Freedom of speech includes both people. The one with the signature and the one who expressed concern about it.
Not quite. Freedom of speech doesn't extend to telling other people what they can and can't write ---- this is actually the foundation of free speech. It's perfectly okay to say, "I didn't like what you wrote," or "I disagree with what you wrote." But it's not okay to tell someone, "You have to remove what you wrote because I think you should."
We can't know the motives of the one who PM'd Ametrine; they may be as mean-spirited as you suggest, or they may be acting out of sincere kindness. How can we know? Why assume the worst?
I agree that we can't know someone's motives unless the person explains them to us. This is why I'd still like to hear them from the person him- or herself.
I watched a film about a dystopian future in country X recently. Two characters came from elsewhere. They kept saying, "How could this have happened? How they have let things get this bad?" I kept thinking that the answer was, "One small step at a time."
I see acceptance of speech-policing by people who aren't moderators as a small step toward a distasteful culture on this board. I'd hate to see that and think that the quality of the discussions would suffer as a result.
