Either I misunderstand the purpose of the list-serve, or I misunderstand Chris Mahan. I thought the purpose of the listserve. I thought one of the purposes was to promote open dialogue about policy. I assume that dialogue involves sharing and discussing values, principles, and methods from different points of view. I took it for granted that any posting to the listserve reflects the author's point of view, and I assumed that it was not only alright but valuable that I present my own point of view. This is what I was doing when I wrote: So frankly, I do not understand Chris Mahan's response: Of course it is my point of view. From context, CM seems to be suggesting that it is not valid because it is my point of view. Why not? I don't get it. Earlier, CM or someone else suggested that freedom of speech should be one of my values. In order to explain why banning anti-Semitism from Wikipedia would not infringe on freedom of speech, I wrote, and CM responded, But then CM wrote which is exactly my point. Hate speech is destructive. Does this now mean that CM agrees with me? Steve Steven L. Rubenstein Associate Professor Department of Sociology and Anthropology Bentley Annex Ohio University Athens, Ohio 45701 --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.690 / Virus Database: 451 - Release Date: 5/22/2004