Joke Responsibility as Free‑Speech Litmus

Argue that normative rules proposed for 'responsible' humour—lived‑experience requirements, punch‑up/punch‑down heuristics, intention checks—are becoming a practical litmus test for who is allowed to speak in cultural institutions and on platforms. These micro‑norms operate like administrative preconditions (HR checks, editorial gates) and therefore function as informal speech regulation mechanisms even absent law. — If accepted as standard practice, these everyday conversational rules will shape institutional hiring, programming, platform moderation and political legitimacy by deciding which styles of cultural expression are permitted or proscribed.