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> Reddit is huge and there's no real competitor. It's basically a monopoly, in its niche. "Deplatforming" whole groups because of their political views, however

> Reddit is huge and there's no real competitor. It's basically a monopoly, in its niche. "Deplatforming" whole groups because of their political views, however nutty, is a very slippery slope. Unless you also support speech you don't like - you don't really support free speech! Unlike Facebook and Google, which exert truly horrendous amounts of power over very significant aspects of people's lives, Reddit is, fundamentally, just another forum. It even has its older versions open-sourced. In fact, There are reddit clones where these things are perfectly allowed. And those clones are cesspits of schizophrenics, fascists, and deeply disturbed people.

deleted 7y ago
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noobermin 7y ago
To be honest, you could say HN is just another forum (although it's more like a news & comment site with less self-posts by character) but Reddit's place in the social media landscape gives it a lot more power in addition to the loss of a community when it is banned from there.
- asdff 7y ago
  This is one of the most moderated sites on the web
hiram112 7y ago
> cesspits of schizophrenics... As someone who has dealt with close family members struggling with this horrible affliction, my first thought was to contact Dang and demand your lynching. Instead I’ll take a breath, live and let live.
adultSwim 7y ago
Don't throw those of us with health problems under the bus. We are not nazis.
- Daishiman 7y ago
  Fair enough; I shouldn't be broadly generalizing and indeed most people with schizophrenia are far from this. I don't really know of a term to describe the deranged violent lunacy that manifests in those sites though.
  - hi5eyes 7y ago
    90% of it is just shitposting the rest is filled with people accelerating the mentally unstable try treating internet users like human beings first, maybe?
BubRoss 7y ago
To anyone wondering exactly what it looks like when all the people who can't keep from getting banned on Reddit go to the same place, go to voat.com It's tough to take a look and wish everyone was mixed together instead of these people just communicating with each other.
- afiori 7y ago
  That is why you should not segregate society in "better" and "worse" tiers. We all understand that there are people that have a negative influence on every network they participate in. The problem is that banning them is not a long term solution and in many cases it only make things worse. It is the easy one, but it makes impossible to build some difficult conversations. There are also many different kind of communities and forums, HN is very special in this (no subcommunities, strong moderation clearly stated upfront) many are more like tumblr (as the FAQ put it: "Go nuts, show nuts, whatever"). Reddit is effectively used as a second life, with countless smaller groups, weird circles, and unusual communities. In this regard it is the social network most similar to real live.
  - BubRoss 7y ago
    First, banning people absolutely does work. Second, these are internet forums, not segregating society. Third, if being around other people like yourself makes things worse, that isn't a problem that other people can solve for you. Finally, check out voat, incel groups, the_donald, etc. and see if you think it is just a matter of 'difficult conversation'. There is no rationality to conversations in extremist toxic internet forums. People have an emotional investment and frustration that looks far more like mental illness than actual discord.
    - afiori 7y ago
      > First, banning people absolutely does work. Agree, but not always in the direction we want or expect > Second, these are internet forums, not segregating society. This is an increasingly irrelevant distinction as we move more and more of our political debates over the internet (How often do people talk IRL with people of opposing view?) > Third, if being around other people like yourself makes things worse, that isn't a problem that other people can solve for you. Do you believe the same for addiction? Sorry for the strawman, but it is a silly statement. >Finally, check out voat, incel groups, the_donald, etc. [...] there is no rationality to conversations in extremist toxic internet forums. That is entirely the point, if you segregate the extremist and the moderate that is exactly what you get. Yes, banning more people is the solution to the problem caused by banning too many people (the 'too' is important). Without getting explicitly political it is important to point out that platforms ban people based on the consequences of not banning them. When you have strong external influences (like journalists asking loaded and threatening questions to create their own stories) platforms become a tool of political activists. Democracy and eager banning people from political discourse (Reddit less, but don't tell me that twitter is not fundamental in that) do not work well together.
SN76477 7y ago
Please do not visit voat.co It started as a free speech reddit but it has just turned into a mob mentality with horrendous language and the like. It makes me wonder if social media is a form of a sort of micro mob mentality. A lot of it really brings out the worst in people.
- Aromasin 7y ago
  I'm happy to say my exposure to literal insanity has been somewhat tapered over the years, so visiting Voat a while back was eye opening to say the least. There are clearly some very mentally ill people using that site. The issue is, they're getting fulfilment and a sense of acceptance via up-votes from 'edge-lords' who enjoy egging people like this on for their own entertainment. I wouldn't be surprised if the feedback-loop that people get from this website has had some influence on the recent shootings over the past few years.
VadersHat 7y ago
>In fact, There are reddit clones where these things are perfectly allowed. And those clones are cesspits of schizophrenics, fascists, and deeply disturbed people. so basically the clones are /r/politics ?

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

noobermin 7y ago

To be honest, you could say HN is just another forum (although it's more like a news & comment site with less self-posts by character) but Reddit's place in the social media landscape gives it a lot more power in addition to the loss of a community when it is banned from there.

asdff 7y ago
This is one of the most moderated sites on the web

hiram112 7y ago

> cesspits of schizophrenics... As someone who has dealt with close family members struggling with this horrible affliction, my first thought was to contact Dang and demand your lynching. Instead I’ll take a breath, live and let live.

adultSwim 7y ago

Don't throw those of us with health problems under the bus. We are not nazis.

Daishiman 7y ago
Fair enough; I shouldn't be broadly generalizing and indeed most people with schizophrenia are far from this. I don't really know of a term to describe the deranged violent lunacy that manifests in those sites though.
- hi5eyes 7y ago
  90% of it is just shitposting the rest is filled with people accelerating the mentally unstable try treating internet users like human beings first, maybe?

BubRoss 7y ago

To anyone wondering exactly what it looks like when all the people who can't keep from getting banned on Reddit go to the same place, go to voat.com It's tough to take a look and wish everyone was mixed together instead of these people just communicating with each other.

afiori 7y ago
That is why you should not segregate society in "better" and "worse" tiers. We all understand that there are people that have a negative influence on every network they participate in. The problem is that banning them is not a long term solution and in many cases it only make things worse. It is the easy one, but it makes impossible to build some difficult conversations. There are also many different kind of communities and forums, HN is very special in this (no subcommunities, strong moderation clearly stated upfront) many are more like tumblr (as the FAQ put it: "Go nuts, show nuts, whatever"). Reddit is effectively used as a second life, with countless smaller groups, weird circles, and unusual communities. In this regard it is the social network most similar to real live.
- BubRoss 7y ago
  First, banning people absolutely does work. Second, these are internet forums, not segregating society. Third, if being around other people like yourself makes things worse, that isn't a problem that other people can solve for you. Finally, check out voat, incel groups, the_donald, etc. and see if you think it is just a matter of 'difficult conversation'. There is no rationality to conversations in extremist toxic internet forums. People have an emotional investment and frustration that looks far more like mental illness than actual discord.
  - afiori 7y ago
    > First, banning people absolutely does work. Agree, but not always in the direction we want or expect > Second, these are internet forums, not segregating society. This is an increasingly irrelevant distinction as we move more and more of our political debates over the internet (How often do people talk IRL with people of opposing view?) > Third, if being around other people like yourself makes things worse, that isn't a problem that other people can solve for you. Do you believe the same for addiction? Sorry for the strawman, but it is a silly statement. >Finally, check out voat, incel groups, the_donald, etc. [...] there is no rationality to conversations in extremist toxic internet forums. That is entirely the point, if you segregate the extremist and the moderate that is exactly what you get. Yes, banning more people is the solution to the problem caused by banning too many people (the 'too' is important). Without getting explicitly political it is important to point out that platforms ban people based on the consequences of not banning them. When you have strong external influences (like journalists asking loaded and threatening questions to create their own stories) platforms become a tool of political activists. Democracy and eager banning people from political discourse (Reddit less, but don't tell me that twitter is not fundamental in that) do not work well together.

SN76477 7y ago

Please do not visit voat.co It started as a free speech reddit but it has just turned into a mob mentality with horrendous language and the like. It makes me wonder if social media is a form of a sort of micro mob mentality. A lot of it really brings out the worst in people.

Aromasin 7y ago
I'm happy to say my exposure to literal insanity has been somewhat tapered over the years, so visiting Voat a while back was eye opening to say the least. There are clearly some very mentally ill people using that site. The issue is, they're getting fulfilment and a sense of acceptance via up-votes from 'edge-lords' who enjoy egging people like this on for their own entertainment. I wouldn't be surprised if the feedback-loop that people get from this website has had some influence on the recent shootings over the past few years.

VadersHat 7y ago

>In fact, There are reddit clones where these things are perfectly allowed. And those clones are cesspits of schizophrenics, fascists, and deeply disturbed people. so basically the clones are /r/politics ?