The very term “moderator discretion” is repugnant on a free and open forum; and we are as a forum inherently and historically opposed to moderator discretion, to secret rules and secret reasonings. We decided long ago that the dangers of excessive and unwarranted concealment of moderator logic far outweighed the dangers which are cited to justify it. Even today, there is little value in opposing the threat of other closed forums if we imitate their arbitrary moderations. Even today, there is little value in ensuring the survival of our forum if our memes and traditions do not survive with it. And there is very grave danger that an announced need for increased moderations will be seized upon by those anxious to expand its meaning to the very limits of forum censorship and concealment. That I do not intend to permit to the extent that it is in my control. And no user here, whether his or her post count is high or low, gimmick account or troll, should interpret my words here tonight as an excuse to report their forum enemies’ posts, to stifle dissent, to cover up our own mistakes or to withhold from the forum and its users the facts they deserve to know.

For we are opposed on this forum by a monolithic and ruthless conspiracy that relies on covert means for expanding its sphere of influence–on administrative infiltration instead of troll invasion, on subversion instead of forum poll elections, on fear of being reported instead of free speech, on shadowbanning instead of allowing open dissent. It is a system which has conscripted vast human and material resources into the building of a tightly knit, highly efficient machine that combines trolling, political bias, personal vendettas, arguments from authority, anti-fun and shitlording operations.

Its reasonings are concealed, not posted. Its mistakes are buried, not headlined. Its dissenters are banned, not praised. No ban wave is questioned, no rumor goes without being deleted, no secret is revealed.