On 9/12/2026 at 7:49 AM, harvardgrad said:

Agree with all of that. Why is it not like that here? Trolls thrive and there is very few threads like this one. Why is that?

There are some people who give offence here. There are some people who take offence here. I'm neither. For me, it's all a question of your own attitude to it.

On 9/12/2026 at 7:21 AM, JerryM said:

There are many websites including the NY Times where you submit your comment and it is only posted subject to and after moderator approval.

Correct. By contrast this is a very open platform. Most news outlets let's have a pretty strong editorial agenda and they don't like posting things that oppose their agenda. Gone are the days of the relatively free press.

You are responsible for what you say and if it breaks laws then liable for the consequences!

while there has to be certain amount of freedom of speech there also has to be a limit that stops racism etc, trouble is the ones running the show can push their own political agendas stoping anyone from stating facts/the truth they dont like. Finding people that are neutral to run the show is near impossible these days, personally I dont trust anyone to do the job without having their own values take the front, instead they use their power as the one in charge to deny anyone else from saying anything they dont like or disagreeing with them. Freedom of speech is just not possible these days even in here.

Yes, but this site doesn't allow it.

4 hours ago, kingstonkid said:

Free speech online should be allowed, BUT there has to be one rule in place to make it real.

Everyone must use a real picture of themselves and use their real name. That I think would even the score and make it real. No hiding if you feel strongly then you should be willing to stand up and be counted.

That's obviously nonsensical. What happens if some lunatic then decides to abuse you in the street or you happen to enter their restaurant and they do something to your food? People would be more reluctant to express their real thoughts. What's the point of that?

I'll give you a real life example. When I ran businesses, if I ever mentioned the name of the business to anyone, then I wouldn't tell anyone that I had anything to do with it. That way you end up with a lot of 'friends' looking for favours.

If I did tell anyone that I ran businesses, then I wouldn't reveal the name. Not simply because of the concern of people asking for favours, but knowing people view you differently.

Tell someone that you are a billionaire (I am not) and their view of you changes instantly. I prefer a level playing field of you either like me or you do not. It's nice if you do, but I have to accept that some people won't. I certainly won't try to punish someone for not liking me. That's nuts.

That's why I don't ever introduce money as a factor into my relationships. It's skews everything.

Anonymity ensures a level playing field.

Even though know who some people are here, I won't use that against them, as that wouldn't be cricket.

An an old school Brit, that's how I prefer to play. Level playing field, no cheating.

Most people shouldn't have ANY say, online or offline, because they are just too plain dumb and/or uneducated.

3 hours ago, Mr Hands said:

That's obviously nonsensical. What happens if some lunatic then decides to abuse you in the street or you happen to enter their restaurant and they do something to your food? People would be more reluctant to express their real thoughts. What's the point of that?

I'll give you a real life example. When I ran businesses, if I ever mentioned the name of the business to anyone, then I wouldn't tell anyone that I had anything to do with it. That way you end up with a lot of 'friends' looking for favours.

If I did tell anyone that I ran businesses, then I wouldn't reveal the name. Not simply because of the concern of people asking for favours, but knowing people view you differently.

Tell someone that you are a billionaire (I am not) and their view of you changes instantly. I prefer a level playing field of you either like me or you do not. It's nice if you do, but I have to accept that some people won't. I certainly won't try to punish someone for not liking me. That's nuts.

That's why I don't ever introduce money as a factor into my relationships. It's skews everything.

Anonymity ensures a level playing field.

Even though know who some people are here, I won't use that against them, as that wouldn't be cricket.

An an old school Brit, that's how I prefer to play. Level playing field, no cheating.

The argument is valid. I would not tell anyone how rich I am or a lot about me, but then again, I would also not BS and troll because my name is there, same as those that protest about this or that and use the anonymity to make stupid, inane comments

On 9/12/2026 at 8:04 AM, harvardgrad said:

I am not a regular user here so when I come here for discussion I notice mostly others are not. There is not much critical thought here. Im not sure if thay has more to do with the setting everyone lives in or if its due to the environment of what discussion is allowed and what's not.

The nature of the internet is such that nobody can really be prevented from accessing a platform if they really wanted to access it. This makes it so there is no consequences for anything said here, so in my view you might as well just be laissez Faire and let it all hang out. Its not any worse than the most censored of platforms, which are all doing very poorly as of late. Many of which are obviously using fake accounts to fake engagement when successful platforms are removing the fake accounts because of the damage it causes

On 9/12/2026 at 8:04 AM, harvardgrad said:

I am not a regular user here so

Hmmmm.

429 posts in 51 days.

429/51 = 8 posts a day.

What would you consider a regular user?

On 9/11/2026 at 6:55 PM, harvardgrad said:

How much freedom online is the right amount? Do you think its possible to regulate the internet? How is it possible? Has social media bans for teens worked anywhere yet?

All this and more, have at it..

It's easy to regulate the internet. Start by forbidding usernames and allowing only posts under real first and last name.

That would clean very quickly the web.

Freedom of speech as decided by countrymen that arrest grandmas for posting memes on facebook….right.

10 hours ago, Patrick Wahle said:

It's easy to regulate the internet. Start by forbidding usernames and allowing only posts under real first and last name.

That would clean very quickly the web.

not really, you forget Thailand's anti-defamation laws..also those on here that could report you to immigration, simply for stating your views on Thailand. there are many reasons to cover your arse in Thailand.