7 ms·

Interesting that he named his daughter after himself. I guess having a unisex name had its benefits. More importantly,I agree that reddit's public perception h

• abritinthebay 9y ago
  Not... really. The Donald/GamerGate/alt-right/troll factor has got immeasurably worse over the last 2 years. They’ve done nothing about it - in fact seem to tacitly be ok with it (preferring the useless “leave them in their own space” approach that has kept failing for years) Reddit is doing far far worse than even Twitter at combatting these issues. At least Twitter seems to be (kinda ineffectually) trying.
  • deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  • virtuexru 9y ago
    You seem sane.
    • sctb 9y ago
      We've already asked you to post civilly and substantively (as the guidelines ask) or not at all. We ban accounts that won't, so could you please improve this? https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
  • malvosenior 9y ago
    From the article: > Reddit was in stronger shape, he said, claiming that it boosted revenue fivefold during the last three-plus years since he had re-engaged with the company. Reddit, which has been ranked as the fourth most popular U.S. internet site, raised $200 million last year and was in good hands with co-founder Steve Huffman as CEO, he said. I'm not sure "failing" is the right term to use here. Just because you don't agree with the politics of many of the users doesn't mean that their communities aren’t successful and thriving. TheDonald's candidate was elected president after all...
  • JumpCrisscross 9y ago
    > Reddit is doing far far worse than even Twitter at combatting these issues Do you have a source for this claim? Genuine question. Searching Google Scholar for "flame wars" or "Twitter Reddit sentiment" failed to produce anything useful.
    • draw_down 9y ago
      > Searching Google Scholar for "flame wars" or "Twitter Reddit sentiment" failed to produce anything useful. Oh, well, I guess that settles it then!
    • autotune 9y ago
      /r/HailCorporate has plenty examples where corporations can be shown manipulating Reddit on a daily basis. I have to use a word search and replace plugin just to restore some amount of sanity to content and even then it's iffy.
      • Karunamon 9y ago
        /r/HailCorporate is an echo chamber that insists any time a brand is so much as mentioned without negativity, it must necessarily be an attempt at viral marketing. Meanwhile in the real world, people talk about brands in everyday conversation all the time without the sanction of the corporation behind it. Not that paid shilling isn't a thing, but they take the confirmation bias, way too far, to the point where calling shenanigans will get you attacked.
    • lumisota 9y ago
      Interesting paper (if a little tangential): https://conferences.sigcomm.org/imc/2017/papers/imc17-final145.pdf https://conferences.sigcomm.org/imc/2017/papers/imc17-final1...
  • Karunamon 9y ago
    As much as I don’t want to bring that particular debate here, this comment reads like anyone with conservative politics is a troll to be silenced. As someone who doesn’t agree, please understand how offensive and unconstructive this statement is.
    • eitally 9y ago
      Because those subs have absolutely nothign to do with conservative politics and everything to do with alt-right echo chamber trolling. There are plenty of places you can find polite political discourse on Reddit, like these: /r/PoliticalDiscussion/ <-- the only one I sub. /r/PoliticalOpinions /r/Ask_Politics /r/NeutralPolitics /r/ChangeMyView /r/GeoPolitics /r/WorldEvents /r/PoliticalScience /r/Economics /r/Politics And for logical, not emotional political debates: /r/AskAConservative /r/AskALiberal /r/DebateCommunism /r/DebateFascism /r/LibertarianDebates /r/DebateAnarchism
      • Karunamon 9y ago
        You include /r/politics on that list, which as we speak, has 100% of the front page dedicated to how horrible our president is. That is the absolute opposite of “thoughtful”, certainly not polite once you get into the comments and say anything that doesn't agree with that stance. I’d give you echo chamber, but also point out that applies to most subreddits in your list, but especially to the ask_$ideology types. People celebrating their political wins isn’t trolling, neither is celebrating the losses of the other side. It might be many things, but posting to get a rise isn’t it. It doesn't even make sense - people posting in their own communities about their own ideologies doesn't meet the definition either. Who would they be trolling, themselves? Oncomers who don't agree? If the latter, that applies to every political community everywhere.
        • abritinthebay 9y ago
          /r/politics is a bit of an echo chamber (tho really that’s due to being sick of the Donald brigades) but Trump is objectively horrible so that isn’t a good yardstick.
  • pentagonpapers 9y ago
    That's laughable. We know for a fact the DNC was paying people to sit on Reddit all day long with talking points to sway public opinion. It's the failure of Reddit to be transparent about thier political goals. It's clear to anyone who isnt blind that in the last four years Reddit has been structurally attacked by the left and turned places like politics, world news, even conspiracy into liberal talking points.
    • etjossem 9y ago
      Instead of presenting unsubstantiated claims as fact, please cite your sources so we know where you're coming from.
      • pentagonpapers 9y ago
        https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Correct_the_Record https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Correct_the_Record
        • etjossem 9y ago
          From your source: - The DNC was not paying Correct The Record. Like all super PACs, Correct The Record made independent expenditures on behalf of supportive donors around the country, and you can find their names here: https://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/pacgave2.php?cycle=2016&cmte=C00578997 https://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/pacgave2.php?cycle=2016&cmt... - Correct The Record had about a dozen full-time content producers writing favorable posts about the Democratic candidate online. I'm not seeing any references to improper payments made by the DNC, nor do I see the Reddit connection. While we're on the topic of independent expenditures, would you like to talk about the 328 million Russian Twitter accounts that were used in the general election to produce paid pro-Trump content? https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/07/us/politics/russia-facebook-twitter-election.html https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/07/us/politics/russia-facebo...
          • pentagonpapers 9y ago
            > The DNC was not paying Correct The Record as you claim; they were independently funded by donors around the country, all of whom are listed here: Super PACs have NEVER taken advice or worked directly with national campaigns. (they verifiably do) > Correct The Record had about a dozen full-time content producers writing favorable posts about the Democratic candidate online. > If this was supposed to be your evidence of a vast DNC conspiracy to ruin Reddit, I'm incredibly disappointed. I would say reddit going from a place that once supported open and free ideas, to one that only pretends to, is a very dangerous thing. Shilling is real, people are paid to do it. On both sides. Clearly the left wing has the advantage on reddit. > And given the 328 million Russian Twitter accounts used in the general election to produce paid pro-Trump content, do you really want to have this conversation? NYtimes writing slam pieces about our president? More fake russian collusion stories? Color me shocked. I don't trust the media, and neither should you. The whole Russia story is hogwash.
  • seany 9y ago
    A lot of people have the opposite view though (reddit has gone too far down that path, and twitter is a lost cause). There are plenty of bad actors on both sides of this issue.
    • hateduser2 9y ago
      You’re going to get in trouble for using the words “on both sides” I don’t think hacker news would say this but many would: “one side is literally Nazis”.. not a very thoughtful complaint
• paulcole 9y ago
  >reddit's public perception had changed a lot in the last year If this is true (and I don't believe it is), then they did a truly masterful job of scapegoating Ellen Pao and playing the PR game since her tenure.
  • debacle 9y ago
    Not sure why you're being downmodded. A lot has come to light about how Pao was scapegoated for many negative changes at reddit. Not a Pao fan, but what reddit did was dishonest.
• jbigelow76 9y ago
  Interesting that he named his daughter after himself. Check your privilege bro, who says he determined the name? Maybe Serena Williams liked the name and wanted it for their daughter.
  • ihuman 9y ago
    What does that have anything to do with privilege?
    • jbigelow76 9y ago
      Sarcasm based on the OP's assumption that it was hubris that led the name selection of their daughter. It was literally the first thing the OP commented on. Where it entwines with privilege is the OP's assumption that Serena had no agency in the naming.
• TheAdamAndChe 9y ago
  This is true, but it's also gotten much more shallow and predictable IMO. The memes feel forced or manipulated by large corporations(see /r/hailcorporate), and I don't feel like part of a community anymore, simply an observer. I honestly just don't enjoy it as much. Idk if this is everyone's experience or just my own, though.
  • vxNsr 9y ago
    This also appears to be the case. though until you said I didn't realize...
• smacktoward 9y ago
  > there are still some subs that are pretty insular but for the most part as they've grown they've gotten nicer That didn't just happen naturally as they grew, Reddit took deliberate steps to make their platform more welcoming. (See https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/26/us/reddit-violence-policy.html https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/26/us/reddit-violence-policy... for an example.)
• slg 9y ago
  The stories of Reddit's problems with harassment, racism, and sexism have decreased over the last year but that appears to be mostly from the site doing a better job of hiding it. There is still just as much hate on the site except now it is just seething under the surface. I am sure that is better from an investor perspective, but it isn't really a solution to the problems.
  • ythn 9y ago
    > There is still just as much hate on the site except now it is just seething under the surface Yeah but if your vast majority of users doesn't see it or know where to find it, who cares? I've been a reddit user for 2 years and never encountered the subreddits you are talking about nor have I sought them out. The "solution" you are talking about is heavy-handed speech moderation
    • bfuller 9y ago
      Heavy handed speech moderation is what is starting to happen on reddit. It works on HN
      • leetcrew 9y ago
        although the format is similar, reddit and HN are very different sites, and imo that's a good thing. when i visit HN, i expect the articles to be topical and for the discourse to be informative and interesting. somewhat amazingly, my expectations are usually met here, which makes the site quite a gem. at the same time, i don't always want that. sometimes i just want to see a true train wreck unfold in the comments. in a way i even appreciate the donald trump and hate subreddits. if there are ideologies spreading that can impact my life, i would prefer to go to the source and read their actual words than have the ny times regurgitate them to me. there are benefits to the hands-on moderation and the wild west styles. the only optimal solution is having a wide range of choices.
    • TheAdamAndChe 9y ago
      > if your vast majority of users doesn't see it or know where to find it, who cares? If those channels become extremist echo chambers, then the government could care when terrorists start being made on the site, affecting Reddit's PR in the long run. I know of several subs that are full of such extremist vitriol. Since they're a global website, they've got to consider things like long-term social impacts of their content.
• darkmarmot 9y ago
  It's nice as long as you don't criticize their advertisers. The admins shadow-banned my 8-yr old account for criticizing a sponsored post from AMC.