Xin chao

[zidane]

Hello, My name is Sebastien Lecoultre,

I'm from France. I am working now in Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City. I randomly found this web when going through internet. VIEX is a forum different from other Vietnamese expatriate forums, here there are Vietnamese and non-Vietnamese, and we exchange our point of view.

What seems short in this forum is political discussion. We all understand that it's a language and culture forum, and that VN government does not like VN people to talk about politics.

I'm learning Vietnamese and will be happy to help and to be helped in this place.

Rat vui duoc gap cac ban.

Sebastien

[camly]

Hello Zidane or Sebastien.
You are right:
and that VN government does not like VN people to talk about politics.
I think it's not only the Gov. but everybody in VN. It's very shameful though.

[saigon]

Hello Zidane or Sebastien.
You are right:
and that VN government does not like VN people to talk about politics.
I think it's not only the Gov. but everybody in VN. It's very shameful though.

Hi Camly, do you really need to say it out ? Sorry to say, but if i were the admin, your username would have been banned. Read the http://vietnameseonline.net/viewtopic.php?t=5, my friend. VIEX's admins did his great job, don't give them trouble, please.

[Khatores]

Hey, let's not have a big misunderstanding over this. :)

Many people (Cam Ly and zidane included) clearly have an interest in politics, among other things. Politics is a part of life and merits discussion, up to a point. That point is where it infringes on the rights of others to use this forum, or when it becomes divisive and begins to make enemies rather than bring people together. We can all have different opinions, but we all need to "keep it civil"...which means, to act mature and just as we would in public...no different just because we're on the internet.

The admins and everyone who uses this forum also have a real interest in being able to use the forum, which may not be possible if it ends up being blocked or blacklisted by governments which don't value free discussion. Some members do not have any risk of this, but we need to be considerate of all members. We have one member from Myanmar, several from Vietnam, at least one from China, and a few from the former Soviet Union. Remember also that these people have jobs, some of them with the government, and need to feed their families.

I really don't know any nation's policies on censorship; the US restricts child pornography, "classified material" (we are currently having a disagreement about what that means) and that's about it. However, everyone should know the limits for their own governments, and can make responsible judgements within those. There are many ways to have a political discussion where everyone understands what is being said without explicitly saying everything that's on your mind.

I am personally a political science major, and believe in unlimited freedom of the press...I appreciate breaking the limits in public discourse and challenging notions of censorship, in the right place and time. This, however, is not a political activism forum (although there are plenty of them available).

[admin]

Hi Khatores and other posters of the thread,

What Khatores said is right in the point of view of VIEX.

By the way, Mondito.com is a great forum that, I think, can be combined with VIEX in several ways. Visit it and post anything you like about politics.

We decide to lock this thread and we hope that nobody will abuse the VIEX rule again.

Thanks