{"id":3745,"date":"2013-12-11T17:30:32","date_gmt":"2013-12-11T12:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/?p=3745"},"modified":"2013-12-11T18:29:26","modified_gmt":"2013-12-11T12:59:26","slug":"freedom-of-expression-of-course-i-can-block-you-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/2013\/rights-and-freedoms\/freedom-of-expression-of-course-i-can-block-you-out.html\/","title":{"rendered":"Freedom of Expression – Of Course I can Block you Out"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’ve been fighting for years on this blog for the right to true freedom of expression in India. Despite many who claim to support it, I find that it’s still a misunderstood concept with people usually swinging to one extreme or the other.<\/p>\n

Recently I’ve been called up by those who claim that my moderation of comments and blocking out<\/a> those who I feel are spoiling the discussion is “censorship”. While no one has a problem with filtering out spam, they feel that someone who supports freedom of speech should always allow people to express anything they want – or be a hypocrite.<\/p>\n

This is clearly a misunderstanding of Freedom of Expression. And it arises because some individuals don’t properly comprehend that property rights are even more important. A blog for example, is the personal property of the blog owner. It is their house and those commenting are guests. A publicly accessible blog is like a home with its door open. Anyone can walk in, take a look at the interiors, and talk to those inside. But the owner will almost certainly evict you if you start behaving in a way they disapprove of. Whether it’s breaking stuff, or creating a nuisance of yourself. It’s their property and the owner has every right to kick anyone out of their place.<\/p>\n

A blog for example, is the personal property of the blog owner. It is their house and those commenting are guests.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

They cannot however, stop the person from doing whatever they want in their own house<\/em>. As a blog owner, if I were to try and prevent someone from saying whatever they want on their website or social network,\u00a0that<\/em> would be censorship.\u00a0That<\/em> is what I am against. I’m against the involvement of the government<\/em> in matters related to free speech. Private individuals and even corporations are perfectly at liberty to ban or block people from their networks.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

So to clear this up once and for all, blog moderation is\u00a0not<\/em> censorship. The essence of free speech is that people can say whatever they want and other have the equal right to ignore them for whatever reason. By banning or blocking comments or even people, a blog owner is making the choice to not expose him or his audience on his personal property to a certain kind of material. The banned person has every right to post his or her comment on their own blog or create content on any number of free social networks. Or write a book, a letter to the editor, or whatever. In today’s world, content publishing has been democratized and it’s not as if there is a dearth of outlets for people to speak.<\/p>\n

So when I ban someone or block a comment on my blog, that is because I either want to keep the discussion on track or want to maintain a certain atmosphere of discussion. I’ve used this option only a handful of times, but I will continue to moderate comments that are not a good fit.<\/p>\n

And that’s not censorship.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Moderation of blog comments doesn’t qualify as censorship. Nor does refusing to interact with people or comments you don’t like for whatever reason.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-rights-and-freedoms"],"yoast_head":"\nFreedom of Expression - Of Course I can Block you Out<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Moderation of blog comments doesn't qualify as censorship. Nor does refusing to interact with people or comments you don't like for whatever reason.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/2013\/rights-and-freedoms\/freedom-of-expression-of-course-i-can-block-you-out.html\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Freedom of Expression - Of Course I can Block you Out\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Moderation of blog comments doesn't qualify as censorship. Nor does refusing to interact with people or comments you don't like for whatever reason.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/2013\/rights-and-freedoms\/freedom-of-expression-of-course-i-can-block-you-out.html\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Expressions - Bhagwad Jal Park\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-12-11T12:00:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2013-12-11T12:59:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"bhagwad\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@bhagwad\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@bhagwad\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"bhagwad\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bhagwad.com\\\/blog\\\/2013\\\/rights-and-freedoms\\\/freedom-of-expression-of-course-i-can-block-you-out.html\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bhagwad.com\\\/blog\\\/2013\\\/rights-and-freedoms\\\/freedom-of-expression-of-course-i-can-block-you-out.html\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"bhagwad\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bhagwad.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/06c9c710885b810f1dfe3779fc346b23\"},\"headline\":\"Freedom of Expression – Of Course I can Block you Out\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-12-11T12:00:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-12-11T12:59:26+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bhagwad.com\\\/blog\\\/2013\\\/rights-and-freedoms\\\/freedom-of-expression-of-course-i-can-block-you-out.html\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":531,\"commentCount\":26,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bhagwad.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/06c9c710885b810f1dfe3779fc346b23\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Rights and Freedoms\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bhagwad.com\\\/blog\\\/2013\\\/rights-and-freedoms\\\/freedom-of-expression-of-course-i-can-block-you-out.html\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bhagwad.com\\\/blog\\\/2013\\\/rights-and-freedoms\\\/freedom-of-expression-of-course-i-can-block-you-out.html\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bhagwad.com\\\/blog\\\/2013\\\/rights-and-freedoms\\\/freedom-of-expression-of-course-i-can-block-you-out.html\\\/\",\"name\":\"Freedom of Expression - Of Course I can Block you Out\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bhagwad.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-12-11T12:00:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-12-11T12:59:26+00:00\",\"description\":\"Moderation of blog comments doesn't qualify as censorship. Nor does refusing to interact with people or comments you don't like for whatever reason.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bhagwad.com\\\/blog\\\/2013\\\/rights-and-freedoms\\\/freedom-of-expression-of-course-i-can-block-you-out.html\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bhagwad.com\\\/blog\\\/2013\\\/rights-and-freedoms\\\/freedom-of-expression-of-course-i-can-block-you-out.html\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bhagwad.com\\\/blog\\\/2013\\\/rights-and-freedoms\\\/freedom-of-expression-of-course-i-can-block-you-out.html\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bhagwad.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Freedom of Expression – Of Course I can Block you Out\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bhagwad.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bhagwad.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Expressions - Bhagwad Jal Park\",\"description\":\"My thoughts, haikus and freelance musings\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bhagwad.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/06c9c710885b810f1dfe3779fc346b23\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bhagwad.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bhagwad.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/06c9c710885b810f1dfe3779fc346b23\",\"name\":\"bhagwad\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bhagwad.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/litespeed\\\/avatar\\\/7940f38fc479ebe739ec963b542bf098.jpg?ver=1782319388\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bhagwad.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/litespeed\\\/avatar\\\/7940f38fc479ebe739ec963b542bf098.jpg?ver=1782319388\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bhagwad.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/litespeed\\\/avatar\\\/7940f38fc479ebe739ec963b542bf098.jpg?ver=1782319388\",\"caption\":\"bhagwad\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.bhagwad.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/litespeed\\\/avatar\\\/7940f38fc479ebe739ec963b542bf098.jpg?ver=1782319388\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.bhagwad.com\\\/blog\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Freedom of Expression - Of Course I can Block you Out","description":"Moderation of blog comments doesn't qualify as censorship. Nor does refusing to interact with people or comments you don't like for whatever reason.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/2013\/rights-and-freedoms\/freedom-of-expression-of-course-i-can-block-you-out.html\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Freedom of Expression - Of Course I can Block you Out","og_description":"Moderation of blog comments doesn't qualify as censorship. Nor does refusing to interact with people or comments you don't like for whatever reason.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/2013\/rights-and-freedoms\/freedom-of-expression-of-course-i-can-block-you-out.html\/","og_site_name":"Expressions - Bhagwad Jal Park","article_published_time":"2013-12-11T12:00:32+00:00","article_modified_time":"2013-12-11T12:59:26+00:00","author":"bhagwad","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@bhagwad","twitter_site":"@bhagwad","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"bhagwad","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/2013\/rights-and-freedoms\/freedom-of-expression-of-course-i-can-block-you-out.html\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/2013\/rights-and-freedoms\/freedom-of-expression-of-course-i-can-block-you-out.html\/"},"author":{"name":"bhagwad","@id":"https:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/06c9c710885b810f1dfe3779fc346b23"},"headline":"Freedom of Expression – Of Course I can Block you Out","datePublished":"2013-12-11T12:00:32+00:00","dateModified":"2013-12-11T12:59:26+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/2013\/rights-and-freedoms\/freedom-of-expression-of-course-i-can-block-you-out.html\/"},"wordCount":531,"commentCount":26,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/06c9c710885b810f1dfe3779fc346b23"},"articleSection":["Rights and Freedoms"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/2013\/rights-and-freedoms\/freedom-of-expression-of-course-i-can-block-you-out.html\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/2013\/rights-and-freedoms\/freedom-of-expression-of-course-i-can-block-you-out.html\/","url":"https:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/2013\/rights-and-freedoms\/freedom-of-expression-of-course-i-can-block-you-out.html\/","name":"Freedom of Expression - Of Course I can Block you Out","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2013-12-11T12:00:32+00:00","dateModified":"2013-12-11T12:59:26+00:00","description":"Moderation of blog comments doesn't qualify as censorship. Nor does refusing to interact with people or comments you don't like for whatever reason.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/2013\/rights-and-freedoms\/freedom-of-expression-of-course-i-can-block-you-out.html\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/2013\/rights-and-freedoms\/freedom-of-expression-of-course-i-can-block-you-out.html\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/2013\/rights-and-freedoms\/freedom-of-expression-of-course-i-can-block-you-out.html\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Freedom of Expression – Of Course I can Block you Out"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/","name":"Expressions - Bhagwad Jal Park","description":"My thoughts, haikus and freelance musings","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/06c9c710885b810f1dfe3779fc346b23"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/06c9c710885b810f1dfe3779fc346b23","name":"bhagwad","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/wp-content\/litespeed\/avatar\/7940f38fc479ebe739ec963b542bf098.jpg?ver=1782319388","url":"https:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/wp-content\/litespeed\/avatar\/7940f38fc479ebe739ec963b542bf098.jpg?ver=1782319388","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/wp-content\/litespeed\/avatar\/7940f38fc479ebe739ec963b542bf098.jpg?ver=1782319388","caption":"bhagwad"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/wp-content\/litespeed\/avatar\/7940f38fc479ebe739ec963b542bf098.jpg?ver=1782319388"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3745"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3745\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bhagwad.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}