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by varunom 3645 days ago
>>> The websites that have been blocked were based on an advisory by Anti Terrorism Squad, and were carrying Anti India content from ISIS.

This was the reason of block. No doubt blocking the whole site (especially if it's a platform/user curated content site) isn't intelligent response, but it only indicates incompetence (and not blanket ban on free speech) on behalf of some officials as many of them may still not have good understanding of how the latest web stuff works.
1 comments
scurvy 3643 days ago
That was the PR cover. In reality, it was a power grab by the Indian government. How do I know this? Because we repeatedly asked them for the list objectionable content. Chances are that it violated our ToS, and we would take it down without protest. Problem was, they never told us anything. There was no terrorist content. It was all a front. In the end, they wanted us to pledge fealty to India, and take down any content that they (Indian bureaucrats) found objectionable. We refused, and in the end, the hubbub was too much for them and they removed the blocks.

They wanted the ability to take down content that criticized the government, the PM, their government office, anything positive to Pakistan, etc. It was a power move to squash free speech, and they backed down. Terrorism was just a false flag.

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kartD 3643 days ago
Right, I doubt there's any conclusion that can be drawn from a single piece of anecdotal data, especially one that makes as significant leaps of logic as yours.
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scurvy 3643 days ago
Leap of logic? Howso? It's fact. I fail to see how a presentation of facts (one you might not like) ends up being a leap of logic.
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kartD 3643 days ago
I like how a single data point, now constitutes fact. All it shows is government high-handedness.

> In the end, they wanted us to pledge fealty to India, and take down any content that they (Indian bureaucrats) found objectionable. We refused, and in the end, the hubbub was too much for them and they removed the blocks.

Really, was this stated anywhere or did you just see this way?

> They wanted the ability to take down content that criticized the government, the PM, their government office, anything positive to Pakistan, etc. It was a power move to squash free speech, and they backed down. Terrorism was just a false flag.

Any evidence for this ? And are you sure you're attributing to malice what is likely incompetence. India banned GitHub for a couple of days

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scurvy 3643 days ago
Yes, their emails were pretty clear about what they wanted. They wanted exactly what I stated. Why is this so hard to believe? You say it's an anecdote and that's no good. What else are you looking for? Testimonials are pretty compelling for most people.

It seems your faith in the Indian government will never be changed, and that this has left the realm of facts and entered one of nationalism. Good day.

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kartD 3643 days ago
What faith have I displayed? I haven't defended their actions. I stated I feel it's incompetence rather than malice. My issue is using a single testimonial to come to an overall conclusion, which I'm sure you agree is incorrect.

You seem emotional, which I understand since it affected your website, but you should note I haven't displayed any nationalism.

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