Excellent posts all around (except for the disruptor). What some people call restrictions, we call laws in society and user agreements or terms of service online. What some people see as censorship is simply disallowing anarchical, disruptive, and anti-social behavior.
What's particularly humorous (or dismaying) in all of this is that YES there are boards and blogs out there which are less "restrictive," if you will, on what may or may not be posted or said, but they inevitably get shut down (copyright or obscenity/pedo prosecutions), hacked (by jaded members who, despite their license to flame and hurl verbal grenades on the board has still led them to a ban, so they're disgruntled), or sued in civil courts (again, copyright issues, pic posting at will, etc.) because they're NOT run by pros.
These less "restricted" boards are like schoolyard playgrounds where the courteous and well-intended kids play and the bullies (cowards in packs, or sometimes alone) come and spoil the fun because of their own, personal socialization issues & problems. It also could be compared to going to a bar full of mean, drunk, lonely old men who cannot handle their liquor and who just sit around insulting each other, falling deeper and deeper into drunken self-loathing, spewing foul-mouthed rudeness at each other, farting all over the place, and covering the floor with vomit and piss - it doesn't make for a pretty scene.
It's always the broken/weakest link which keeps the chain from functioning in a well-run machine. This board is run as well or better than any other board I have ever seen, and trust me, I've seen more than my fair share.
Pissing and moaning about censorship is moot here. As asianxxx mentioned above, I've said this dozens of times here and elsewhere - message boards ARE little dictatorships, and when you join them, you'd better read and adhere to the rules and terms of service of the boards; they're there for reasons. Your membership is contingent upon your agreement to abide by the board administrator's rules, as published, and as enforced by the administrator and moderation staff. It is as if a Dutch person were to go to England, walk into a pub, blaze up some hashish in the middle of the pub, and then whine and complain when arrested & prosecuted for possession of a controlled/illegal substance... "But where I come from, we're allowed to buy it, carry it, smoke it in designated places, and cops aren't allowed to search me on the street if they suspect I am carrying something." "This isn't The Netherlands," would be the police response, and the person would be prosecuted for breaking English law and then later deported.
It's not censorship - it's self-governance. If you don't like it, you're quite welcome to go elsewhere, or you will be removed.
It's really quite simple.
:2 cents:
