civility and respect for others can sometimes be achieved by keeping quiet,,giving others time and space to take part and develop their own online personality,, there are contributors on here who simply want to dominate each and EVERY thread,, we were asked,, that's my 5 cents,, p'haps 3 cents more than what's comfortable for some......clearly so by the downvotes.

good luck,

or perhaps they strongly disagree with your arguement

Oh, just stay relevant to the topic, don't worry about or attack personalities of posters and stay off the topics about which you have nothing to say. Chat with your friends somewhere else.

If we'd do this, gokunming wouldn't have to worry about censoring anything except what might get them in trouble.
Downthumb posts that don't conform to the above.
That's enough rules.

At least half of my posts are arguably diarrhea. So it might be hypocritical of me to argue in favour of censorship ... but if people are deliberately malicious, antagonizing, then ... I dunno ..

I think I agree mostly with aliennew, who is essentially a moderator of sorts by bringing some intelligence, calm and reason to even the most volatile topics.

Is the only issue censorship or is there also some envy and egos involved that other kids in the classroom are getting more attention?

@alienew

You said "I think that if you don't like the post then you don't have to respond. Why is that hard? ... nobody is being harmed here and nobody is being forced to participate."

I think this is obtuse. Threads like "Beware neo-Nazi pornography laowei" are in effect hostile propaganda against the expatriate community here, broadcast to all of our Chinese neighbors and colleagues who might happen to read this site. And if you think propaganda doesn't matter, try reading up on Michael Dukakis and Willie Horton (not to mention fascist demagogues, etc.).

You also wrote "Actually, I find it interesting and informative to try to figure out what MM's problem is, seeing that he & some similar people are in fact part of the environment we all have to deal with."

I appreciate your open-mindedness in many cases. But it's crucial to recognize when one is facing a bad actor and react accordingly. Analogy: pacifism can be effective in situations such as those faced by Gandhi & MLK, but it's suicidal when Attila the Hun is at your city gates.

How does this sound? "Actually, I find it interesting and informative to try to figure out what Attila's problem is, seeing that he & some similar people are in fact part of the environment we all have to deal with."

Good post.

But consider that if one human being expresses an opinion, then it’s possible that many other people out there also share the same opinions, but don’t dare vocalize it.

By suppressing it, you haven’t changed anyone’s opinion.

By allowing it to be expressed, there is a chance that it is brought to light and, assuming there are some intelligent people to respond to it, which there are on this forum, then it can actually be a good thing because other people reading who may have shared mms opinion may be swayed to see things, say, alienS way.

Yes, I generally agree. I am actually pretty much of a free speech absolutist in a Western setting, and your point is one of the main reasons why. The difference here as I see it is the local context.

'I think this is obtuse. Threads like "Beware neo-Nazi pornography laowei" are in effect hostile propaganda against the expatriate community here...' I happen to think that the poster is an expat, who was shut down for anti Chinese content. Not a Chinese national. If I am right then the purpose of posting was to continue antagonism on the site.

Separate point here. The word censorship is loaded and I believe that using it in this context clouds the issue.
A man walks into a bar, is antagonistic. He is told to either shut up or get out. He continues and is kicked out. Is that censorship? No.

In your example, I agree, tiger. But although words can be dangerous (shouting fire in a crowded theatre, etc.), using them in the 'risky business' (one gets modified, disproved, contradicted and may have to think again - this is all to the good, not a reason to take personal offense or to offend personally) of mutual reasoning is just about the only way we can deal with interpersonal and social and other problems without going to outright manipulation (simple example: lying - but the best lies are the ones that are created by leaving things out, not those that are mere falsehoods - e.g., advertising), and perhaps going on to physical force and violence (e.g.: war), which should always be a last-resort sort of thing. I think responding to MM was better than that - and also that it was pretty damn simple, did not require any of the shouting, which, I think, did not help the situation.
HereNow: I agree about propaganda - but it's everywhere, we're all subject to it, and it needs to be deconstructed and revealed. The propaganda that is really effective is the type one doesn't realize is propaganda (e.g.: a great deal in news media everywhere).
So it's necessary to get smart, and you can't do that very well just by staying in your own head.