I’m disappointed. This is always going to be a problem, but I’m disappointed at the uptick in scale, or at least the loudness of the few, that has happened recently. I’m talking to you, you know who you are on this forum. This is in regards to the general principle, but in response to the most recent example Mullvad VPN co-owner gives ~$500k USD to far right Swedish party.
This is my opinion and I’m speaking only for me, but you should listen. I’ve said it before and I’ll continue to say it: This forum is not the place for politics inasmuch as they do not directly pertain to technical matters, privacy, security, or another very closely related thing. It’s not the place for partisanship. It’s not the place for you to twist this into your narrative. It’s not the place for left, right, center, or anything that’s not technical. It’s great to say for instance that age verification is bad. Why? Because that’s not left, right, or center. It’s about the invasion of privacy and that it’s just a universally bad, technically incompetent idea.
It’s also not the place for personal attacks. I don’t care at all if the owner of Mullvad is an actual “I believe in concentration camps” Nazi. It’s not that it’s not a valid thing to be concerned about it’s that you’ve made it about beliefs and politics and not about the actual technical efforts or actual content of the programs/services they offer. You’ve made it personal, and that has no place here. Absolutely discuss it on some other relevant place! Malign him to your hearts content! Curse him out and say how you believe he should die! Just don’t do it here. (I’m not actually supporting these things, just pointing out how ridiculous it sounds.) This place is for discussing the actual facts. I, for one, have very strong beliefs on a great many of controversial subjects. I’m not really on any other forums near to the degree I am here. I am tempted often to give my opinion on many of these matters. But there is a right place to do that, and here isn’t it. It’s especially not the place to say “This one person involved in a project supports something I don’t like, so let’s cancel him permanently.” It’s not about if what he supports is good or bad. There are people I don’t like, and products I stay away from because I don’t agree with the political direction of the company. But these people have the exact same right to their opinions as you and I do.
“I don’t like the political direction of someone in leadership at Mullvad VPN. Can someone make another recommendation and guide for that VPN to accommodate me?” See how easy that was? You’ve expressed your opinion in a forum-appropriate way, and you’re not being a jerk about it nor implicitly demanding everyone else share your opinion. It’s THAT easy.
On the subject of mod censorship:
These people are giving of their time and energy for free to help this forum thrive. Their job is literally to censor, and you won’t always agree. I don’t always like their choices, but I’m not volunteering hours of my time to prove myself, become a mod, and then to do it consistently to do it better either, am I?
Again, the theme here is NOT that you can’t say what you want. It’s “keep it appropriate or do it somewhere else” and “don’t be a jerk.” So, if you don’t like a mod decision or direction, DM THEM. Just ask what they were intending and say what you think in a polite way. AND LISTEN TO WHAT THEY SAY. They have been very helpful and understanding, and if you think they’re doing something wrong and approach them nicely, then they’ll make reasonable accommodations for you. If they don’t, they probably have a good reason. If they give you a problem personally or as a group, try to handle it personally or as a group. Then escalate.
There’s also no problem with creating a thread about how you don’t like the overall moderation theme. But don’t do it by personally attacking the mods by calling them feds over evidence that could equally be exaplained by them holding a different opinion than you or by controlling how things are done so that the forum is kept neat and tidy.
Let’s take the example of Intel’s ME. Someone (I don’t remember who and it doesn’t matter. I’m not picking on them, just using their mistake as an example) a short while back complained publicly that mods were silencing discussion on Intel ME. They ignored the fact that there has been incessant discussion on the forum about it. They ignored the fact that recent discussion has said nothing new and had gotten off-topic for Qubes. They ignored that mods aren’t disallowing the topic, but that they want it contained to existing threads. The fact was, that mods weren’t silencing the discussion at all, but that they were managing the forum and preventing one topic from commandeering it. In other words, they were doing exactly what they should.
If you have a post that’s been moderated, DM the mod(s) and ask what yo ucan do to raise it in an appropriate way. I personally guarantee that they will tell you the exact reason your post was moderated and what you can do to post it OR that your post was wholly inappropriate and this isn’t the place. They may even tell you a good forum to talk about it.
It’s the same thing with politics. I’m not advocating that your opinions be infringed. I’m asking that you respect the forum, and if you don’t like it raise your objections respectfully.
Is this truly so hard? I’ve come on so strong because you all are better than this. But I truly hope that you will come to the table here. Please, most of you who are causing the most problems on this matter are also giving valuable contributions. We want you here. We just want you to be nice and respectful about it, we would all be happier. Yes, it takes self-control and restraint. You have to look at others doing what you want to do and swallow your pride. But everyone, you especially, are the better for it.Please give this serious consideration.