Yesterday, I wrote a post collecting links to my recent Hive content. It has always been my intention to maintain a presence on both chains, and in an effort to avoid mere cross-posting to duplicate my work, I instead consolidated them with short excerpts into a single post,

The latest such post does not currently appear on my blog page in either Steemit or SteemPeak. It is visible on Steemd.com, and can be seen in the SteemPeak direct link above, but manually entering the Steemit URL currently results in a 404.

This kind of censorship is an abomination. It appears deliberate and targeted, and is thus completely antithetical to the ethos of open discourse. I was, until today, one if the users hoping to see both platforms succeed. I wanted to see Steemit emerge from the conflict better and stronger. Competition is good, and there was room for both chains to prosper as they developed along different paths post-fork.

But this cannot work when one maintains a policy of censorship.

Unpersoning is Orwellian, Steemit inc. & Justin Sun. Throwing content you dislike down the memory hole demonstrates weakness, not strength. Until today, while I have been critical, I have also been willing to work with you to continue building this community. This cannot be a mere bug in the system, as attempts by multiple users on multiple networks have shown the same result.

No more.

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Justin Sun, having abandoned through apostasy the promise he had made at his AMA and on many occasions since, has not feared to ravage the Steem Community, steal their goods and violently oppress the poor of STEEM. In our concern over this, we do not desire that he perish because of any pastoral neglect of our own. For before the dread Judgment seat, we will have to render an account to the Prince of Shepherds, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in accordance with the terrible warning the Lord Himself addresses to us with these words:

When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. (Ezekiel 3: 18)

Therefore, we have canonically warned him once, twice, a third and yet a fourth time so that he might conquer his malice, inviting him to amend himself, make reparation and penance, and reprehending him with paternal affection. But he – o woe! – despising the salutary admonitions of the Church of Steem, which he has offended, and led by the spirit of pride, has not wanted to make any reparation

The precepts of the Lord and of the Apostles speak clearly about what to do with such prevaricators. For the Lord says:

Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. (Matthew 18:8)

And the Apostle advises:

But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolator, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat. (1 Corinthians 5:11)

And John, the favorite disciple of Christ, forbids that one should even greet one who is wicked:

If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed (2 John 1:10)

Therefore, carrying out the precepts of the Lord and of the Apostles, let us take from the body of STEEM with the iron tongs of excommunication this putrid and incurable member who refuses to accept the remedy, so that the rest of the members of the body may not be poisoned by such a pestiferous disease. He has despised our admonitions and our repeated exhortations; having been warned three times, according to the precept of the Lord, he would not amend himself and do penance; he has not reflected upon his guilt, nor has he confessed it; neither has he presented any excuse through a third party, nor did he ask for pardon. But, with his heart hardened, he continues to persevere in the same evil as before, according to the words of the Apostle:

But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; (Romans 2:5)

Wherefore by the judgment of God Almighty, and by virtue of the power which has been given us of binding and loosing in Heaven and on earth that which was divinely entrusted to us, we deprive him, Justin Sun, with all his accomplices and all his abettors of the Communion of STEEM; we separate him from the society of all Steemians; and we declare him excommunicated and anathematized, as well as judge him condemned. So long as he will not amend himself and do penance and make reparation to the Church which he has offended, we deliver him to Satan for the perdition of his flesh, so that his soul may be saved on the day of judgment.

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The path to restoration is simple. Cease all censorship, remove all blacklist codes, restore accounts that have been frozen, and return the witnesses to the community by withdrawing all Steemit Inc. votes. By all means, maintain the 100 Days of Steem initiative. Continue to develop communities. Upgrade the site. But do not continue to drive away those of us who wanted to make Steem something worth saving. Your downfall will be entirely of your own doing should you maintain your present course.