Administered by:
I have some books that I don't want, but I'm not sure how to dispose of them properly.
Let's start with the worst case:
- poorly-written book
- expressing potentially harmful ideas
- by an objectionable author
One example might be Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand. I think I have to hold on to it because even though I hate it now, it was important to my political evolution. But let's say I decide I need the shelf space, and it's time to say goodbye.
What is the most ethical way to get rid of it?
@skyfaller
Is it the last copy of any of these books? If not, it's completely fine to destroy it. Depriving someone of access to bad information is a good thing.
@GrayGooGirl Yeah, it's just a rehashing of the moderation debate we're familiar with on Mastodon, isn't it? Some of my difficulty is that I love books as physical objects; it's emotionally more difficult than blocking a shitty server.
And real libraries have to trim their collections and destroy books all the time. But they usually try other things first.
Also reminds me of deletionism vs. inclusionism in Wikipedia. Physical books are different, but historically I've opposed deletionism.
@GrayGooGirl@mstdn.games@skyfaller
From a preservation standpoint, I can understand not wanting to remove a thing entirely from existence, but I think it makes sense to erect barriers in front of it if said thing is harmful. That argument doesn't translate well to fediblock stuff because the harm is not contained, it's persistent and dynamic. Sure adding a barrier can help, but the forces at play there can find ways around those barriers. There is a malevolence in people that doesn't carry over to print.