I thank Konstantinos for his answer, the more so because it is refreshingly free of the “if you can’t do BNBR then you are an asshole” refrain so commonly heard.
My answer comes from a different place, as you’d expect.
By deactivating, you are declaring that the negativity of dealing with Quora Moderation outweighs the positivity of the questions and answers experience, and of dealing with the Quora Community.
This is a reasonable stance. There are other comparable venues you can use instead, some even more strict (Stack Exchange), some less strict (Reddit, Yahoo Answers), some more specialised (blogs), and so forth.
Quora is a private concern. We do not live in a democracy in Quora; we also do not live under a regime of Natural Justice (Nick Nicholas’ answer to Should Quorans be allowed to present a statement of defense before being sentenced to a permanent ban?) The laws may be good and proper—or they may not. But they are not open to feedback from the people (although they are open to feedback from Christopher VanLang), and their enforcement is not open to scrutiny.
As Tatiana famously put it: Same old story by Tatiana Estévez on Moderation FAQs
Whether you agree with moderation or not, whether you think moderation is too harsh or not, it doesn’t matter, it applies to everyone.
We can query whether it does apply to everyone, precisely because of the lack of transparency. But there is no redress through the ballot box or an ombudsman; there’s just sporadic upholding of appeals, and speculation. And as one Writer put it in defending this state of affairs:
– moderation has the power
– everybody else does not (read it again, folks, in case that didn’t sink in). We are judge, jury and executioner. So please, pretty please with sugar on top, shut the fuck up. You don’t get a say and your words are not helping.
Most regimes where the same body are judge, jury and executioner, I suppose, don’t bother with the “please, pretty please with sugar on top”.
If one finds oneself in such a regime, what courses are open to one?
- Accept that the benefits outweigh the harm, comply, and continue on here. Maybe even defend the regime, as the most reasonable arrangement for a private forum provider, to prevent descending into the morass of YouTube comments.
- Reject that the benefits outweigh the harm, and leave the forum. As OP proposes.
- Rebel, and get expelled from the forum.
- The course I’ve chosen is Dissent.
Dissent does not mean antinomianism. It does not mean anarchy. It does not mean disobedience, civil or otherwise. It does not mean rejecting all or most or some of the principles of Quora, including BNBR. Dissent doesn’t even mean saying Moderation is too strict, overall.
But dissent does mean pointing out what you think is wrong, when you think, in considered and dispassionate judgement, that it’s wrong.
It does mean declining to shut the fuck up. Not because it will change anything, but because it is the right thing to do.