Sara, I really don't think you understand what censorship is really about. You've provided some poor examples in an attempt to stretch the definition of censorship beyond what it really means. Newspaper editors do not "censor" reporters, they "edit" and "coordinate" them. I have never heard the interaction between editors and reporters described as "censorship." Members of religious groups may be *censured* for actions or words, but this is different than what censorship means. Censorship can be stretched beyond the government version to include power institutions that engage in censorship. But small independent websites *never* engage in censorship.

Many Internet users don't understand this, but it's always been assumed around the Internet that people who visit a website agree to abdie by the rules and guidelines set up by that website. That means that people have to accept editorial and moderation decisions done by editors and moderators. Yes, this can include the removal of comments or speech that go beyond being dupes, flames, spam and so on. I commonly remove certain types of comments from Infoshop News, including comments from right wingers and some left wingers. When I do this, I am not "censoring" these people, I am implementing moderation in order to maintain a certain flavor for the website. If I allowed right wingers unfettered ability to post anti-activist hate speech on Infoshop News, I would not only be abdicating my responsibility to our community of users, but we would quickly see many people stop visiting the website.

Indymedia websites are no different. Each website sets its own policies and moderation can depend on decisions made by whoever is moderating the newswire. There are always gray areas that policy doesn't cover. One person's trollbait may be another person's treasure. But one thing I've observed over the years is that most IMCs eventually adopt similar policies, because they have a common mission and are confronted with similar headaches.

This IMC is in the process of going over its policy and training new editors and moderators. So you will see things evolve on this site in coming months. Personally, I hope that everybody will focus more on making media and less on what's on the newswire.