[monkeydreams]

> In the future I suspect cancelling will be illegal: the same way vigilante justice is illegal now.

Will it be illegal at the point of expressing an opinion online?

Will it be illegal at the point of agreeing or liking an opinion expressed online?

Will it be illegal at the point where one is purchasing a product or service and determines where their money will go based on an opinion they hold?

People are allowed to have, express and hold opinion. They are allowed to make decisions based on these opinions.

> Additionally, one would think cancelling should fall under libel and slander laws, and the accused would be able to go after the instigators.

Good news! These laws exist.

> It's uncomfortable when it's "your side" that finds it's goals at odds with human rights, but in the end we're all better off with defending basic human rights.

When "your side" starts advocating that people should not have, hold or act on opinions, you might start wondering who you're on side with.

[rolandog]

Well, I recently was permanently suspended on Reddit, but I've been unable to determine why (also, no previous announcement).

I haven't been permanently banned from any subreddit (no message in my 14 year old history indicated this)... but I've been unable to get any human to tell me what exactly I did was against the Reddit Content Policy.

The curious thing for me was that my alt account (the one I use to try to have some semblance of free speech) was also permanently suspended.

This, to me, felt like I may have been censored in some way (though I really don't know the motive; maybe I was too outspoken against an oppressive government?).

It certainly has had a chilling effect on my online activity.

[monkeydreams]

> Well, I recently was permanently suspended on Reddit, but I've been unable to determine why (also, no previous announcement).

> The curious thing for me was that my alt account (the one I use to try to have some semblance of free speech) was also permanently suspended.

That sucks, especially as there are few ways to appeal these bans.

Perhaps you were banned for upvoting your own content from another account? This will result in a ban for both accounts. If not, it could be a number of other reasons that have nothing to do with cancellation or governmental criticism.

[rolandog]

> Perhaps you were banned for upvoting your own content from another account? This will result in a ban for both accounts. If not, it could be a number of other reasons that have nothing to do with cancellation or governmental criticism.

To be quite honest, there used to be a time in my life where I would've cared about getting up voted and having a popular opinion, but I don't think I've cared enough to cheat the system.

Nowadays, I tried to discern what is or isn't propaganda and I sometimes commented on days-old threads.

[Zuider]

Reddit has introduced a policy where you can be banned merely for upvoting an offending opinion. You may have fallen foul of that.

[rolandog]

Oh man, this could have been my case... I have sometimes accidentally up or down voted links or comments (switching hands to hold the phone, for example).

Now that I think about it, one of the last things I had upvoted was a comment that advocated for peace between the Israeli and Palestinian sides.

I wanted to reply, but I thought that my opinion would not be taken seriously if I used my alt account, so I switched to my real account to write a thoughtful comment.

I started writing it, then I saved it as a draft and decided to go to sleep and think things over so I wouldn't write something offensive, then I tried posting (on the 'RIF' app) and it kept failing to post. That's when, after logging in online, I realized I had been permanently banned.

[commandlinefan]

It’s a shame that every Reddit alternative (like voat and now ruqqus) turns into such a cesspool. I wish there was something like the Reddit of 10 years ago.

[monkeydreams]

I am with you on that one but I think it is the product of the times and situation we live in.

No one can agree on what constitutes free speech, everyone feels that they are the ones under attack (on the Right and the Left and the Centrists). No one can concede ground, everyone holds that they are absolutely correct in every case. So they leave for more tolerant grounds (i.e. where people agree with them and their sense of persecution), where people respect their right to speech, form a mob, then strike back against their perceived enemies.

And then there is the brigading, which everyone thinks is the fault of the 'other' side and endemic to the 'other side's' thinking.

[rolandog]

You're totally right.

It's like there are multitude Battlefields on a War of Opinion & Truth.

In my case I may have compared 1 year ago a certain world leader that was sending minority demographic to specialized facilities to a Disney character.

Though it certainly took quite a while for me to be labeled and permanently suspended.

I don't know why my alt account would be banned as well, though.

[rolandog]

Indeed. I've been trying to find or come up with solutions that don't jeopardize personal safety (think journalists, or citizens living under an authoritarian regime) but that also allow freedom of speech (but not democracy of truth, because then you get a fertile ground for propaganda and a rift in communities).

[Zuider]

On the small reddit clones, the far-right takes on the same role as the far left does on reddit. The Daily Stormtrooper gang, who comprise at most 10 people, will flood those sites with relentless racist material and will attack and deplatform anyone who complains or dissents.

[donjon20on]

My account also got suspended on Saturday. I have no alt account. I have no questionable posts whatsoever. Very confused. Said if was due to multiple content violations without any citation to which post it pertained to, and no previous warnings in over a decade of activity. I am very confused, to say the least. I don't even think I've used a swear word before on Reddit.

[webmobdev]

Every sub-reddit is supposed to be an echo chamber for or against a topic, and if you participate in a sub-reddit, you are expected to echo the majoritarian views of that sub-reddit. Or else start your own sub-reddit that propagate your views.

Possible reasons for a Reddit ban include trying to post to a sub-reddit that has suspended or banned you using another account, doxing / harassment or vote manipulation / brigading.

[ghusbands]

From what you're saying, it's likely that you did/said something 'questionable' on your alt account and Reddit banned all of your accounts that they could identify. Having an alt account doesn't prevent you as a person being held responsible for what you do/say.

[Zuider]

>Will it be illegal at the point where one is purchasing a product or service and determines where their money will go based on an opinion they hold?

But we are not talking of a personal choice to boycott, or even to persuade others to boycott. That action is passive in nature and falls entirely within an individuals liberty to withdraw consent.

Cancel culture involves aggressive mobs that will use covert and unethical means such as targeting a company's advertisers, clients and suppliers, or relentlessly harassing the HR department in order to induce them to fire somebody.

As the OP in this thread noted, this is comparable to vigilantism.

>Good news! These laws exist.

Libel laws are hard to use against anonymous callers and letter writers calling you a 'Nazi.' It is most unlikely that the recipient of such a call will be persuaded you are a literal Nazi, but they will be influenced and intimidated by the strong hostility and disapproval expressed. It would be hard to prove in court that you had actually been libeled, even if you could bring that person to court, but you will still have been damaged.

>When "your side" starts advocating that people should not have, hold or act on opinions, you might start wondering who you're on side with.

But cancel culture is intolerant of other's right to freedom of conscience, and it goes beyond mere disapproval to active personal destruction.