There has been lots of discussion around censorship recently for a couple of reasons.
SteemIt, Inc.'s decision to block the supposed darknetlord's posts from showing on SteemIt.com and also due to crazy flag throwing by those who wish to control others' thoughts and words via flags.
These situations have helped me define what censorship resistant means in terms of Steem.
We already have many front ends and they all may decide to do different things. So, it is important to understand there is no push for "anything goes" at the front end level. Each Dapp will have to decide on their own social standards regarding what their UI will allow and show on their App. Some Apps may decide to limit some forms of posts or accounts while others may choose to display everything. I guess we will have to take that into consideration as we invest in and or use the apps.
On the blockchain level the situation with the hacker situation is actually a great example of proof of concept. Their posts were removed from a front end, but are still clearly on the blockchain. This shows the content was resistant to censorship as promised.
It was a big turn off to freedom lovers, but it is only the reflection of SteemIt.com.
Regarding the flags, we also have something here which is Freedom of Stake. It goes along with freedom of Speech. If you hold enough Steem Power you can influence what is promoted or suppressed on most of the front ends. By voting up or down with your stake you can improve or decrease the visibility of the published material. The stakeholder can also add or remove monetary rewards as well.
It may or may not be a good plan. Regarding the action of flagging for unpopular opinions, it is within the right of the stakeholder to flag or upvote based on their own criteria. I think in some cases bad decisions are being made, but that does not limit the right of the stakeholder to make that decision.
Here is how it works.. If enough people with SteemPower feel something should be displayed they can make it happen. If the content is unpopular or offensive it can still be downvoted, but it does not disappear. It remains on the blockchain and on some front ends.
You have a right to express your opinion, but you do not have a right to voice it unchecked without response and get monetary and visibility gains. (I am using the word "Right" loosely here)
So, yes it might be a bad decision and a waste of stake to flag for unpopular opinions. in a DPOS environment, the stakeholders can flag if they want to. If other stakeholders feel this is bad for the platform they can counter the flags or votes.
The idea is that those with the most stake will have the most to win or lose due to the size of their investment they should make good decisions.
I'm not sure I see that panning out so far, but it is what the concept of DPOS is based on.
This is a comment I made on a post that was flagged:
Each user gets to use their stake to allocate rewards, we get a set amount per day we can upvote or down vote with our voting power which is a by-product of holding SteemPower. Your post is open to up and down votes (flag) for a week.
At the end of the week, you get to keep what you have on the post.
Some give lip service for reasons to flag.. but the truth is each stakeholder can use their stake how they want.
I don't care to argue with you, I don't care how you feel... I'm just stating a fact and whether or not you agree that is how it works.
I like to think of it as the wisdom of the crowd. 4 people like it they upvote, 3 people hate and they flag.. most people ignore it. At the end of the week, you keep the results.
Again, I am not defending the use of flags or blocking information. I am just trying to explain how it works. You can hold any opinion you want about the actions of the people involved.