Belatedly, Itch.io is neither a publisher nor a platform. It's a marketplace. Think of is as a mall where you can rent space and set up a store where you can sell your wares. Renting out space is a business, and a business is within its rights to throw people out if they're being disruptive or breaking the law on its premises. That doesn't limit anyone's free speech, since there are many other places where one can offer a game for download. And last time I checked, hate speech was illegal in every civilized country, including the US where Itch.io is based. So yes, Itch.io admins can delete games at their discretion and still be fully within their rights. Making vague threats over the possibility is only going to make reconciliation less likely.
Viewing post in is itch.io a platform or a publisher?
i'm going to need you cite legal proof on:
A. this site being a "marketplace"
and
B. that being that, gives you the right to delete content at your discretion.
ALSO, "hate speech" does not exist (it's a shutdown tactic by labeling certain words), and that concept is trumped anyways by the first amendment. free speech is king, and all else is a lie and nobody cares about your feelings.
most civilized countries don't have hate speech laws, that's only the leftist ones (and thank the gods many don't). i realize your role might give you a big ego but you fail at understanding the rest of the world. you appear to be imagining the rest of the world as downtown california. you are very incorrect.
now, could you please so kind as to locate A and B for me to prove your point? you clearly have access to that documentation
I don't need to cite any legal proof. For one thing it's not my department, and second, this is a privately owned website that facilitates the sale of goods by other people. Feel free to disagree with me about the meaning of the word "marketplace".
I will, however, cite from our community guidelines:
Do not create posts about sensitive topics that may instigate argument
While we certainly respect free speech, we ask for your consideration of others
in the channel and in our community. Avoid posting material that promotes
polarizing views about religion, race, gender, politics, or any other groups.
As for most countries not having hate speech laws, Wikipedia seems to disagree. I can assure you that most if not all European countries do; it seems I was wrong about the United States. Even so, our community guidelines cover this area nicely. The owners of Itch.io are within their rights to set such rules and enforce them, just as the owners of a mall could kick you out for intimidating or insulting other shoppers, or for that matter other sellers. We want as many people as possible to feel welcome here, and that excludes certain behaviors.
>I don't need to cite any legal proof. For one thing it's not my department
why am i even fucking talk to you right now then?
get up out of your chair, go to the legal department, get whoevers job it actually is, to comment on this. why are you even commenting here if it's not your department, as you say? you're saying legal claims that if proven false, could bite the website in the ass
also as a parting note, wikipedia is not a valid research source, and any basic schoolteacher will tell you this
You're assuming a lot about me. E.g. that I'm somehow employed by Itch.io or even on the same continent as the rest of the team. And you're talking to me because our admins are busy people who can't always answer right away. Rest assured they've been informed of this exchange. As for Wikipedia not being valid, does that mean it's also wrong about hate speech laws in the US, by any chance?
Edit: Speaking of which: nobody has been making any legal claims. Discussing what is and isn't legal in various countries doesn't count. Discussing what kind of business Itch.io is doesn't count either. You brought up the law, right from the original post. I'm pretty sure (and this isn't legal advice; I am not a lawyer) that implied threats like you've been making this whole time would weigh more heavily in a court of law, if things ever got that far, than any mistakes I may have made in this conversation.
stop talking. you just said this wasnt your department.
because you've stated this is not your job now, i'll wait until the person whose job it actually is, shows up. the only thing you can possibly add to this conversation now is *nothing*
you are the least professional, least qualified, and most immature mod i've ever seen. the last time we talked, a common user was better at actually finding source links then you (because you were instead wasting time explaining how nazis were bad). that's the truth of what happened, and i don't want to hear your response because you just stated this is no longer your job now.
That was a figure of speech. And I can add that a community runs on good understanding between people. Most of us don't go around asking what is and isn't legal to say while shopping in a mall; it's simply not needed. In fact, we've only received that kind of question once before. Strangely enough, that person also mentioned, unprompted, a certain genocidal ideology that's outright banned in most countries.
Edit: ah, that was you? In that case, the answer hasn't changed since last time: if you post such a game and people report it, we're going to take action. That much is certain.
so, like last time i should assume free speech and free creative expression is dead on this site?
maybe leave your hatred for groups you disagree with, at the fucking door, when you come into work everyday. you seem overly emotional, emotionally immature, and seem to revel in banning those you hate. you shouldn't have the power of banning things, until you get your shit sorted out
if silencing people is a charge you want to level against the "nazis" you apparently try to hunt down, you're being exactly that right now, and a hypocrite. FFS is it really that hard for you let people be?
as i said, you were so damn intent on explaining why hate speech was bad, that a common user had to do your fucking job for you. do i need to explain why that's a sign you should do better? instead of helping me by giving the info i asked for, you thought it was a far better option to lecture at my face. fuck you in particular for that.
i saw my first impression of you, now i've seen my second, and i don't like you, or your stupid mod conduct. you even existing as you do now, makes me hate this entire website.