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For a long time, I underestimated the power of the mods. Then, I saw how a few of them could turn the sentiment of a technical forum about a seemingly technical
by Hermel 7y ago
For a long time, I underestimated the power of the mods. Then, I saw how a few of them could turn the sentiment of a technical forum about a seemingly technical question upside down, simply by banning the right users and removing the right posts. Censorship works, regardless of whether it is used for good or for bad.
- strict9 7y agoPeople frequently enter a forum/sub/thread/etc with a not-yet-completely formed opinion on an issue. Sometimes to learn more, sometimes to further convince themselves, very rarely to change their mind. When the right group of people are waiting to reply to everything with zealotry, it's easy to go from •leaning• toward a viewpoint to full on embracing it and becoming a zealot. And let's face it, hate is the most effective weapon for this.
- wswope 7y agoI agree, for me the big surprise was the impact of removing the "vice" subs, e.g. darknet market/some piracy-related ones. You'd think with the internet being the internet, those communities would just move elsewhere, and no doubt some members did, but for the most part the communities just died and the world moved on.
- bliblah 7y agoCensorship and Moderation are different things.