This is Behind the Blog, where we share our behind-the-scenes thoughts about how a few of our top stories of the week came together. This week, we discuss “free speech,” keeping stupid thoughts in one’s own head, and cancel culture.
JASON: In August 2014, I spoke to Drew Curtis, the founder of Fark.com, a timeless, seminal internet website, about a decision he had just made. Curtis banned misogyny from his website, partially in the name of facilitating free speech.
“We don’t want to be the He Man Woman Hater’s Club. This represents enough of a departure from pretty much how every other large internet community operates that I figure an announcement is necessary,” Curtis wrote when he announced the rule. “Adam Savage once described to me the problem this way: if the Internet was a dude, we’d all agree that dude has a serious problem with women.”
A company-wide email from Comcast executives, sent to everyone working at NBCUniversal on Friday morning,…
There is an aggrieved cry reverberating through the places on the internet where gamers gather.…
Thursday morning, Ezra Klein at the New York Times published a column titled “Charlie Kirk…
Freelance developers and entire companies are making a business out of fixing shoddy vibe coded…
The last round of fixes before Win 10’s final shout touches 15 product families, including…
🌘 Subscribe to 404 Media to get The Abstract, our newsletter about the most exciting…