Just to be clear about the "coal list" on BLurt:

• It is a list of known plagiarists who post on Blurt.
• Each individual user can view the list and turn it on or off for them to see it.
• It does not block anybody on the list from showing their posts
• It does show a warning label next to the posts of the users on the list
• The label leaves it up to the viewer as to whether they want to view and vote on that post
• People who get put on that list can also be taken off it if they stop acting unethically
• It is not censorship since it does not block anybody's ability to post or be seen.

The coal list is not censorship because the decision to vote or not vote on a post is left up to the individual user viewing the post and not the front ends. There is no mechanism to censor any user on Blurt.

I've been on Blurt for 6 months and love it. I wasn't forced to go there. I went there on principle. That principle is that individual Freedom of speech and choice trumps any and all collectivist group think.

I will give credit where credit is due. When they came up with the name Hive they were really forward thinking. Users have to have that "Hive" mentality and Hive thinking to stay here. There sure are an awful lot of people on here with Stockholm Syndrome to stay here and just nod their collective heads in agreement with whatever the whales say.

Go give Blurt an honest try. Just keep the mindset that you dont automatically get a built in audience when you are there. You actually have to work to build one. Not just be friends with a whale who runs a curation trail that auto up votes everything you do.