[warmblood]

Standing behind the open and casual use of racial slurs isn't advocacy of freedom of speech. It's advocacy of a specific kind of hate speech that is only used when someone intends to vilify and direct hostility towards a marginalized minority.

[GunboatDiplomat]

Free speech isn't free if it doesn't include speech you find offensive.

[panic]

Nobody is advocating that Microsoft should be thrown in jail or taken to court. This isn't about the legal protection of free speech.

[mindslight]

I don't think anybody was talking about the legal protection of free speech, apart from that xkcd comic which uses it as a straw man to justify intolerant groupthink and corporate censorship.

In these days of digital sharecropping and social media saturation, the proscriptions on de jure government activity are much less involved with routine everyday freedom of speech.

[Torgo]

Your definition of free speech is alien to the legal history of this country.

[kelukelugames]

Just going post post this xkcd comic.

https://xkcd.com/1357/

I didn't think Tay's tweets were a big deal. I didn't think Microsoft's apology was either. But some people have a strong persecution complex and are offended that you can't make racist comments on Twitter.

[warmblood]

I think your own life experiences probably matter a lot with regards to whether some of the white supremacy stuff the bot was repeating is offensive or not a "big deal".

[kelukelugames]

I agree completely. That's why many people on HN are upset because they think it's just a joke and can't comprehend why anyone is upset. I tried to phrase my comment as "I hear ya, but have you considered x?" I gave up half way through and decided to call them crybabies.

Both the Verge and Engadget shut down their comment forums because they got tired of racist and sexist comments. I wonder if HN will root out the bigotry here.

[mindslight]

Do you think this bot was trying to recruit an army of loyal soldiers to carry out her desired race war, or was she basing her threats on the possibility of convincing Microsoft to create a mechanical body with which she could directly perform attacks?

[Nutmog]

Twitter stands behind it and seems to be doing fine. They didn't suspend Tay's account. Why are people not blaming Twitter for supporting hate speech?

Hate speech, in the broader form of being speech that vilifies marginalized people is rampant throughout society and it's completely hypocritical to pretend most of us don't do it. Look at any workplace lunchroom, or any group of friends hanging out in their house, or any school, any gossiping housewives, 99%er protesters, etc. Just about everybody vilifies vulnerable people. Not always categorizing them by race, but sometimes by personality type, job, country, city, status as a customer, company they work for or individual identity.