4 ms·

> it's always hard to run a subreddit where the only thing that people have in common is proximity. I don't mod any city/country subreddit, but I frequent seve

> it's always hard to run a subreddit where the only thing that people have in common is proximity. I don't mod any city/country subreddit, but I frequent several, and they are basically all awful. I keep visiting them for the rare gems of useful information, but 99% of the posts are complaints about crime or the cost of living, photos of the same five tourist attractions, or meta posts complaining about the aforementioned.

andrewinardeer 4y ago
The moderators of /r/melbourne, in the lead up to a state election in which the right-of-centre's main campaigning point was crime reduction outright banned the posting of any crime related news. Make of that what you will. https://www.reddit.com/r/melbourne/comments/7pmjwx/all_melbourne_crime_posts_to_be_directed_to/ https://www.reddit.com/r/melbourne/comments/7pmjwx/all_melbo...
- monkeydreams 4y ago
  As a subscriber to this sub-reddit, the constant spamming of stories relating to people of particular ethnicities committing crimes was annoying. It became a constant drum to summon to action racist trolls and idiots.
  - jpgvm 4y ago
    That and it was attracting a ton of undesirables to the sub that don't even live in Melbourne. It's been immeasurably better since that rule was introduced. There is plenty of other places for that sort of thing already.
- opportune 4y ago
  On one hand censorship is bad, on the other crime in particular is an easy way for non-locals to astroturf or disrupt local communities because they can just grab a news article and argue on the basis of generic talking points. I think it’s absolutely the case that this is regularly happening in many Reddit communities already, I’ve seen it first hand in the San Francisco and Bay Area subreddits. IMO the engagement optimization problem in social media is driving the increasing share of crime discussions online. Yes crime is getting worse in some areas, but I think crime just heavily drives engagement (which news media has known for a long time). With more conservatives going online, we’re seeing a bifurcation of traditional (cancel or callout culture, some kind of injustice) outrage porn - more common in the past when the internet leaned younger and more educated/urban - and now crime-related outrage porn that appeals to the right wing.
vogt 4y ago
Agreed. r/Dallas, r/Vegas, r/Austin, all absolutely terrible engagement and the "power local" types who have to make themselves known in every single thread are insufferable. I've stopped engaging with city-local subreddits and subscribing to new ones anytime I move, they are just hubs of toxicity even by Reddit standards.
- indeedmug 4y ago
  Nextdoor has a similar problem but even worse when it comes to the toxicity.
  - jeffbee 4y ago
    Nextdoor is much worse because instead of emergent community standards there is always some neighborhood admin who is the nosiest busybody you've ever heard of, because that's exactly the type of person who would be a Nextdoor early adopter. And the Nextdoor platform compounds the toxic nature of the product by giving crime posts wider distribution than all other kinds of posts.
  - astura 4y ago
    https://twitter.com/punished_cait/status/1628002713937092610?cxt=HHwWhIC9mfj16ZctAAAA https://twitter.com/punished_cait/status/1628002713937092610...
  - wlonkly 4y ago
    Nextdoor is where people go when they've been kicked out of the neighbourhood Facebook groups (or entirely out of Facebook).
- stusmall 4y ago
  /r/boulder is the same. If you only read that sub you'd think it was a Mad Max wasteland where the sidewalks are paved with used needles. It has a homelessness problem and its been getting worse since COVID, but it's still the safest place I've lived by a long shot.
  - 4y ago
Overtonwindow 4y ago
I used to spend a bit of time on r/StLouis and it was the same. The problem with subredits is the same all over the site: They are run by humans with their own built in beliefs, biases, and grudges. Truth matters not what a mod believes.

andrewinardeer 4y ago

The moderators of /r/melbourne, in the lead up to a state election in which the right-of-centre's main campaigning point was crime reduction outright banned the posting of any crime related news. Make of that what you will. https://www.reddit.com/r/melbourne/comments/7pmjwx/all_melbourne_crime_posts_to_be_directed_to/ https://www.reddit.com/r/melbourne/comments/7pmjwx/all_melbo...

monkeydreams 4y ago
As a subscriber to this sub-reddit, the constant spamming of stories relating to people of particular ethnicities committing crimes was annoying. It became a constant drum to summon to action racist trolls and idiots.
- jpgvm 4y ago
  That and it was attracting a ton of undesirables to the sub that don't even live in Melbourne. It's been immeasurably better since that rule was introduced. There is plenty of other places for that sort of thing already.
opportune 4y ago
On one hand censorship is bad, on the other crime in particular is an easy way for non-locals to astroturf or disrupt local communities because they can just grab a news article and argue on the basis of generic talking points. I think it’s absolutely the case that this is regularly happening in many Reddit communities already, I’ve seen it first hand in the San Francisco and Bay Area subreddits. IMO the engagement optimization problem in social media is driving the increasing share of crime discussions online. Yes crime is getting worse in some areas, but I think crime just heavily drives engagement (which news media has known for a long time). With more conservatives going online, we’re seeing a bifurcation of traditional (cancel or callout culture, some kind of injustice) outrage porn - more common in the past when the internet leaned younger and more educated/urban - and now crime-related outrage porn that appeals to the right wing.

vogt 4y ago

Agreed. r/Dallas, r/Vegas, r/Austin, all absolutely terrible engagement and the "power local" types who have to make themselves known in every single thread are insufferable. I've stopped engaging with city-local subreddits and subscribing to new ones anytime I move, they are just hubs of toxicity even by Reddit standards.

indeedmug 4y ago
Nextdoor has a similar problem but even worse when it comes to the toxicity.
- jeffbee 4y ago
  Nextdoor is much worse because instead of emergent community standards there is always some neighborhood admin who is the nosiest busybody you've ever heard of, because that's exactly the type of person who would be a Nextdoor early adopter. And the Nextdoor platform compounds the toxic nature of the product by giving crime posts wider distribution than all other kinds of posts.
- astura 4y ago
  https://twitter.com/punished_cait/status/1628002713937092610?cxt=HHwWhIC9mfj16ZctAAAA https://twitter.com/punished_cait/status/1628002713937092610...
- wlonkly 4y ago
  Nextdoor is where people go when they've been kicked out of the neighbourhood Facebook groups (or entirely out of Facebook).
stusmall 4y ago
/r/boulder is the same. If you only read that sub you'd think it was a Mad Max wasteland where the sidewalks are paved with used needles. It has a homelessness problem and its been getting worse since COVID, but it's still the safest place I've lived by a long shot.
- 4y ago

Overtonwindow 4y ago

I used to spend a bit of time on r/StLouis and it was the same. The problem with subredits is the same all over the site: They are run by humans with their own built in beliefs, biases, and grudges. Truth matters not what a mod believes.