There was a casual distinction between removing spam/trolling and actual censorship, and since "platforms" weren't as much of a thing anyone could go set up their own mailing list or web site or IRC server and still be part of the action. The word "censorship" back then implied that (and it seems juvenile now) the gubbermint was comin' ta get all us freethinkers. The belief was that the Free Flow of Information would allow the truth to win out, and that as more people came online they would cast aside their illusions and embrace whatever vaguely anarcho-whatever utopian vision permeated the Internet back then.

At least, me and my fellow kids had that naive belief. Maybe the older folks online already knew better.