So You (or someone you know) Got Banned From A Social Media Site

A lot of political pundits are being banned from Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and other social media sites these days, for violation of the Terms of Service. Here's why that isn't censorship in the First Amendment sense:

1. Social media sites are PRIVATELY-OWNED. When you sign up for an account, you have to agree to the Terms of Service. The ToS is a LEGALLY-BINDING CONTRACT. It says that you're allowed to post content on the site, but ONLY so long as you follow the ToS. Violate the ToS, and the company that runs that website no longer has any obligation whatsoever to let you use their private property.

2. There are other websites out there. Blogger, Wordpress, Vimeo, etc. also allow people to upload content onto their privately-owned websites. This is subject to those websites' ToS, as listed in point #1.

3. The First Amendment only prevents THE GOVERNMENT, ITSELF, from silencing people. If you are not being thrown in jail for expressing your opinions, then your 1st Amendment rights are still 100% intact. See also: the difference between the government and a private corporation like Facebook.

4. This is the Internet we're talking about here. If expressing opinions that the ToS of social-media sites tend to ban is that important to you, then for a small fee, you can buy a web domain, create your own personal website, and upload all the text, photos, Flash games, and videos to that website that you want. This is, in fact, how people used to do things before those big social-media sites came along. We had things like webrings to help people find other websites dedicated to the same sort of stuff as your website.

For example: Alex Jones was taken off a lot of social-media sites, not out of bias, but because he violated those websites' Terms of Service. However, the InfoWars website that Mr. Jones runs still exists in all its rage-filled, er, glory. The government has done nothing to silence Alex Jones. Searching for "info wars" on Google shows Jones's website as the first search result.

About Online Play on the Nintendo Switch

(I posted this on my Twitter here, and am copying it to DreamWidth to make it easier to read all at once. Reasons to be disappointed in the subscription service, other than "I recently became poor due to events beyond my control," just won't fly with me, and here's why.)

To be 100% clear about Nintendo Online Service:
It was ALWAYS GOING TO BE A PAID SUBSCRIPTION. They just didn't have it ready in time for system launch in March 2017.
You're not "losing free stuff." You got to try out a PAID SERVICE, for up to 18 months, for free.

I've seen people complain that existing games with online modes "haven't changed since online was free, and Nintendo should give subscribers new content."  Nintendo already GAVE YOU 18 MONTHS OF FREE ACCESS TO SOMETHING THEY PLANNED, FROM THE BEGINNING, TO CHARGE YOU FOR.  Getting to play Splatoon2, MarioKart 8, and other online-capable games without subscription WAS YOUR FREEBIE. You got an 18-month grace period. That's been used up.*

NINTENDO PLANNED TO CHARGE FOR ONLINE PLAY SINCE BEFORE THE SWITCH WAS RELEASED.  I can see complaining about paying for online play if Nintendo had waited until this summer to announce it. But they didn't. I bought my Switch in September of 2017, and before I even hooked it up to WiFi, the included News stories SAID THAT PAID ONLINE PLAY WOULD BEGIN IN 2018.  You had warning. You had 18 months of warning. Then in June, they told you how much this would cost.

You could have bought a $20 eShop card in FUCKING JUNE and be able to use it now to buy a subscription. You could have put $20 into PayPal. Under 18**? You could have bought a pre-paid credit card at the store, put $20 on it, and then use it now to subscribe.

If online play, the NES game library, and cloud save aren't worth the subscription fees to you (and if you're low on cash, 1 month is a mere $3.99--less than a fast-food combo), then DON'T SUBSCRIBE. Simple as that.

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* There's even an additional 7-day trial period!  So, as of 9/18/18, you have a whole week left to come up with $3.99 and give it to Nintendo before you lose access!  And since video games are a luxury item, not a necessity, and since the games in question all have 1-player offline modes, Nintendo can charge a subscription fee if they want to.  You're using THEIR console to play THEIR game, and the economy is currently balanced squarely in favor of corporations over consumers.

** In parts of the US, minors aren't allowed to own credit cards.  However, pre-paid, refillable "credit cards" that don't charge interest are an exception.  That's because, with these cards, you aren't borrowing money on credit, but are instead storing your own money on the card, then using it up (like a debit card, except trying to spend more than you have on the card is automatically declined).