What Does Freedom of Speech Mean? | The Coffeehouse

SecretSoftware
Code to live, but Live to code.

What does it mean?

Smiley

eagle

It means the King won't cut you head off for expressing your opinion.

Dr Herbie
Horses for courses

See the wikipedia entry Wink

Herbie

SecretSoftware
Code to live, but Live to code.

Is Freedom Of Speech being curtailed in the US?

Dharma Punk

SecretSoftware wrote:
What does it mean?

It means being able to express your opinion freely within certain parameters (no hate speech, no shouting "Fire!" in a crowded movie theater).

SecretSoftware wrote:
Is Freedom Of Speech being curtailed in the US?

Yes. Many universities have free speech zones and at the last Democratic National Convention, there was an area set aside for protests. Coupled with children not fully appreciating the first amendment and you have a recipe for disaster.

SecretSoftware
Code to live, but Live to code.

Dharma Punk wrote:

SecretSoftware wrote:What does it mean?

It means being able to express your opinion freely within certain parameters (no hate speech, no shouting "Fire!" in a crowded movie theater).

SecretSoftware wrote: Is Freedom Of Speech being curtailed in the US?

Yes. Many universities have free speech zones and at the last Democratic National Convention, there was an area set aside for protests. Coupled with children not fully appreciating the first amendment and you have a recipe for disaster.

Yes. I lament the loss of Freedom of Speech in Universities. I wonder why this has happened.

We went from the country that protected people's rights to say what ever they want, in politics, thoughts, anything, to one that curtails it.

Hell, people are being teasered for asking simple questions.

Why did it happen? Sad

Why do people tolerate such a loss?

ScanIAm
On a scale of 1 to 10, people are stupid.

creditcard wrote:

Dharma Punk wrote:

SecretSoftware wrote: What does it mean?

It means being able to express your opinion freely within certain parameters (no hate speech, no shouting "Fire!" in a crowded movie theater).

Hate speech is expressively permitted in the USA, that's why the KKK/Stormfront/Nation of Islam/Dick Chaney are allowed to exist.
One of the most important things about freedom of speech is it protests what can be interpreted as offensive speech. Because what is offensive tends to change generation through generation. Shouting "Fire!" is a legal grey area, and really depends on the situation. Misleading people in certain situtions can be constructed as fraud, even though misleading is often done with speech. The idea is if something is highly subjective, like this is "offensive", or "immoral", or what not, that the government ought to not define these things for everyone.

Dharma Punk wrote:

SecretSoftware wrote: Is Freedom Of Speech being curtailed in the US?

Yes. Many universities have free speech zones and at the last Democratic National Convention, there was an area set aside for protests. Coupled with children not fully appreciating the first amendment and you have a recipe for disaster.

Freedom of speech is in danger, especially because of "children not fully appreciating the first amendment". Unfortunately there are a lot of powerful people in our country who wish to transform it to a totalitarian state, and in this effort it's best to downplay the importance of freedom.

I like a good bit of paranoia as much as the next guy, but it sounds like you and SecretSoftware should get together and knit a few tinfoil hats.

A university is not a public place, so they are well within their rights to curtail any activity they wish. Your right to free speech means you get to spout your idiotic beliefs in public, but you don't get to come onto my property and do it. Further, your right to speak cannot infringe on my rights. So you don't get to form a protest, willy-nilly in the middle of a busy intersection, and if you decide to act like an a$$ at a speaking engagement, you'll probably get tased, bro.

Christ, you both make me sick.

TimP

Most internet armchair "politicians" (aka slacktivists) seem to think that free speech means they can say whatever they want, wherever they want, whenever they want and that anyone who tries to stop them is trampling their Constitutional rights. Perplexed

I think a lot of people who complain about their Freedom of Speech being curtailed (i.e. getting banned from a forum for posting something inflammatory) never understood it in the first place.

PaoloM
Hypermediocrity

TimP wrote:
I think a lot of people who complain about their Freedom of Speech being curtailed (i.e. getting banned from a forum for posting something inflammatory) never understood it in the first place.

+++++++

Cybermagellan
Live for nothing, or die for everything

I always like to think of something my mom said as I was growing up...

"Your freedom of speech also gives you the responsibility for the consequences of what is said"

JohnAskew
9 girl in pink sweater

SecretSoftware wrote:
What does it mean?

It means don't say it. :O

Dodo
I'm your creativity creator™ :)

JohnAskew wrote:

SecretSoftware wrote: What does it mean?

It means don't say it.

Great power comes with great responsibility. Think first, then talk. Wink

Dodo
I'm your creativity creator™ :)

blehbleh wrote:

   If liberty means anything at all,
   it means the right to tell people
   what they do not want to hear.
   - George Orwell

True, but think about it Wink

Assuming you're telling me awful words I might either consider using violence or initiate a law suite, depending on who you are. [6]

Minh
WOOH! WOOH!

Dodo wrote:

Great power comes with great responsibility. Think first, then talk.

Spiderman wrote our constitution? Smiley

PaoloM
Hypermediocrity

blehbleh wrote:

   If liberty means anything at all,
   it means the right to tell people
   what they do not want to hear.
   - George Orwell

Yes. In your home. Or a public place. Channel 9 is neither of those.

Dodo
I'm your creativity creator™ :)

Minh wrote:

Dodo wrote: Great power comes with great responsibility. Think first, then talk.
Spiderman wrote our constitution?

Err... no... but... Uncle Ben Big Smile

Minh
WOOH! WOOH!

Dodo wrote:

Minh wrote:

Dodo wrote: Great power comes with great responsibility. Think first, then talk.
Spiderman wrote our constitution?
Err... no... but... Uncle Ben

Well, actually, uncle Ben was killed in The Amazing Spiderman Issue # 001 and so Peter Parker a.k.a. "The Amazing Spiderman" that carried on the saying. Ergo, he must've involved in a time-displacement incident in a future issue & went back to write the constitution.

It's so obvious!

Dodo
I'm your creativity creator™ :)

mmmkay, if you say so...

W3bbo
The Master of Baiters

Minh wrote:

Dodo wrote:
Minh wrote:

Dodo wrote: Great power comes with great responsibility. Think first, then talk.
Spiderman wrote our constitution?
Err... no... but... Uncle Ben

Well, actually, uncle Ben was killed in The Amazing Spiderman Issue # 001 and so Peter Parker a.k.a. "The Amazing Spiderman" that carried on the saying. Ergo, he must've involved in a time-displacement incident in a future issue & went back to write the constitution.

It's so obvious!

He may be dead, but he sure knows how to make good rice.

Dodo
I'm your creativity creator™ :)

W3bbo wrote:
He may be dead, but he sure knows how to make good rice.

That's because he went the Buddha way, became a Buddha and now makes rice in heaven for us earth people to eat.
Talking about buddism... sometimes freedom of speech should be restricted a bit by conservative rules (not too strict of course), maybe?

Cybermagellan
Live for nothing, or die for everything

W3bbo wrote:

He may be dead, but he sure knows how to make good rice.

And Score PLENTY of Touchdowns....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Roethlisberger

SecretSoftware
Code to live, but Live to code.

PaoloM wrote:
Yes. In your home. Or a public place. Channel 9 is neither of those.

If Channel9 was not a public place then what is Channel9?

IF MS wanted C9 not to be a public place , then why do they allow people to use it who are not inside MS?

Get a clue plz.

evildictaitor
if( !succeed( try() ) ) { while(true) try(); }

SecretSoftware wrote:

PaoloM wrote:
Yes. In your home. Or a public place. Channel 9 is neither of those.
If Channel9 was not a public place then what is Channel9?

IF MS wanted C9 not to be a public place , then why do they allow people to use it who are not inside MS?

Get a clue plz.

It's public and it lets people chat and talk about things, but it is primarilly a site with technical videos from Microsoft, rather than a free-for-all forum.

TimP

SecretSoftware wrote:

PaoloM wrote:
Yes. In your home. Or a public place. Channel 9 is neither of those.
If Channel9 was not a public place then what is Channel9?

IF MS wanted C9 not to be a public place , then why do they allow people to use it who are not inside MS?

Get a clue plz.

Think of it as a host letting you visit their house. You're free to do what you want, for the most part, but you play by their rules, not yours.

PaoloM
Hypermediocrity

SecretSoftware wrote:

PaoloM wrote:
Yes. In your home. Or a public place. Channel 9 is neither of those.
If Channel9 was not a public place then what is Channel9?

It's a forum completely owned and maintained by Microsoft Corp. It's Microsoft's property. It's not the State Of Washington or the federal goverment property.

SecretSoftware wrote:
IF MS wanted C9 not to be a public place , then why do they allow people to use it who are not inside MS?

There is a subtle difference between "open to the public" and "being of public property".

SecretSoftware wrote:
Get a clue plz.

I used to own a couple of big gaming/tech forums in the late 90s. Probably the size of Channel 9 in terms of traffic and users, so I am intimately familiar with all the legal aspects of running a bulletin board, and that's why I can speak authoritatively about this.

I could sell clues by the bucketz.