Attn: Host forum mods

[Mike323]

You have a difficult task in moderating. Truthfully I wouldn’t want that duty. I suspect you may get caught in the coming crossfire, and the toughest choices are still ahead. There will be those who don’t want information to be discussed or disseminated. Much of what needs said is based on documentable truth. The global landscape and Airbnb’s alliances within that setting and how events are connected have an impact on hosts. Discussion is therefore highly relevant not just to hosts, but also to moderators, and others, and should not be hindered. I’d prefer we be allies in defending this community as we have been allies in building it.

Ask yourself why an experienced host geared toward service to others would come off the sidelines and risk communicating such things? Is it for the small number of thumbs up? To provoke the bullies? Maybe it’s the loss in revenue from reducing exposure? Look around, it is not business as usual, we are under attack from within, wake up! Each person will have to make a similar personal decision from deep within themselves. Ignore peer pressure, count the costs, and be truthful to your core values. Do not mistake the loudest outspoken critics [top contributors] as a representation of the true audience, or the majority [silent].

I would encourage you to think independently, not to cave to pressure. Take the high road, not the path of least resistance. Pressure will come from many sources, maybe it’s hosts today, it may be corporate tomorrow, or an outside authority the next day? Was the CHAZ warlord an Airbnb host? Do you think the alphabet agencies haven’t noticed? [FVEY]+

What is said/done, what is NOT said/done all reveal something. Adherence to the rule of law when making your decisions, equates to less explanation and defending of subjective decisions later. Who could blame you if you found an excuse to distance yourself from the difficult position you’re in?

I will continue to fight the good fight, because we are accountable for our time on this earth. If you choose not to stand with those of us who place a high value on all human life and speaking truth, so be it. It’s no easy task, there is little glory in the moment, and it infuriates the wicked. If you’re not ready to defend truth, then at least step aside so that what must be revealed can be revealed and innocent hosts plus others do not become victims, and criminal elements do not find a venue here.

It’s not only for someone else to fix things, it’s up to you and me, and every other individual in whatever station in life they find themselves. Be sure those we put our trust in are good custodians of that trust. First step = becoming more informed. Look beyond the six corporations that control most of what people see and hear.

You can “kill the messenger”, and delete information, that power is yours to abuse or not. If you do, realize that the ammunition you may need to one day save your own skin is contained in the very words you’re editing and deleting. It’s my opinion that at some point you will have to justify your moderating choices no matter what you do, so choose wisely with consideration towards your creator. Defend the truth, or defend deleting it.

What are the repercussions for being a publisher?

When posts are edited/deleted, are section 230 protections removed?

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-preventing-online-censorship/

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/47/230

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Mike323 

I gave you a thumbs up. There is no button for a standing ovation.

[Sarah977]

🤢🤢🤢

[Michelle1709]

Hi Mike

I’m a host who has been vaulted from the sidelines in response to some (imo) disturbing content here in the forums.

As someone who has previously managed a public forum I can tell you from qualified experience your position is unrealistic. Invoking the ‘Creator’ to bolster your argument is something to consider?

As a forum moderator pragmatism is the high road. Consequences are a very real thing.

[Melodie-And-John0]

@Mike323 ,  I believe the concept your presenting is honorable and principled, unfortunately business is not actually required by law to be either of those- fora that private entities employ to promote their brand are expected to do just that, not promote the common welfare of any other person, place or thing.   

We probably shouldn't be surprised that a company that began by creating a worldwide Hostel scheduling/ renting scheme for new age caravan-less  Gypsies would have some "ism's" in their playbook that are pretty uncommon in Middletown PA or Munnsville NY.  I actually have been surprised many of the conversations that have been allowed to take place here have not been killed early, I do think they try to keep them alive but they have rules that aren't the ones that we're forced to live by if they would like to keep the job they have.  

There are places for every conversation and actions that can change things and right wrongs before they become insurmountable, this is probably not that place to have the toughest of conversations and literally there are no actions one can take here but vote with your feet and leave it behind if the cons outweigh the pros of being here (I believe they don't at this time).   Our 1st amendment rights are probably best exercised in our communities where all politics begins, at home.  Bless us all and keep your powder dry Mike!  JR

[Robbie54]

@Mike323 a very well written post, but I believe you sent it to the wrong people. Shouldn't you have posted it to 1600 Pennsylvania Av, Washington DC? 

[Michelle53]

I think it's fair to say most people would agree that a truth is something you saw with your own eyes. 

Example:   I pick up an object. I go to a window. I open the window. I hold the object out of the window. I let go of the object. It falls to the ground.  

Anybody anywhere can perform the same experiment and observe the same result. 

This is an example of science in its simplest form. Science is all about observation. Except that science also goes on to ask "why does it fall?"

I think the majority of people would not be going for a walk on a 25-story, 4 inch ledge, expecting to fly.  

There are some things that are truths from human experience. 

Example: If you drop a hammer on your foot, it will hurt. 

This is an example out of past experience, and general knowledge of being alive. I don't expect it's necessary for most people to have to perform this experiment themselves to validate its truth. 

I have travelled to about 30 countries. As far north as Inverness. As far south as the Straits of Magellan. 

I have observed a few things with my own eyes. 

1. The sun doesn't set in the far north in the summertime. You can walk out of a bar in Inverness at 11.30pm and it will still be light. 

2. There are dinner-plate-sized tarantulas in the Amazon. I saw one. 

3. The glaciers are receding. I have seen Grey Glacier in Patagonia with my own eyes. It's hundreds of feet further back than it used to be. 

4. Sea levels are rising. I have seen markers in places that show where ocean levels were, and where ocean levels are now.  Global Warming is real. 

There are levels of evidence.   

1. First level evidence - one's own observation

2. Second level evidence - The observation of a close and trusted friend 

3. Third level evidence - The obervation of a trusted third party - possibly a news reporter with actual video, or a trusted friend of a trusted friend

4. Fourth level evidence - General observations by unverified miscellaneous sources e.g. the internet

What happens if you can't go and see something with your own eyes? You go to level 2 next. Then level 3.  Level 4 is a last resort. 

Example Level 2:   Someone I have travelled with before went to India. I have never been to India. She showed me photographs of her trip. I believe she went there, and saw what she saw. She takes beautiful photos, by the way. It really documents life in the towns she visited. 

Example level 2:  Someone I know has a friend who died of Covid-19. Covid-19 is real. 

Example level 3: A reporter on local news photographed Covid-19 patients connected to ventilators in a local hospital . I know that hospital. I don't have to go and visit it personally to understand that Covid-19 is real and dangerous. 

I was in the medical field for 25 years. I have personally seen the effects of multiple viruses, and am old enough to remember the days before vaccines for common childhood diseases were routinely available.  Example: MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella) was first introduced in the early 1970s. I had already had all three of those as a child before the vaccine was available. 

What did we do when a Measles outbreak was running rampant round the schools ? Kids stayed home. 

I'm not going to discuss Level 4. People have many sources they believe are "trusted". I would say Trust but Verify. Verify 10 times. Verify 100 times.   No one source is the only source, and posting links to sources must be verified from a level 1 - 3 source. 

Of course, no-one has to believe me. I'm just a random source on the internet that you don't know.  Verify. Verify 10 times. Verify 100 times. But verify with someone level 2 - 3.  Better yet, get off the keyboard and go and see the evidence with your own eyes. 

[Robbie54]

@Michelle53  It's sad to say that denying science and believing what we want to believe is a real threat to society and humankind, and it's sweeping across the US and other parts of the world. Why, might you ask? It doesn't help that we have a president with millions of followers who is a conspiracy theorist for starters. I also think it's no coincidence that the rise of social media and its platform of misinformation has helped enormously. It's a tool by many to spread conspiracies and lies to suit their own narrative and cause, and its probably the most dangerous weapon on earth.

[Ann489]

@Mike323   😂     🤢