This is a really important thing for us to keep in mind when we talk about how to make open protocols and open social media. Digital communities can die in many ways, but one of the most common is one person or a small group behaving in an antisocial way and slowly driving everybody out of the space. Nobody wants to put their foot down and tell them to stop posting off topic, or enforce some moderation rules using the platform. So people leave that space to them and drift away.

Enforcing rules in a specific space is often seen as censorship. This is a mistake. If I invite you to my birthday party and you get drunk and start yelling in some drunken rant at everybody else in the party, it’s not censorship to kick you out of the party. You’re more than welcome to continue your drunken rants elsewhere, but the birthday party is something i convened and should be able to enforce rules and norms over that space.

There’s a time and a place for drunken debauchery but if you do that in the wrong space it’ll ruin the vibe and everybody else will leave. It would be censorship if you were not able to organize your own space on Nostr or elsewhere online, where you couldn’t post and talk to people.

nostr:note1hr2zvjfkj6z8cw0xrdrg7vzptntq4rq74krpwqf99ufdphceenfq5em7wz