I read the original article when it was posted last week. While I enjoyed it, I really can't say I thought it was too controversial. As I remember it (and I didn't reread it now), it was a bit of a condemnation of the so called celebrations of Thatcher's death, and instead asked people to try to reflect and perhaps make something constructive out of it. I'm not sure why that would be banned, but Reddit mods seem to ban things willy nilly sometimes, seemingly without rhyme or reason. Anyway, I think getting banned form that septic field of an internet domain is a badge of honor. FWIW, Hubski content is banned all the time. Not because it's controversial, but because they just plain don't like us. It's their site and their right to ban whomever they please, but I think they really aren't doing a service for their members when they do this kind of thing.
You would have to ask them. All I know is that if we cross post anything to Reddit, it is often shadowbanned. They also accused syncretic of shilling for us, as if he is our employee. Even though we're orders of magnitude smaller than them, they apparently see us as a threat or a ripoff or a pain in the ass or something. We're none of those things. We just like talking with you all.
I've actually started moderating in the SFWPorn Network again, mostly because I missed talking to my friends in modmail. I've also been pretty active in the /r/bitcoin subreddit recently (because cryptocurrencies fascinate me) with my second reddit account /u/syncretic2 - I've had a backup account for some time in case anything happened to my original account. I have bouts of depression at times and the "Gawkergate" / Scopolamina controversies (which involved two online friends of mine who were treated unfairly by the reddit admins) was a tipping point of sorts for me during an already otherwise dark time for me. Things have turned around considerably for me recently and I have a new outlook on life. The "2" in front of my username is a reminder to not let the internet cause me any undue stress in the future, especially not reddit.
The moral of this story is that reddit mods are unelected and unpaid. They are just volunteers picked by historical circumstance and have probably waaaaaay too much power.
The free speech question is interesting. Obviously, I don't have free speech in your house. But, also, your house isn't squarely in public either. Forums like Reddit (and Hubski, too, obviously) are some public/private hybrids where it's not really clear where the line between free speech, and get-the-fuck-off-my-lawn is. I think that especially the teenie bopper mods sometimes don't have a subtle enough worldview to see this, and they always err on the side of their sub being their sub and no one else's.
b_b I'd totally give you free speech in my house.