[Imc-aotearoa-ed] hid a post // spam attack !!

[finn c.]

Hi

> has anyone been able to make contact with him/her? actually that is
> probably not the issue. 

I think duncan may have tried, but I think he is beyond email contact at the mo. I have put the ed list's email under some of his hidden posts. I will try and email him, though I doubt that the email is legit.

> i think the issue is how do we define these
> postings? are they are a "pattern of attack"? 

I would define them more as a pattern of abuse/exploitation, but the end result is the same.

> one thought i keep having is (i am not quite sure how to articulate
> this so apologies in advance if i offend anyone or get the wrong end
> of the stick) what is the relationship between the hassle of having
> to hide articles and the concept of free expression of all ideas
> whether i like them or not or whether they are a nuisance or not.  

I don't actually like having to check the wire 10 times a day, it's a total hassle. Victor is the only poster that we have ever had to hide. He does *occasionally* post relevant articles, the problem is he'll post the same one 10 times.

For me, the censorship/freedom of speech conflict on indymedia comes down to keeping the integrity of the wire - ie something that people are actually going to read. Freedom of speech is cool, but it don't matter if no one is around to look at it.

When the indymedia.org newswire was open (there still is an open wire, but you have to dig for it) it was cool for a while. But then people started spamming it and it got on top of the newswire clerks. Soon, it's value as a news source was totally diminished because you had to wade through 3 pages of spam before you could find somethign to read. I even stopped reading it. (!!)

A-IMC can handle a few rascist posts, but it can't handle being taken over by Nazies, as has happened on an australian newswire (perth I think). Theres a degree of absorbition.

If someone else posted victors homophobic article, or if it was contributing to debate,  I prob would have let it slide and let readers figure it out themselves. But considering that Victor *continually and repeatedly* posts rascist and homphobic articles across the world, I do not have very much sympathy.

> this is probably a side issue - i think it probably does come down to
> defining whether this is a spam attack or if each article posted by
> this individual/s should be looked at seperately.

If we class victors posts as a spam attack, we still consider each post seperately. He's still allowed to use the site. It just means that if theres a spammy post, it gets hidden and then talked about later (instead of waiting a day).

seeya
finn