Yesterday there was a conversation that contained several blatantly anti-vax comments. I had previously included in the community description a rule against anti-vax posts and comments, but I was not enforcing it well. I will be enforcing that rule going forward. I have also included a new rule against personal attacks. Please remember to report violations.

If anti-vaxxers wish to have a discussion, they are free to create their own community. This community is not a home for that sentiment.

  • abbenm@lemmy.ml
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    3 years ago

    Thanks. That is a good policy, and you’re doing a good job as a mod.

    I guess for me the takeaway is, it’s always going to be a game of whack-a-mole and it’s always going to be a question of whether you have good mods. Other servers are just not going to have them all the time, so we’re really depending on lemmy.ml to federate and defederate in a thoughtful way. So far, so good though.

        • realcaseyrollins@narwhal.city
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          3 years ago

          LOL I don’t care dude. I’m on narwhal.city.

          In any case, it’s true. If your official stance is to ignore any potential danger of unvetted vaccines, it seems reasonable to assume that you’re on the side of big pharma.

          • pingveno@lemmy.mlOPM
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            3 years ago

            unvetted vaccines

            The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines went through the full FDA approval process. This is a first warning. Further such posts will lead to a ban.

            • realcaseyrollins@narwhal.city
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              3 years ago

              Oh no! I’m so scared!

              I didn’t mean that they didn’t get approved by the FDA, so don’t cry. I meant that they skipped many typical vaccine test requirements because of Trump’s Operation Warp Speed plan.

              • edward@lemmy.ml
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                3 years ago

                They have long since gone through the full approval process. Plus the millions vaccinated. They are far from “untested”.

                • realcaseyrollins@narwhal.city
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                  3 years ago

                  They are tested, they just haven’t been as thoroughly tested as previous vaccines. While they have indeed gone through the full approval process, that process was shortened in order to get vaccines rolled out in a timely enough fashion to respond to the pandemic.

  • मुक्त@lemmy.ml
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    3 years ago

    While the community management is free to run it as they prefer, there are many strong arguments to the position being taken now. For one, many people who joined lemmy, the federated reddit alternative, joined it because reddit often censors allowing existence of alternative narratives to be known, even when it is well reasoned and evidence backed.

    Second, lemmy is socialist/commumist in ideology, while risky vaccines are backed by big pharma.

    Third, in this pandemic, often the authorities are as ill-informed as the public and literally doing anything to give a semblence of control over the situation.

    Fourth, side-effects like myocarditis, were initially ignored by public at large, their reporting prohibited by authorities and social media alike, in the name of stopping the “anti-vaxxers”. But an year later, these are acknowldged to be genuine and published on the pamphalets that accompany vaccine vials.

    To summarise, please reconsider your editorial position. Science proceeds by answering those who question it, not by censoring them.

    • pingveno@lemmy.mlOPM
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      3 years ago

      I will not be changing this decision. To respond to your points:

      For one, many people who joined lemmy, the federated reddit alternative, joined it because reddit often censors allowing existence of alternative narratives to be known, even when it is well reasoned and evidence backed.

      That has not stopped individual communities from having their own moderation policies.

      Second, lemmy is socialist/commumist in ideology, while risky vaccines are backed by big pharma.

      This is just an ad hominem. Vaccines are widely accepted by the scientific community as an essential public safety tool. The problems with big pharma are really, but that’s not a good excuse to smear vaccines. Also, characterization of them as “risky” is misleading. There is some extraordinarily small risk, but the risk from COVID to someone who is unvaccinated massively outweighs that risk.

      Third, in this pandemic, often the authorities are as ill-informed as the public and literally doing anything to give a semblence of control over the situation.

      There is no rule against criticizing the actions of authorities in this community.

      Fourth, side-effects like myocarditis, were initially ignored by public at large, their reporting prohibited by authorities and social media alike, in the name of stopping the “anti-vaxxers”.

      Research about the myocarditis side effect first came out in May 2021, right about when there were more young men getting their second dose (this is the primary trigger). I’m not sure what prohibitions there were around this, so I can’t really speak to that aspect.

      To summarise, please reconsider your editorial position. Science proceeds by answering those who question it, not by censoring them.

      The thread that this was posted in response to had a large amount of egregious misinformation. It had gone far beyond asking questions. I’m not going to target people who are looking at emerging issues, but I will absolutely remove long debunked claims.