I love this term because people have changed the wording of it to mean something completely different that whenever I use it, they recoil in horror. I'd even say that the current people in my community (bar maybe one or two) would be disgusted with this post if they thought I was meaning what the phrase currently meant.
But luckily it doesn't.
A safe place how I was taught when I was getting into management and mental health is a place that's healthy for people to say what they like and not be judged for it. For instance a therapist creates a safe place with a couples when no-one feels as if they are being listened to. One will have to be quiet whilst the other partner speaks, and then it happens the other way. It's about being listened to, being heard, and also having your say.
Now a safe place means having certain speech protected and other speech which is deemed harmful can be eliminated from conversation. This has its uses of course, it's not all bad. Like in a clinic for recovering alcoholics people would have to avoid certain trigger words like going to the bar, or going to buy some vodka, or something similar.
But no speech should be prevented in a public domain community, I'm no mental health nurse, and I'm definitely not running any psychiatric clinics -- so people are free to say anything they want to in the man cave. However that may suit them.
This can come with its problems though because some people are so used to getting their own way and being able to bend communities to their whim that they try and come in and control the flow of information. You must have seen this before yourself, those that demand we put padding on the walls for our words, but they are allowed to freely speak as they want.
But I absolutely refuse to bend our community for anyone. Everyone has their say here, no matter how big or how small - and that creates quite a bit of good business because people feel they can tell me when they feel I'm not doing something right.
There have been a few times when the community have rallied against me in the past and I've listened to them. I watched as whaleshares was reduced to almost rubble because they didn't listen to anyone in their community, and that was a forewarning what could happen to mine if I just give people the middle finger and forget they are the building blocks to what I (we) do here.
So I (we) listen to everyone. I have to. These are my guys!
So you guys get to talk openly, and I get to listen. Great, isn't it?
But I won't limit speech at all. If you want to come in and talk about the Nazi party, and how Hitler should have won the world war, or even how General Mao Zedong was the best man alive? Sure. You can do that, I won't stop you - but you're more than likely going to have a hard time.
Whilst we let people have their say here, true colours often appear pretty quickly, and our guys are tilted towards the good nature, so mind how you go! Hah. Good bunch of guys we have in our cave. If you come in looking to make friends I'm sure you will.