Censorship on Hub Pages
I'm normally a very law-abiding, easy-going sort of person. I just go along with things; it's in my nature to follow along with the rules and hope for the best. I just found this in my email:
Hello,
Greg Sage has posted in the forums citing several hubs that "attack" him. After repeated complaints from other users about these hubs, we ask that all be unpublished. One of your Hubs was listed by Greg in his post:
http://paradise7.hubpages.com/hub/Greg-Sage-and-His-Possibly-Unhealthy-Relationship-with-a-Petite-Lap-Giraffe
Please modify or unpublish this Hub at your earliest convenience.
--
Thanks,
Team HubPages
Well!! I was more than a bit astounded by this request. Command. Request? Not sure from the tone of it whether it was a request or a command; in any case, I'll follow along, I'll delete that hub. I'm very sorry if I offended anyone at all. I KNOW I didn't offend Greg--his style of humour is very satirical. He, in fact, LIKED my hub and I was very FLATTERED by that. Having written well over 100 hubs, I have NEVER attempted humour here on HubPages before, and needless to say...I never will again.
I'm going to abide by the HubPages team dictate. I do think they are a little overanxious to appease that segment of HubPages afficiondos who apparently don't realize that the whole thing with Greg and Biblicaliving was a gigantic send-up, and to me, personally, HILARIOUS! My feeble attempt at humour, my very first stab at doing what these people do so well, was slapped with the dreaded HubPages ultimatum--DELETE THIS, OR ELSE! (Not really, not quite. The email is courteous enough in tone, as you can read for yourself.)
Greg left a comment on that disputed ole hub of mine, that he has been banned for three days, and we may see the demise of Greg Sage and his wonderful menagerie of helpers here on HubPages soon.
Oh, I hope not. I really hope not. I enjoy Greg Sage's sense of humour SO VERY MUCH! He is so inventive, so cunning, so FUNNY, darn it!
He also mentioned that Biblicaliving has had to unpublish a hub, too. And I don't think I've had a chance to read it yet!!!
Wooohooo. Give yourselves a pat on the back, o thou HubPages censors. For putting yet another bullet in the back of free speech, and humour. ( I wonder if the HP people who wanted this hub and BL's hub gone and who've banned Greg for three days are the same people who wanted Lenny Bruce in jail.)
Okay, deep breaths, cool down, back off a bit...I realize we don't have unbridled freedom here on HubPages, and in many ways HubPages is much better for that...no one has to put up with language that's adult, or adult porn content, or anything too groady or offensive. In many ways, that makes HubPages not only unique in the industry but ideal for people of taste.
The thing about humour, though, is...I don't know how to put this concept into words. Humour, of its very nature, can possibly be offensive to a small group of people, because what's funny is what we are sending up, or making fun of...it could be a serious or sensitive issue with some other people. That's the whole point with satire, with wit that has an edge of sarcasm, of humour that's based on hyperbole. In other words, the thing that makes one person laugh like crazy can put another person into a right snit! And humour has always been that way--a very dodgy thing, but I wouldn't want to live in a world without it...
That's why I don't think we should have been censored for our humour; neither Greg Sage or Biblicaliving, or myself.
However, I'm nothing if not obedient, so...Goodbye sweet PLG and all references to helper monkeys or any vaguely repellent personal habits of anyone's.
I've added a bit to this hub. I had some of my Facebook family attempt to read or share the original article with some of their friends, and found it unpublished, and wondered why. I got some emails as well as some comments about it.
One thing that makes me docilely remove a hub at the HubPages team suggestion is just the matter of ownership. To my mind, because I don't pay one single dime for the use of this website, the HubPages team basically owns the site. Therefore, if they want me to unpublish something, I will cooperate. I don't believe I have a choice. It is THEIR site, therefore, it is THEIR choice, what gets published and what gets unpublished.
To my mind, it's like an online magazine, and I get to read the magazine for free and even get published in it. But I don't OWN the magazine. The HubPages people do...so, they get to determine the content. That really is fair on many levels.
This little hub about censorship was more about misunderstood humour; I don't question that they have the right to determine the content and can legitimately ask me to remove something at their will.
