I realize that Markos does not really need me to defend him, but I feel like the angst over Toke's banning is getting out of hand. I have been among those who have been critical of Kos's decision to ban the diarist TocqueDeville from Daily Kos. I had felt that his last diary was not a CT diary. And I say this despite the fact that I often find myself in disagreement with TocqueDeville. I even disagree with Kos on some issues as well. Bidet has written a recent diary asking Kos to unban Tocquedeville and giving him a second chance. The poll from that diary clearly showed that two thirds of Kossacks would like to see Toke reinstated, including myself.
However, some of you are saying that Kos needs to respect the will of the DKos community instead of being a tyrant. While, I understand this sentiment, I have to disagree with that. Here's is why.
Daily Kos is not just a community political blog. DKos is also a business that Markos owns. He does not run the website for free. Markos and his staff make a living from running that business. He has every right to make business decisions about the future of DKos. DKos has been an invaluable tool for advancing the progressive agenda. Daily Kos has clearly had an impact on the political landscape of the last few elections and is now regularly mentioned in the MSM. Markos decisions so far have made Daily Kos one of the most popular, successful political blogs on the Internet.
Thus, anything or any diarist who Markos feels is undermining the legitimacy or reputation of Daily Kos can be banned. Markos has to protect his business. Not only for himself, but for his staff and the Daily Kos community itself. His decisions may not always make some us happy and we can certainly feel like he is being unfair. But he owns Daily Kos and its copyrights. If we don't like this, then Internet is a big wide cyberworld where there are other blogs to congregate to. I do hope that Kos reconsiders his ban, but I will understand if he does not. I don't hold grudges and I will move on.