Wartime Censorship

[Ed Hurst]

There are a few sites I'm unable to reach because they are blocked. I've tested various ways to get them, including TOR and Opera's proxy feature, as well as more dedicated proxies around the Net. So far as I can tell, this is not a transient thing, but an intentional blockage at the backbone level.

Better get used to it.

[jaybreak]

I've read a few things online on texts not being delivered if they contain links to pages containing "misinformation."

Discord also recently put a policy in place regarding other opinions, though the policy focuses on medical/health topics. The "may not share false or misleading information on Discord that is likely to cause physical or societal harm" line is broad enough that it could cover just about anything.

https://discord.com/blog/addressing-heal...nformation

[Benjamin]

I've read a few things online on texts not being delivered if they contain links to pages containing "misinformation."

Discord also recently put a policy in place regarding other opinions, though the policy focuses on medical/health topics. The "may not share false or misleading information on Discord that is likely to cause physical or societal harm" line is broad enough that it could cover just about anything.

https://discord.com/blog/addressing-heal...nformation

My 16 y/o son asked about getting a Discord account. A youtuber he follows called Imphenzia is running some kind of weekly 3-d modeling challenge.

From your experience, is there any particular thing to watch for, aside from it being a social site on the internet?

Thanks.

[Ed Hurst]

I'm not going to answer for Jay, but I do think the issue here is censorship alongside propaganda. Propaganda would be less of an issue if dissent were permitted. We are supposed to recognize that there is no single right way to do most things. That's how the Internet was meant to work, but we've come a long way since those days. As long as your son is aware of such things, the best you can do is keep in touch with him about what he's learning.

[jaybreak]

I've read a few things online on texts not being delivered if they contain links to pages containing "misinformation."

Discord also recently put a policy in place regarding other opinions, though the policy focuses on medical/health topics. The "may not share false or misleading information on Discord that is likely to cause physical or societal harm" line is broad enough that it could cover just about anything.

https://discord.com/blog/addressing-heal...nformation

My 16 y/o son asked about getting a Discord account. A youtuber he follows called Imphenzia is running some kind of weekly 3-d modeling challenge.

From your experience, is there any particular thing to watch for, aside from it being a social site on the internet?

Thanks.

Discord, like Youtube or Reddit, is so big that it's hard to give good advice, because you can find anything on there. It's basically a microcosm of what the Internet is, very user-defined, with a social media/chat angle. Ed has a good idea about talking to them about what they learn, but they could always be dodgy about things if they know you are prying for certain things. The only way to really be sure is to get a monitoring app that can ping you if certain words are typed or received. Or something more intrusive. I've found, though, that for when they reach the teenager era, being so helicopter-parent-ish does more harm than good.

[Ed Hurst]

Agreed, Jay. A lot depends on the fatherly things you did or didn't do on the way to that 16th year. I will testify that it can be done; my son and I still discuss things man-to-man now that he's about 40. I suppose a major factor was a strong drive not to do it poorly as my own father did with me. I made sure my son was inclined to talk to me frankly; he was never disciplined for holding the wrong opinions.