“Leaving the forum as totally uncensored means the whackos taking over. So there has to be some censorship.”

What troubles me is that free speech — and democracy — can’t possibly survive if we feel the need to police “whackos.” These people have always existed, and free speech has managed to survive in spite of their presence. We have to trust that the free market of ideas will weed out the “whackos.” Their ideas won’t resonate, and have never resonated, with the majority of Americans, and their voices will eventually dwindle. Unless we believe the majority of Americans are insane (which I don’t), there is nothing to fear.

But trying to silence the “whackos” only breeds fear, paranoia, and conspiracy theories. It gives their voices heat, which is exactly the opposite of what we should want.

Also, given the political leanings of Medium members, I doubt these fringe voices would have any chance of taking over the platform. If anything, they would add a refreshing bit of diversity to the otherwise bland and masturbatory narratives that permeate Medium.