Odysee, a decentralised YouTube alternative focused on free speech, is officially ending the serving of ads on the platform, starting today. The post:
"Dear friends of Odysee, Starting today, we’re removing all ads. We don’t need ads to make money as a platform and we are confident in the development of our own new monetisation programs that will help creators earn a living and at the same time keep Odysee alive. Ultimately, sacrificing the overall user experience to make a few bucks isn’t worth it to us and nor is it even sustainable for a platform that wishes to make something truly open and creatively free.
As we take this decision, one thing is certain to us, media platforms (even ones that market themselves as ‘free-speech’) typically devolve into advertising companies and end up becoming beholden to their paymasters. It’s been that way for centuries and is never going to change.
As we see YouTube become more aggressive with their ad deployment and ‘Free Speech’ platforms try to build their own ad businesses it’s apparent to us that we’re building a model for Odysee that will keep it sustainable not only financially, but in its ability to provide an incorruptible user experience.
Our approach may be considered niche or unconventional, that’s fine by us. Odysee will be used by the world on terms that are agreeable to its users, and we know our users don’t like ads.
Best, Founder & Creator, Chief Executive Officer. Julian Chandra"
What is wrong with you to put someone you don’t know, who has hardly shared their views, on the same level as Nazi’s? Nazi’s disgust me. Truly, and I mean this: The only thing I did was express my high valuation of free speech. May I ask: do you actually care about free speech at all? Is free speech to you anything that matters? I mean it… I don’t want you to go into the ins and outs of all your beliefs. I genuinely want to know… do you believe that free speech matters? Or do you believe that free speech should only be allowed if the words don’t disgust you… I stress this: I am not asking you this as a rhetorical question… I want to know what you think.
Look, if terrible people never are allowed to ever converse with good people about their beliefs; what’s right or wrong; or whatever it may be… How does that person ever, ever change for the better? Restricting free speech for the sake of hiding and whimpering in fear of evil people… will not make them go away… it will not help the world; or them, in any way.
If people are allowed to openly talk with people about what they think and believe, they can be reasoned with. If they are not; they will simply join up with their own like-minded group of individuals and cause more harm than if we just allowed them to talk in the first place. If allowing them to speak causes harm, it’s because no one was willing to listen to them and reason with them in the first place.
I guess then, in a sense, you could say that society rationally conversing and respectfully debating, is just as vital as free speech itself. You can’t have one, but not the other, or else that free speech may cause more harm. If society rationally converses with each other about these issues, but restricts freedom of speech to not allow the sharing of radically opposing ideas, everyone on the “good” side, (so to speak), is bound to lock themselves up in an echo-chamber. And even if the ideas bound within that “echo-chamber” happen to be correct and good, the ones who have opposing ideas (Nazi’s, in this case), to the social norm and common beliefs of the world, in turn create an echo-chamber for the dangerous groups such as those Nazi’s. This second echo-chamber, allows that group (the Nazi’s) to form a rebellion. And what’s been happening lately in the world? They’ve been rebelling; causing harm. If society would just talk with them, we may be able to help them and in turn increase the amount of peace in the world. I am not sympathizing with Nazi’s, by the way; I am saying that they can be helped; but only if we allow both free speech and make it part of culture to rationally converse, and respectfully debate everyone, no matter their beliefs. THIS is why I believe in such radical free speech.
I hope you and those reading this will at least understand my perspective, even if you can’t agree with it. If I’m wrong, and I acknowledge that I could be; tell me. Just do it with care. That’s not just for me but for everyone, even when they get angry or belittle you. We should all be treating each other well. Before this comment, I was starting to get very irrationally angry at the replies people were giving me, but mainly because I was starting to be personally attacked and my character assumed to be terrible. I’m sorry for being like that to you guys. Even if you hate me for this comment and what you may or may not see as my sheer stupidity, I still love ya. I need to take a break from Lemmy and the internet and go touch some grass now.
You know what’s interesting to me? People only screech “free speech!” when they are trying to say something shitty.
Freedom of persecution from the government for speech criticizing that government is a good thing.
But “freedom of speech absolutism” is only ever used as an argument by shitty people trying to say shitty things. Free speech doesn’t mean you should be free from repercussions from your peers.
Nazis don’t need a platform, and they don’t need Devil’s advocates like you.
Me commenting on Odysee that LibreWolf is a great browser for privacy, or that SuperTuxKart and Veloren are good open source games is me saying shitty things, is it? You don’t even know the things that are said by the people you are talking about who advocate free speech absolutism. Further, Odysee inherently does not allow an absolutist level of free speech (it legally can’t), which is the whole reason they have community guidelines that must be followed.
Edit: I accidentally seemed to be implying that I was a free speech absolutist when I am not. I do not believe that people should be allowed to promote violence or hatred of any kind; Odysee doesn’t allow this either. What I DO believe, is that those people should be allowed to express through speech what their own views are; even Nazi’s; as long as they aren’t promoting Nazism, violence, hatred or similar. So no, I am not being a devils advocate, because if the platform was completely 100% free speech to the point where it actually allows true hate speech, promotion or encouragement of violence and hatred etc., I wouldn’t be supporting the platform and defending it at all. If it were like that and I was still promoting it, than fair… calling me a devil’s advocate would make sense.