Three forum posts were denied by Front Porch Forum Member Support for allegedly violating Terms of Use.
Front Porch Forum (FPF) has been very active recently with community members addressing comments and questions toward Vermont Parents Against Critical Theory (VPACT). Unfortunately, FPF has made the decision to silence the reach of VPACT members who have been attempting to address community members in good faith. The primary reason for the denial of these posts is cited as “contain unsourced claims that equate equity initiatives to harm.” Each of our posts have provided extensive examples of declining proficiency rates along with links to the data demonstrating this.
Don’t take our word for it, see the correspondences provided below:
VPACT and associated members of the community have been maligned by a number of posters on FPF, with no apparent consequences, seemingly in violation of the same Terms of Use sections that VPACT has been accused of abusing. We do not expect everyone to agree with our analysis of Milton’s education system, but what we did hope was that we could continue to have civil dialogue around the topic and an ability to clearly state our positions for the community to understand.
FPF’s has a history of censorship.
Unfortunately, VPACT has not been the only victim of targeted censorship. Kristian Connolly has been speaking out against FPF and raising awareness throughout the state. Kristian has shared his story, and while he likely has very different opinions than those typically expressed by VPACT, he too was censored by FPF after being attacked by other members of the community. You can read Kristian’s story at his blog on Front Porch Flimflam.
Should private businesses that have received support from federally funded projects be allowed to censor private citizens whom they proport to serve?
FPF is 100% committed to our role as essential civic infrastructure for all the communities of Vermont, as well as portions of upstate New York and western Massachusetts.
FPF in Times of Crisis – Front Porch Forum
FPF proports to be an “essential civic infrastructure” with the chief goal of helping neighbors connect. FPF has partnered with the Vermont Council on Rural Development in 2013 to be accessible to every town in Vermont. The Vermont Council on Rural Development states this was “made possible after significant investment by VCRD’s Vermont Digital Economy Project and software development by Front Porch Forum.” From 2010 to 2013 VCRD received federal grants totaling $2,525,675 from the US Department of Commerce and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 for project e-Vermont: The Vermont Community Broadband Project. Front Porch Forum is listed as a Project Partner in this grant, although the extent of financial support is unknown at this time.
In any case, it is clear that Front Porch Forum continues to be one of the most used means of communications in Vermont by local municipalities. Should municipalities reconsider their reliance on FPF in favor of more neutral third-party platforms?
Note: VPACT will continue to investigate the funding received by FPF and will provide updates to this ongoing story.
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