Well, I suppose that there are messages that those of us with "delete" buttons delete as a matter of course.

Duplicate messages - that's obvious

"Get Rich Quick" and other Spam messages that have nothing to do with music - obvious

Messages that just take up space, like the one from the guy who filled a whole page with just his name - obvious

I don't think that's censorship - it's just tidying up. The only other messages I have deleted are the ones that were direct, personal attacks on Mudcatters, and I think I have deleted only two of those in the last couple of years. The ones that give us problems are the ones that have responses. How can I justify deleting an objectionable message if there is a string of responses to that message? I can certainly sympathize with the outrage people had expressed at a couple of the messages posted over the last few days, but all that outrage doesn't do a whole heck of a lot of good. I know it's justified, but it really has been pathetic.
The very best thing you can do to an objectionable post is ignore it. Just act as if the poster were invisible. Obnoxious people feed on the responses people give them - don't respond, and they're likely to stop being obnoxious.
The only people who hold official positions at the Mudcat Cafe are Max, our host; and Dick and Susan, the curators of the Digital Tradition. The rest of us are the guests of these gracious hosts. I haven't seen Dick, Susan, or Max make any move to censor anything here. If they don't censor, then nobody should. Max gave a few of us "edit" buttons and told us to use them with good judgment. I think we've tried to do that, perhaps erring on the side of freedom of discussion, but I think that's good.
The best censorship is self-censorship. If somebody posts something objectionable, ignore it. If it's a forum message that really might cause harm, then that's another matter - send a provate message to Dick, Susan, Max, or me or whoever the other unidentified button-holders are, and we'll take care of it if it can be done. If it's a matter of personal messages that are threatening or otherwise troublesome, contact Max directly.
Now, can we please get back to talking about music? We have a Dock Boggs song transcription that is in serious need of help (click here). I worked really hard to transcribe all eleventy-seven verses of Babes in the Wood (click) - it's a great story. In the "Babes" thread, an anonymous person we all know has issued a challenge, aksing that somebody transcribe 54 verses of "The Turkey Factor." Let's get back to doing what we do best - music.
-Joe Offer-