A new social service that promises a free speech alternative to Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc. is starting to gather steam off the back of a number of high-profile conservative endorsements.

Called Gab, the service is probably closer to Twitter than any other service but with the ability to vote on posts, it also has a touch of Reddit about it as well.

Users are able to post “Gabs,” which have a 300-character limit; follow other users and be followed; upvote and downvote Gabs; visit Top Gabs ranked on those votes; and view Gabs in a chronological time.

Launched in mid-August and still in closed beta, the service is said to have 12,000 users, has registered 2.7 million page views on 240,000 posts with people spending an average of 12 minutes on the site each time they log in. Buzzfeed reported that the waiting list to gain access to the service is 42,000 people. However, at the time of writing this post, the number had increased to 46,500.

Self-censorship

Gab is pitching the site as a free-speech alternative to Twitter in particular, complete with a Salman Rushdie quote, “What is freedom of expression? Without the freedom to offend, it ceases to exist” on its front page. But the site does offer filtering options, so users are able to censor content they don’t want to see.

As founder Andrew Torba explained to Breitbart:

We believe that the only valid form of censorship is self-censorship, an individual’s freedom to opt out. Gab empowers users to self-censor and remove unwanted followers, words, phrases, and topics they don’t want to see in their feeds to help stop and prevent different forms harassment.

The site does have some rules when it comes to content being posted: no illegal pornography and no promoting terrorism or violence. Also, users are not allowed to post confidential information about another person without consent, a practice known as doxing.

Refreshing

While naturally attracting those of a more right-wing persuasion, including high-profile Twitter sacrificial lamb Milo Yianopolis, the service is ostensibly targeted at those who support free speech. Tobra noted that “Gab is not for any particular group of people, political leaning, race, beliefs, or anything … . Anybody is welcome to express themselves on Gab.”

In an age of ever-increasing censorship in social media, Gab sounds great on paper, and the stance on self-censorship is highly refreshing in that it empowers the individual to make their own decisions on what they want to read or who they want to have contact with.

It’s a given that social justice warriors and wannabe victims will never embrace self-censorship, given that they believe they should be catered to by others while never taking responsibility for themselves. But in terms of Gab’s growth going forward, that may be its biggest selling point.

You can sign up for the waiting list on Gab’s site here.

Image credit: Andrew Torba/Gab