The Ataturk Ultimatum

The Ataturk Ultimatum refers to the 5 August 2008 article posted by Turkey resident Modu Shanyu in his newspaper Orkhon Inscriptions . Modu stated that if eRepublik users do not stop insulting Ataturk, then he would report the website to be banned by the Turkish government.

The Ultimatum

Community Response

This article received arguably the most responses of any one article on eRepublik. A week after the article had been written, it had received 2,573 views, 192 comments, and 199 votes. The the responses to Modu Shanyu's article had the following major themes:

• The need for free speech in the World as well as in The New World.
• The real world censorship in Turkey, specifically the banning of YouTube and prosecuting Turks that have "insulted Turkishness" under Article 301 [1].
• The desire for Modu Shanyu to follow through with his threat so that eRepublik users would not have to contend with complaints such as his.

Admins Response

On August 6, the eRepublik admins made their ruling

Debate Continues

The debate continued in the comments section and in various newspapers.

Though stifled somewhat in the forums, the debate on censorship continues in the chat rooms and newspapers. Why is Ataturk, a historical figure off-limits, when others are not? The ruling by the Admins is deemed curious by eRepublik citizens. Some consider that it sets a precedent that anyone who complains and threatens can get what they want from the Admins at the expense of the overall community.

The above administrative decision is still active. As of November 9, 2010, no suspensions are applied in these cases, because these types of infringements fall under the incidence of the first eRepublik Law.