3 ms·
I also find it interesting how the spread of extreme ideology is characterized as being the result of the free flow of information, when a cursory look at the s
by betwixthewires 6y ago
I also find it interesting how the spread of extreme ideology is characterized as being the result of the free flow of information, when a cursory look at the situation shows that it is not the case. There are sites such as this one where anyone can pretty much say anything they like, and you don't see this phenomenon here. Where you do see this phenomenon is on sites where algorithms control the spread of information directly based on business incentives centered around attention grabbing and emotional reaction, and less commonly (but increasingly more commonly) sites that outright require ideological conformity to participate.
- specialist 6y agoaka monetizing outrage.
- mplanchard 6y agoI’m not disagreeing with your general point, but this is definitively not a site where anyone can pretty much say what they like. Individuals flag posts and comments, which can keep them from showing up. The mods here are very active, responding to user reports and dealing with content that breaks the site guidelines. IMO that moderation is what makes this site generally tolerable, as compared to other discussion forums on the internet. It’s possible I misinterpreted you and you meant “anything they like” in the sense of being able to hold (almost) any opinion and be able to express it, provided it’s expressed politely and in good faith. In that case, I would still argue that it’s only the selective moderation of impoliteness and poor faith arguments that keeps this site bearable.