CommonDreams: spammers as well as censors

If you've been reading here for a while you know that CommonDreams engages in some of the most ferocious censorship I've ever encountered, deleting comments (and commenters) with wild abandon.  I and others have found ourselves disappeared from their site without warning or explanation.

Now it turns out that they're spammers as well.  And not only that, but they have the audacity to spam the same people they've removed from their site.  And in the spam in question, they're actually putting out the begging bowl to ask for donations--I suppose they're expecting those of us they've nuked to send them a check to help defray the costs of excommunicating us?

Here are some of the more boggleworthy highlights:

• "For 10 years, CommonDreams.org has been committed to this simple goal: To help build community among the millions of progressive Americans by providing a space to share news and ideas."
• "Technology now makes it much easier to stand up to the right-wing corporate interests that are so intent on controlling everything from what we read to what we say."
• "We don't want to have to answer to anyone except you."

Seriously, I'm starting to think that CommonDreams is actually run by a Dadaist performance art troupe whose onoing magnum opus is an attempt to push the bounds of arrogance and hypocrisy beyond all previously-known limits.  With evident success.  I can't imagine what they could do for an encore at this point, but I know better than to doubt them.

Another victim sent me his response to their spam, which he began by recounting his own experience with them:

You have blocked my email address, my log-in codes, and even my IP address from being able to create new log-in codes. Not only that, you have purged all messages I posted to message boards dating back to when I first joined, and even gone so far as to purge nearly all of the messages from other posters that referred to mine, like your own Memory Hole. When I requested information on why my posts were being removed, I was ignored. When other posters wrote in requesting information on why my posts were being removed, they, too, were ignored. When somebody completely unknown to me later reproduced portions of one of my deleted posts, his post was removed within two hours, as were a few others that commented upon it, and I later determined his log-in codes were blocked. My own wife can no longer post for no reason than having asked, in the only post she ever made to Common Dreams, if anyone knew what happened to the thread or had saved a copy of the original post.

Yes, thank goodness there's a progressive organization out there that's so selflessly committed to building community, that stands up to those who are intent on controlling everything from what we read to what we say, and which doesn't answer to anyone except us.

Comments

[JD]

I too have experienced this from Commondreams and I'm one of their daily readers. It saddens me that they sort to the kind of censorship that many dictatorships around the world have. I can understand being censored for foul language or threats but not for commond posts questioning the author or an articles thought process. Hopefully enough people will complain and CommonDreams will lift its censorship.

A CommonDreams Reader

[riv9]

I was banned from CD apparently for voicing support for Nader. Right now there are angry Zionists advocating killing Palestinian children on their comments section. Are they being banned?

[Attila]

I just wanted to share with you that I was also blocked/censored by commondreams recently (in January 2010). My crime? Not supporting Obama's health bill. And stating that commondreams was complicit in not having single payer healthcare being discussed. I know, they talked about it more recently but back when it would have mattered (a year ago) all the articles were 'support the public option.'

Kind of like how they had all the Nader articles recently, but not when the presidential race was going on. Then it was marginalize Nader, Kucinich, and not even mention Gravel or McKinney.

In short, commondreams oppresses any dissent for the purpose of pushing the democratic/corporate positions to the forefront.

I have to admit it was discouraging, though fairly obvious during the democratic presidential election when there was this blind support of Obama and Hillary, but very little talk of any other candidate. Yes, a few crumbs, but easily overwhelmed by the pro democratic party leadership stance.

I haven't gone back to the site since.

so it goes,
Attila Gyenis

www.NotOneMore.US - The Pledge for Peace and Justice