Another article about censorship
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by Bobady zoo
If we look at the history of South Africa, there is one piece of history that often jumps to the mind of many. That is the policy of apartheid implemented by the white minority government during part of the 20th century. Censorship was very much part of the policy; people were not allowed to criticize the government of release information that could have weakened the government. Newspapers were checked in order to ensure that the information being distributed was what the government wanted to be released.
For the above mentioned reason, freedom of speech is considered vital and precious to many South Africans, something many will fight to ensure it stays. Freedom of Speech and its limits are often a hotly debated topic. Recent actions by the South African government to infringe on almost absolute freedom of speech received a major uproar. We love our freedom of speech.
So I scroll down to see the latest articles out and I notice a series of articles headlined “Admin” that I had read earlier, had been deleted. I then searched for the names of the authors only to see that they had been temporarily banned. Now this is not something new to the erepublik world; it was something that was heavily protested against until the administrators relaxed their censorship, but clearly it is back in full swing.
According to article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human rights “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. “ Each and every person has the right to freedom of speech, the right to express their own opinions. Sadly however this right is often interfered with.
This is a case, in the world of erepublik, where that very right was infringed upon. Those who wrote the articles had every right to criticize the admins, the same way that we can criticize our governments. If I am not pleased with changes, I will make my voice heard; I have that right. But sadly censorship will rear its ugly head.
Censorship is often a propaganda technique; often used to hide the truth so people remain ignorant. I, and many others, will not let this continue and will continue fighting to preserve freedom of speech. Many people have lost their lives fighting for freedom of speech; the least we can do is refuse to accept this censorship. We will not be silenced!
I may get a temp ban for this but I don’t really care. Freedom of Speech is a right we must continue to fight to preserve. Any case of censorship must be met with an uproar all over the eWorld, showing that we will not accept it. I demand that we be granted this most basic right. I will speak my mind, as will all those who cherish freedom of speech.
AMANDLA
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Voted
just a note, admins != game moderators. It's game mods who 'mod' the media and impose FPs on things like spam, public debates, etc.
but its not the game moderators who enact the laws according to which they have to punish "public debates"
and as i have already said on the erep forum:
stop the censorship
i mean what is the point of having a game that is based on democracy but when it comes to criticism of admins plato turns into kim jong il.
and what is the point anyways when a large part of the game´s communication actually takes place outside of the erepublik website on irc and the national forums or criticism "goes underground".
criticism will always find its way,by forbidding it you only make it worse and this "players vs admins" attitude that is so typical for this game will continue to grow
I am appalled that such activeties have actually occurred in my absences.
There is not censorship in erepublik.You just have to buy some gold and then you can write whatever you like 😛
I forgot that, zamrg. Still doesn't take away from my point though. GM's just follow what they are instructed to do by the admins.
well said
Voted
xoxo
A number of people had been tempbanned already here for criticizing a buggy game with complete idiots as admins.
yup, this censorship crap is ridicules.
Actually, you have to remember WE are playing THEIR game. If admin/mods decide tomorrow that all articles have to praise them, it's their right (It would be a stupid move, but we have no say in it). If you have a problem, leave the game, and let your displeasure be known with your mouse/wallet/whatever.
I admit most of the changes over the past few months have been poorly thought out, and they're slowly killing the game for many, but again, it's not OUR game.
As for claiming infringement of 'article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human rights', it's utter bullcrap. Refer to my first paragraph for reasons. If you can't complain here, go ahead and do it in social media, on gaming websites, in your local traditional media, whatever. Until the admins/moderators prevent you from doing that, you can't cry foul.
Think of this game as a newspaper, or TV channel, or radio station, or whatever. The moderators are content managers, and they have the final say in what appears and doesn't appear. If you disagree, then leave the game, or at the very least stop feeding the owners money until they either shut this game down, or start listening to us.
That is their attitude Lazer, and that is why the game has halved in size in recent times. You can apply your attitude to any situation. Should a government be allowed to restrict media criticising their country or their administration. Should BBC and CNN be blocked from reporting on South Africa because it is not their country? That seems to be your attitude. Is banning all foreign media in a place like Egypt during the revolution acceptable because, I mean it is his ( at the time Mubarak) his coutnry which he administered, it wasn't any of the CNN's journalist's country so by your logic is was entirely justifiable. Yes, these are extreme examples but the point still stands.
Your third paragraph makes about as much sense as a tiger playing ice hockey. It was honestly the stupidest thing I have ever seen you right.
You could also compare this game to a dictatorship which suppresses people's right to freedom of speech. You can attach whatever analogy you want in order to suit your argument.