honestly all discussion of strikethrough and AO3 moderation seems to me to miss the actual point of strikethrough, which is: don’t give any site moderation powers that you wouldn’t be comfortable with homophobes having
“but I’m not comfortable with homophobes having any power!”
👀
This is what drive me nuts about this narrative. They think we’re okay with CP (while also apparently being ignorant to the fact that written and illustrated CP – while abhorrent – are not illegal, at least in America) and ignore the fact that we’re saying “If this particular objectionable thing is censored, The Authorities are going to come after what you love next.”
And we’ve seen it happen time and time again in history. It’s all very, “First they came for…” rhetoric.
The language they’re using is the same as that used by those who condemn homosexuality, just couched a little differently as “won’t somebody think of the children.” Which is weirdly reminiscent of how TERFs frequently spout alt-right rhetoric.
I wonder if there’s a connection there.I’m reminded of that fable of the horse and the hunter:
A quarrel had arisen between the Horse and the Stag, so the Horse came to a Hunter to ask his help to take revenge on the Stag.
The Hunter agreed, but said: “If you desire to conquer the Stag, you must permit me to place this piece of iron between your jaws, so that I may guide you with these reins, and allow this saddle to be placed upon your back so that I may keep steady upon you as we follow after the enemy.”
The Horse agreed to the conditions, and the Hunter soon saddled and bridled him.
Then with the aid of the Hunter the Horse soon overcame the Stag, and said to the Hunter: “Now, get off, and remove those things from my mouth and back.”
“Not so fast, friend,” said the Hunter. “I have now got you under bit and spur, and prefer to keep you as you are at present”.
we have to assume that any moderation power we give to authorities will be exploited and turned on us. what part of the fiascos of moderation on twitter, Facebook, livejournal, YouTube, Instagram, fanfiction.net, do I need to keep going, has given you the impression that won’t be the case?
For all the kids out there:
This isnt a slippery slope argument. This is something we have literally witnessed REPEATEDLY when it comes to digital spaces and fandom in particular. (To say nothing of pre-internet instances, that is)
This has happened before, multiple times.
Every time people said “it won’t happen THIS time” IT DID.
So unless you want to only be able to have 100% EC (for early childhood) rated content with no violence, no even romance (kissing not just sex because kissing leads to Impure Thoughts), zero content that isnt straight and cis…
Then shut up, sit down, and take to heart that if one doesn’t pay attention to history they are doomed to repeat it.
That’s what’s so galling about it all: These aren’t vague hypotheticals from the distant past. They’re things that happened in fandom, recently, to people who are talking about them on Tumblr.