Thanks all for weighing in, in a constructive and respectful manner.
Just to clarify though, freedom of speech is the ability for you to publish your writings without government intervention. It does not mean that a newspaper has any obligation to publish your letter to the editor. Most editorials submitted to newspapers are not published. Just like the print versions of Stereophile or TAS don’t publish every letter they get.
Sites have a right to decide what kind of content or conduct they allow published on their site.
It’s generally outlined in the terms of service no one reads.
For instance this site has a right to declare no political discussion. Is that censorship? I don’t believe so. There are many many places to discuss those matters. We come here to talk audio, ask advice, learn about new (or old) gear.
Of course things are going to go off the rails sometimes, but at what point is it counterproductive to the mission of the forum?
I think we’re here to help make our systems and music listening experience better.
Having people whose world view is that cables are snake oil, DACS all sounds the same, etc. is essentially anti-audiophile. These differences are well documented and dare I say “measured.” (I auditioned some Iconoclast speaker cables years back that came with their own set of measurements - I only returned them because at the time the shortest length sold was 10 feet)
I shouldn’t have to come onto an audiophile friendly site and have to defend basic principles of the hobby, or be told that my experiences with an audiophile ethernet switch are nonsense.