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Message: <blockquote data-quote="ReshiIRE" data-source="post: 8946952" data-attributes="member: 7031231">Disclaimer: I support the petition and generally think moves like this, when they generate productive discussion and action, are good.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">A petition like this isn't censorship even if it was calling to completely remove the original product</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">People, especially random people, asking a private organisation to change parts of a work they did is not censorship</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Censorship is in the vast majority of cases done by governments or extremely large organisations that have government like abilities</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Calling this petition an attempt at censorship is deeply harmful, and that people's reactions to this are part of a large problem on the internet where people take freedom of expression to an absurd degree (as in, argument from absurdity). Criticising something and saying "this should be changed or commented on because it does real world harm" is denounced as censorship. It feels like an automatic "I win" button in an argument - because no one wants to be accused of censorship - regardless of what exactly is being proposed or what the content in question is</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Following on from this point, it minimises actual censorship in the real world by casting such a wide net that actual attempts at censorship start to appear less abhorrent or abnormal as many, many other things are called 'censorship' when their effects are much smaller </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">So much of the issue with people's reaction to this is how power is portrayed. This petition and discussion has been made out to be this grossly dangerously powerful thing that if enacted would cause untold damage. Despite the fact that even were this petition quite popular, it can only succeed with the consent of WoTC - the current publisher - themselves. It's more than likely this petition will never be enacted and unlikely to ever appear on WoTC's radar. Though... discussing it and being so hostile to it has somewhat increased the chance it would have power</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Accusations of thoughtcrime again appear to act as a 'I win this discussion' button and are ironically a way of attempting to silence another's complaints by dismissing their criticism and suggestions as some sort of awful action</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">In general - freedom of expression has often been twisted online to become this gross thing where criticising someone for their awful thing and suggesting they fix it, and fix their works, becomes this act of gross evil - when criticising someone's work is the most important aspect of freedom of expression</li> </ul></blockquote>

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