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> The apparently impending Reddit-Tencent marriage is complicated by the fact that Reddit, one of the most popular websites on the internet, is regularly—and is

> The apparently impending Reddit-Tencent marriage is complicated by the fact that Reddit, one of the most popular websites on the internet, is regularly—and is currently—blocked in China That should be disqualifying right there. How do you take money from an entity created in a culture that bans the very speech you built your platform on and keep a straight face about it?

dhh2106 8y ago
Completely agree, unless it's under the pretext of launching in China? I don't see how that happens though unless reddit abandons some of its principles
- adrianN 8y ago
  It wouldn't be the first time companies abandon or reinterpret their principles.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
arbitrage 8y ago
they'll hire a new CEO to take the flak, then quit in disgrace with a huge parachute payout. remarkably effective.
reader5000 8y ago
I'm not sure that China is significantly more prone to censorship than Reddit, if at all.
- naravara 8y ago
  I’m not sure if you’re operating under a shocking lack of perspective of what “censorship” means or a shocking amount of ignorance of what the PRC gets up to.
YeahSureWhyNot 8y ago
entity created in a 'culture'? its not the culture that bans free speech, its the government's policy. does that mean every american company agreed with USA's war on drugs or democracy in oily deserts policies?
Someone1234 8y ago
What's your basis for claiming that Chinese "culture" supports suppressing information? Last I checked it was the Chinese government (a minority) in order to consolidate power. Claiming an entire people's culture is based on the actions of their government is flawed. What if we applied the same standard to the US and other Western Nations? PS - Does anyone else find the undercurrent of subtle anti-Chinese racism on this site disturbing? I'm not even from East Asia and I find it deeply distasteful. If you posted some of this stuff about any other nation (or race), it would be [Flag] dead in minutes.
- Maskawanian 8y ago
  A government is a reflection of the people it is comprised of. Whataboutism is not a valid means of argument. Questioning the actions of a group of people is not racism.
  - amaccuish 8y ago
    > A government is a reflection of the people it is comprised of. I can think of many cases where that isn't the case.
  - darkerside 8y ago
    A _democratic_ government is a reflection of the people it is comprised of. Hierarchies and law can be imposed on people, whether or not they support or comply with them. Or was slavery a reflection on the enslaved?
  - Someone1234 8y ago
    > A government is a reflection of the people it is comprised of. In a direct democracy that may be true, but no country I am aware of has one. Most countries vary from representative Democracy up through full Dictatorship, with the wider society having ever less input as you move up the scale. In the Chinese system the government isn't meant to be a reflection of the people's views, the people are meant to be a reflection of the government's system. > Questioning the actions of a group of people is not racism. The whole crux of this isn't that they're criticizing the Chinese government, it is that they're saying a Chinese owned company cannot be trusted because their culture is subpar. If that isn't racism I don't know what it is.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
duckMuppet 8y ago
Yeh, I terribly unfortunate the beacon of liberty has chosen to embrace censorship.. Obviously reddit mods "got it" that some political opinions just shouldn't be allowed.. https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2018/01/12/project_veritas_hidden_camera_twitter_and_reddit_do_shadow_ban_certain_political_opinions.html https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2018/01/12/project_v... https://www.dailydot.com/news/reddit-technology-banned-words/ https://www.dailydot.com/news/reddit-technology-banned-words... https://slate.com/technology/2013/11/reddit-politics-r-politics-mods-ban-mother-jones-others-for-bad-journalism.html https://slate.com/technology/2013/11/reddit-politics-r-polit... Thankfully, the science is complete, and as these guys noted, open debate just can't be done with people who disagree or cherry pick the datas.. https://grist.org/climate-energy/reddits-science-forum-banned-climate-deniers-why-dont-all-newspapers-do-the-same/ https://grist.org/climate-energy/reddits-science-forum-banne... https://www.businessinsider.com/reddit-unbanned-russia-magic-mushrooms-germany-watchpeopledie-localised-censorship-2015-8 https://www.businessinsider.com/reddit-unbanned-russia-magic... These are just a few of the posts you can find outside of the goog.. I'm not saying I agree with any of the above opinions. However, I think it's pretty well documented that depending on your political persuasion, ideological bend, or ability to put aside reason in the name of "completed science", some opinions definitely hold more value than others. I for one am glad reddit has always appreciated that fact. There's a strong case to be made that the censoring in certain countries like China, is actually helping the masses make sense of their world better.

dhh2106 8y ago

Completely agree, unless it's under the pretext of launching in China? I don't see how that happens though unless reddit abandons some of its principles

adrianN 8y ago
It wouldn't be the first time companies abandon or reinterpret their principles.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

arbitrage 8y ago

they'll hire a new CEO to take the flak, then quit in disgrace with a huge parachute payout. remarkably effective.

reader5000 8y ago

I'm not sure that China is significantly more prone to censorship than Reddit, if at all.

naravara 8y ago
I’m not sure if you’re operating under a shocking lack of perspective of what “censorship” means or a shocking amount of ignorance of what the PRC gets up to.

YeahSureWhyNot 8y ago

entity created in a 'culture'? its not the culture that bans free speech, its the government's policy. does that mean every american company agreed with USA's war on drugs or democracy in oily deserts policies?

Someone1234 8y ago

What's your basis for claiming that Chinese "culture" supports suppressing information? Last I checked it was the Chinese government (a minority) in order to consolidate power. Claiming an entire people's culture is based on the actions of their government is flawed. What if we applied the same standard to the US and other Western Nations? PS - Does anyone else find the undercurrent of subtle anti-Chinese racism on this site disturbing? I'm not even from East Asia and I find it deeply distasteful. If you posted some of this stuff about any other nation (or race), it would be [Flag] dead in minutes.

Maskawanian 8y ago
A government is a reflection of the people it is comprised of. Whataboutism is not a valid means of argument. Questioning the actions of a group of people is not racism.
- amaccuish 8y ago
  > A government is a reflection of the people it is comprised of. I can think of many cases where that isn't the case.
- darkerside 8y ago
  A _democratic_ government is a reflection of the people it is comprised of. Hierarchies and law can be imposed on people, whether or not they support or comply with them. Or was slavery a reflection on the enslaved?
- Someone1234 8y ago
  > A government is a reflection of the people it is comprised of. In a direct democracy that may be true, but no country I am aware of has one. Most countries vary from representative Democracy up through full Dictatorship, with the wider society having ever less input as you move up the scale. In the Chinese system the government isn't meant to be a reflection of the people's views, the people are meant to be a reflection of the government's system. > Questioning the actions of a group of people is not racism. The whole crux of this isn't that they're criticizing the Chinese government, it is that they're saying a Chinese owned company cannot be trusted because their culture is subpar. If that isn't racism I don't know what it is.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

duckMuppet 8y ago

Yeh, I terribly unfortunate the beacon of liberty has chosen to embrace censorship.. Obviously reddit mods "got it" that some political opinions just shouldn't be allowed.. https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2018/01/12/project_veritas_hidden_camera_twitter_and_reddit_do_shadow_ban_certain_political_opinions.html https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2018/01/12/project_v... https://www.dailydot.com/news/reddit-technology-banned-words/ https://www.dailydot.com/news/reddit-technology-banned-words... https://slate.com/technology/2013/11/reddit-politics-r-politics-mods-ban-mother-jones-others-for-bad-journalism.html https://slate.com/technology/2013/11/reddit-politics-r-polit... Thankfully, the science is complete, and as these guys noted, open debate just can't be done with people who disagree or cherry pick the datas.. https://grist.org/climate-energy/reddits-science-forum-banned-climate-deniers-why-dont-all-newspapers-do-the-same/ https://grist.org/climate-energy/reddits-science-forum-banne... https://www.businessinsider.com/reddit-unbanned-russia-magic-mushrooms-germany-watchpeopledie-localised-censorship-2015-8 https://www.businessinsider.com/reddit-unbanned-russia-magic... These are just a few of the posts you can find outside of the goog.. I'm not saying I agree with any of the above opinions. However, I think it's pretty well documented that depending on your political persuasion, ideological bend, or ability to put aside reason in the name of "completed science", some opinions definitely hold more value than others. I for one am glad reddit has always appreciated that fact. There's a strong case to be made that the censoring in certain countries like China, is actually helping the masses make sense of their world better.