'm not even a Trump supporter).
I really do not think it is appropriate for the leader of a community with over 7,988 people on the topic of “Politics” as a whole condoning violence against Trump supporters, and considers them to be actual members of the Nazi party. Both of the leaders in question are also members of an anti-Trump community, and are clearly pushing their anti-Trump agenda on /Politics.
In my opinion this is against Imzy’s community policy concerning harassment and malicious speech.
They also removed my next article without cause, censored me, and banned me.
Meanwhile, greenie an actual Imzy employee openly supports them because he agrees with their political agenda and refuses to enforce Imzy's community policies.
You were banned for the sake of the 7000+ other people on /politics so that they would not have to deal with you. It is obvious from your reactions here that the leaders of /politics made the right decision.
When someone kicks you out of the clubhouse, it is not a violation of your rights. You were never entitled to membership and access.
I didn't violate the rules. Nor did I support violence, or call anyone a name or label them.
The leaders absolutely violated the rules of their community, as a well Imzy's community policy. Obviously they're not going to enforce it because greenie is an anti-Trump supporter and condones supporting leaders who support violence against Trump supporters.
Ah, THE RULES
RULES
Be civil. Stay on topic. It's OK to disagree but bon't make it personal. Please refrain from flaming or name-calling. Keep content related to political discussion. Posts and links in English only.
POST REMINDER
Before you post ask yourself: is this a legitimate news source? breitbart.com, wnd.com, and infowars.com are banned. Don't be like them.
Well, you're certainly using personal attacks against the leaders of /politics in claiming:
And if you were linking to articles on Medium.com, that hardly counts as a legitimate news source.
I'm sure if you keep going you'll manage to break all of them, though.
dude how hard is it to understand nobody wants to read your bad takes
I have over 20,000 followers across my social media accounts, and some of my articles have as many as 9 million reads so obviously some people like to read what I have to say. I don't get this kind of backlash on any other site. Sometimes people don't upvote or read an article which is fine, but at least they don't ban me from submitting.
lol how much of your unearned startup money did you throw at social reach boosting services
be honest with me do you promote your own tweets
$0.
I do not pay for social media following. Nor do I get paid to write. That's cheating and defeats the purpose. My intention is to connect with actual people.
If you don't get this sort of backlash on all those other sites and get all those millions of views why are you so butthurt about a community of 8,000 users not being able to read your bloviating fanfic?
lol I know that the most valid opinions are the ones that come unsolicited from white techbros who can't get their pitches past an editor
Not a tech bro. What does my skin color have to do with anything?
Ah. You think all of social media is a megaphone on which you get to shout as much as you like. This restriction you are feeling is called editorial oversight. It's when someone else gets to veto your shouting because you're attempting to do it in their forum.
There is plenty of unmoderated Internet out there. Perhaps you should stay in your safe space.
I mean it has a lot to do with the overwhelming sense of entitlement you're visibly radiating, like a blonde mullet dipped in fluorescent paint.
That's pretty offensive and racist. Not cool.
what about my free speech though
do you think this is the most attention he's had in like a year
This is actually a good argument to lock this post down.
Yeah, censor the censorship! Brilliant.
I do not think this word means what you think it means. I'm suggesting we preserve it behind glass, you soggy onion.
Then you won't miss us when you leave.
Considering this, I can only assume that what is happening here is trolling. If he really does have all these followers elsewhere and other pulpits that are not restricted, then the only possible reason there could be to keep hammering at this is a self-righteous need to point and say, "Help, help! I'm being oppressed! Look at the hypocrites, everybody!"
There's really no point to all of this other than that. Really. If you have these 5 billion other people reading your stuff elsewhere, why does Imzy matter?
They harassed you by holding up the mirror of your own words.
Huh.
The only thing that seems actually a matter at hand is whether the leader said anything that falls under Malicious Speech, "However, these opinions cross the line into malicious speech when they specifically incite violence or hatred, or make people fear you will act against them in a violent manner. We reserve the right to remove anything overtly malicious."
Or possibly the Terrorism clause, "The support of terrorist groups, their propaganda, or recruiting efforts on Imzy is prohibited. We encourage political discourse and a wide breadth of opinions, but not the use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims."
That's it. They can ban you all they want from their community for any reason they want, even if it violates their own community rules.
It wasn't a mirror of my own words. They completely made up false claims about me, and stated I said things I didn't, and quoted me out of context.