When a library bans books from it's shelves, it's censorship. What is the difference here?
TONMO.com is not a government "public" agency or a government "public" Website. It's privately owned by me, and I set the parameters for the content. Just like a magazine, or Fark.com, or any other "managed" community site.
How about this. So now the information is gone, and so are the voices of dissent. So now, when someone wants to find out about wonderpus and mimics, they will end up somewhere else because there is nothing here for them. Who will they ask, their LFS, internet FS, some quack done the street that has a turtle in a bathtub? Where else will they get the right information, which is "This is a difficult and little understood animal, cherish it, but please do not take them home."
I contemplated this before taking action. The fact is that there are countless lurkers who will have seen that thread, and despite any voices of dissent, the availability of the content, videos and images is likely more damaging than suppressing it. Consider that we could also have debates about delicious octopus recipes, with videos showing how to kill and prepare an octopus, and others could cry out in horror and dismay, but the poster could go right along describing their nightly dinners and preparations. Should this thread be allowed on TONMO.com? Well, I'm sure there are tons of opinions on that -- but again, TONMO.com is a private property -- and my answer would be no, I wouldn't allow it, I'd suppress it.
I do not aim to be trigger-happy or oppressive with content, so I want to assuage any concerns that we're going to delete or lock mass threads. But will actions be taken against threads which promote, or even discuss, the how's and the where's and the what's of keeping rare species such as mimics/zebras/etc.? Yes... I regret that it is upsetting to some but it's definitely the policy for TONMO.com.
By the way, I do realize that the code of ethics came out AFTER Thales' thread was in full gear. I need to be clear that this action was in no way a reprimand of Thales in any way. It was an enforcement of policy. I had no expectations that Thales should have been able to predict this policy. In the truest form, nothing personal.
There are options with regard to what actions are taken, and I'm open to constructive ideas, but I will ask everyone to understand the parameters of what TONMO.com does and does not support and condone -- and I think the code of ethics lays that out clearly. I'm open to input on enforcement and control of this, so as not to further the damage.
I agree to some extent that responsible ceph keepers can help the oceans -- but there is a difference between sharing that info with "anyone on the street" and sharing it within a community of experts. Remember, my action was to MOVE it to the Supporters' forum. I did not intend to remove it. I only removed it because Thales asked me to (and I didn't have to, by the way, but I did out of deference and respect), because he wasn't comfortable putting it behind the "paid" Supporters barrier.
I am considering whether a separate, non-pay but member-only forum is something we need to employ to allow the free exchange of information but in a controlled manner.