I think 'operator' is one of the least understood areas of the BBS Network. Without a good understanding of this, the term 'censorship-resistant' cannot be well understood either. I don't know if I have understood it correctly myself, but I want to briefly explain what I understand with a metaphorical example. Instead of writing this as a comment on Wilba's (Wilbatilda@bbs's) post, for everyone to see, I am writing it as a new post. This way, if I have understood it correctly and there are no objections or corrections needed from METABBS admins, it might be helpful to anyone confused about the terms 'operator' and 'censorship-resistant.'

As far as I understand, the example below wouldn't be too far off to explain this concept.

If we think of the BBS Network as a highway system, we can consider the boards as cities and the operators as the governments of countries that include those cities. In this case, the customs gates (border crossings) would be the domain names. For example, right now, we are in the city of METABBS. This city has a mayor (metabbs@bbs) and assistants (moderators). As members (holding citizenship), we can engage in activities such as publishing, intellectual trade, participate in elections (polls and surveys), speak at the podium, respond to speakers on the podium, and earn reputation and BBS Tokens by adhering to the city's rules.

If we wish, we can travel to another nearby city through the BBS Network highway system without passing through any customs/border gate (without changing the domain name) and even obtain citizenship there – if the city's government does not object. For example, if we are masochistic enough to accept tasks like speaking on the podium a few times a day and cleaning the toilets of the city hall, we might become citizens of the city of THEXBOARD, governed by the dictator and mayor ...@bbs. The country's government (operator) may choose not to interfere in the free decisions of ...@bbs. However, if he starts verbally abusing or physically harming the city's residents without their consent, things could change because this country (operator) is a democratic country by Western standards.

Perhaps, for a bit of fun, we visit GAMTECH every day and/or have obtained membership/citizenship there too. While moving from METABBS to GAMTECH and in both cities, the general rules of the country's government (operator) apply. Most of us use the bbs.market customs gate (domain) when coming to this country. However, there are those who use the customs gate of starwarstheory.com, which is essentially an airport in the THEORY city. After all, without even passing through the bbs.market border gate, you can directly reach cities in this country – not just THEORY but also other cities in this country and maybe even cities in other countries (operators) – from this airport.

Let's say there's a country (operator) nearby ruled by fascism. They have paved their internal and external roads using BBS's technology and connected these roads to the international highway system (BBS Network). While some countries (operators) recognize this country (operator) as a friendly nation, others see it as a supporter of terrorism. This is because there's a city (board) called TERROR2023 in that country (operator). Some may argue that this name is just a joke, but currently, the government (operator) of the country hosting METABBS, GAMTECH, and THEXBOARD believes that in that TERROR2023 city (board), events that do not befit humanity are taking place. Therefore, to protect their own citizens and tourists and to avoid being classified as 'countries supporting terrorism' by other countries (operators), they close their own border gate (bbs.market domain) to the country which is ruled by fascism and includes the city TERROR2023.

If you are a journalist living in the city of METABBS and want to see and document what is happening in the city of TERROR2023, don't worry. Even though the country (operator) hosting METABBS closes its border gate, you can reach TERROR2023 through border gates from other places such as northbadboard.comnet, southNSFW.netcom, or even through the fascist country's seaside port customs gate, that is, using their own domain (terroristan.comnet) or airport (flyterroria.netcom). If the situation is really bad, and the use of the term 'terror' is not a joke, then it may not be difficult to predict that many countries (operators) around the world will soon close their border gates with that country, despite some operators not participating. The country, which still may be included in the blacklists of many countries (operators), may also be on the blacklists of many DAOs.

Especially the country (operator) known as KIDSLAND, which hosts cities (boards) like TELETUBBIES and NICKLEDEON, may have strict rules about which cities (boards) to close the customs gates and cancel flights to, and which cities (boards) in other countries to allow flights to because the tourists (visitors) and citizens (members) of KIDSLAND are all under the age of 18. For their parents to allow them to be in this country, the country's borders may need to be protected, or even completely closed.

A country (operator) called Freeland, founded by those who want to express their free ideas without anyone's pressure, might also exist.

There could be self-governing (DAO) cities (boards) and countries (operators).

Now, let's step out of this metaphorical example and return to the physical world. All of this is still subject to the rules of the local government, the national government, and international law where users are present. BBS is a neutral technology and network, and you still have to comply with the rules of your local government and adhere to international law. Parents must make an effort now and in the future to control the content their children may encounter. Today harmful content can be accessed with a single click, even on Twitter. The boundaries between the Dark Web and the normal web are becoming blurry. While creating an environment resistant to censorship, the BBS Network might also make things difficult for criminals by recording everything on the blockchain. All of these are issues that need to be worked on with the participation of experts in ethics and law.

I tried to explain the terms 'operator' and 'censorship-resistant' as I understand them with metaphorical examples. If I'm wrong, please let me know. I hope I haven't been too wrong, and it has been helpful to those who read it, especially those who are confused about these terms.