Hey all — just launched openmic.social, a general-purpose Lemmy instance with a specific mission: free speech + transparent, restorative moderation.
The pitch is simple — anyone can grab the mic — and the thing that makes us different is what happens when you cross a line:
- No shadowbans, ever. If your post is removed or your account is actioned, you’re told — what happened, which rule, and how to fix it.
- We help before we punish. A heads-up and a path back come before a ban. Bans are the last resort, not the first reflex.
- Moderation in the open. Every call is appealable, publicly, in our
!metacommunity. - Hard lines only: nothing illegal, no targeted harassment, no doxxing, no spam. That’s what keeps the mic open for everyone.
We’re brand new, which means early adopters shape the culture. Come introduce yourself, bring a community that needs a home, or start one — I’ll help you set it up and mod it.
This post about a new Lemmy instance is on topic for this community. You can all have your own feelings about this instance and what it’s trying to do, but a single post here announcing it isn’t spam.
Please stop reporting this post and OP’s comments.
This either already is or will become a hotbed for rightwing pieces of shit.
Thank you! Pre-blocking this so I won’t have any splash damage my main feed. “Open mic” translates too much on nazi or hate baiting nowadays. Open socials need moderation or become chesspools. I do not hang out with toxic people in real life, I don’t understand the principle that “I have to” do it digitally. Hard pass. Good luck!
So, transphobia, racism, misogyny, all acceptable as long as it’s aimed broadly, and doesn’t become targeted harassment of an individual?
On the reverse of that, if you want to promote the opposite you are more than welcome to, free speech is a two way street. I don’t really tolerate hate though. Maybe I’ll update our description.
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Curious what your goal is?
free speech is a two way street
it really isn’t
It is tho, a homophobe can say what they want and I can call them a bigoted piece of shit. That’s a 2 way street. Now if they could say what they wanted and I couldn’t say what I wanted, that’s a one way street.
So I can call a bigoted homophobe a bigoted homophobe, and they can say what ever unintelligent crap they want.
Consequences of actions is more of a one way street, something bigoted assholes can’t mentally understand.
“two-way street” implies an equal exchange, not just equal opportunity to speak, and only someone who’s never been on the receiving end of one would ever make the mistake of thinking there’s anything equal about it.
in fact, the only ones I’ve ever heard make that argument are bigots themselves, trying to excuse or defend their bigotry while shifting blame to their victims for “not standing up for themselves” or some other victim-blaming bullshit.
DARVO (an acronym for “Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender”) is a reaction that perpetrators of wrongdoing, such as abusers, narcissists, or sexual offenders, may display in response to being held accountable for their behavior.[1] Research indicates that it is a common manipulation strategy of psychological abusers.
That’s not good enough. You’re saying they have the right to attack people, but at least the targeted people can defend themselves. Those are not comparable
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It has been my experience that “free speech” (especially online) is code for “bigotry welcome”.
I see nothing in the description here to convince me this will be any different.
No definitely not trying to allow bigotry. You are definitely entitled to feel that way though.
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Seeing all your low effort shit posts makes me believe you’re a joy in real life
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Then it’s not “free speech and anything legal is cool”
Like, it’s not a bad thing to ban bigotry, that’s a good thing…
Which is why when you said it was “free speech”…
Everyone called you out for, either:
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Lying
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Allowing bigotry
There’s only those two options buddy…
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But it doesn’t appear that you’re specifically disallowing it either
You are definitely entitled to feel that way though.
My concern is that this is what you will also say to the bigots when they arrive
When you sit down at a table and nine Nazis sit down at that table with you, there are now 10 Nazis sitting at that table.
Do you allow Nazi like ideologies like Zionism?
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No we are not. I don’t support ethnic cleansing and I, do not believe in any race being superior to another unlike Zionism
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There is no good Zionists
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It sad that people do not understand that Zionism is a supremacist genocidal ideology
Herzl’s Diary, 12 June 1895
The property owners will come over to our side. According to my conception, the majority of the local population will have to be transferred elsewhere.
We shall try to spirit the penniless population across the border by procuring employment for it in the transit countries, while denying it any employment in our own country. - Herzl’s Diary, 12 June 1895
Both the process of expropriation and the removal of the poor must be carried out discreetly and circumspectly - Herzl’s Diary, 12 June 1895
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Illegal where? Criticism of Israel is illegal in Germany, for example.
Quit your bullshit.
Fuck Israel. Israel is a fascist state that commits a suicide in Gaza. I am a German in Germany and I just critiziced Israel. I even used bad language. That is not illegal so don’t spread lies if you don’t know shit about the laws a country has.
How do they square that with freedom of speech or like, defenses of fact?
Like how defense of fact is a valid defense against libel laws since the speech at issue was based on known facts or “truth”
There are laws and case law that make criticism of Israel harder than in other places. Post WW2 pro-Nazi and antisemetic speech was basically declared hate speech. Courts have taken a narrow view of what counts as antisemetic. There are in excess of six million reasons for that hard swing in the other direction.
So I would say the long version is this: you can criticize Israel but you need to pay close attention to how you say it. Criticizing the existence of the Jewish state is possible as well but you need to weigh your words even more carefully.
Moderators on an internet forum may take an even narrower approach to avoid any sort of legal trouble. And thus continues a chilling effect.
Freedom of speech is a tricky subject. Post WW2 the US had the influence to export their constitutional values, such as a first amendment, to Japan and West Germany. In both cases they punted. It’s not without some irony when I say opinions on how to establish freedom of speech in a democratic constitution vary.
It is illegal in Australia as well, where anti-israel/anti-zionism/anti-genocide has been remarketed as anti-semitism.
Potential 2 year prison sentence for saying ‘from the river to the sea’ in one of the Australian states.
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Regarding your "example’: That’s new to me, being a German. in this broad way the statement is wrong, i suppose. ChatGPT confirmed this. there is no law denying the right of Israel to exist. It is only true that German politics has ever since Second World War felt a historical responsibility to support Israel against antisemitism.
Great, wish you the best, but if anything gets illegal is federated to mine that’s where I have to defederate. One admin to another wish you luck though.
can I interest you in a spaceship to mars soon?
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Fair questions — you deserve a direct answer: No. A pro-Nazi community wouldn’t be allowed here, and neither is racism, transphobia, or misogyny — “aimed broadly” or not. I in no way support hate.
“Free speech” here means something specific: we don’t shadowban, we tell you exactly which rule you broke and give you a path to fix it, and we won’t remove you for an unpopular opinion or a hard argument made in good faith. It does not mean a license to dehumanize people for who they are. Bigotry isn’t brave dissent — it’s harassment with a wider target, and it drives out the very people who make a place worth being in.
If drawing that line costs us the crowd who think “free speech” means “slurs welcome” — good. They were never the point. The mic’s open to everyone; it’s not a megaphone for hate. Be a good human. It isn’t hard. You can debate your point with out dehumanizing others, when you can’t, you’ve already lost the argument.
“Free speech” here means something specific: we don’t shadowban
Shadowbanning has nothing to do with speech. I’d recommend you reconsider your verbiage.
we won’t remove you for an unpopular opinion
Most instances already don’t do that. Which leads me to believe you have unpopular (hateful) opinions and want to create a community where those opinions are welcomed.
Be a good human. It isn’t hard.
No, and yet many people fail to. And these are the types who will be attracted to your community.
You can debate your point with out dehumanizing others, when you can’t, you’ve already lost the argument.
No. You can’t. And giving a “open mic“ to the Nick Fuenteses and Stephen Millers, and Charlie Kirks of the world who will put on a suit and a tie and try to “debate” you while dehumanizing others with nice sounding words gives them a platform to spread their hate while framing it as a “civilized debate“ rather than the coded bigotry that it is, while you cast aside any responsibility for letting them do it, tossing your hands up and claiming “free speech”.
It’s plainly and obviously bullshit. It’s like inviting a vampire into the house and then being surprised when everyone turns up dead.
If you say so…
I’m clearly not the only one here who feels this way, and I’m sure that none of us are surprised that, right from the start, you’re deflecting any responsibility for what you’ve created.
Openmic makes me think there will be audio.
There are development plans
Thank you.
Thank you! Don’t hesitate to reach out if I am missing anything, I definitely don’t want anything illegal happening. I am looking for more mods and admin a to help out as well! Appreciate the kind words!
Sounds like you’ll have an interesting time moderating trolls and their endless respawns. Shadowbanning has its troublesome aspects even conceptually, but it was invented for a reason.
shaddowbanning is pathetic and lazy.
Possibly. We will see.
Will your management of the instance be as low effort as your introductory post that you obviously didn’t write yourself?
