Read the Times article here.. As much as I dislikeYouTube, more for its lack of searchability then anything else, this article is frightening, particularly because it was expressly carried out, not because of YouTube's blatant disregard for copyright law (which is what the site is most often faulted for) but because of the government's dislike of a growing argument between Greek and Turkish users of the site and their trading of video insults. I have not personally seen any of the videos that were the source of this exchange, although I suspect that many of them are probably the typical childish reactions that can run rampant in any site that allows people to talk to each other. The bottom line is, when having discussion of any sort in an online forum, disagreement is what brings people back and engages them. If you always agree with everything you see or that is said in an online conversation, what would bring you back? It is human nature to eventually resort to these kind of tactics.

But none of this is actually the point. The fact that an entire website was blocked because of the behavior of some people is obviously a disturbing indication that the internet is not the 'free' place that many people would like to believe it is. Not that this is a new phenomenon at all. But something about this particular case is just so absurd that it brings the discussion around these acts of censorship into real prospective. Somehow we have to develop a language to discuss the gravity of this kind of situation so that there are ways to prevent it (not sure if that is ever possible). Censorship never works, in fact it often works in reverse. Now everyone not in Turkey who knew nothing of these videos before will seek them out.