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I spent 13 years chronically on reddit before stumbling into a exit hatch of the bubble chamber. Those people (well really it's teens and college kids) live on

I spent 13 years chronically on reddit before stumbling into a exit hatch of the bubble chamber. Those people (well really it's teens and college kids) live on reddit, they are so far from an accurate representation of reality its insane.

transcriptase 1y ago
Worse when you find out there’s a couple dozen of the same moderators running nearly all the top 500 subreddits.
- hnhg 1y ago
  That makes some sense. Are they paid for this?
  - GauntletWizard 1y ago
    By reddit? No. By the users? No. But they are paid.
    - KronisLV 1y ago
      You’d like to substantiate that? I’d love to have someone pull the curtain back and learn by whom, if that’s the case.
      - Workaccount2 1y ago
        I don't know about money, but they definitely get ego strokes.
      - GauntletWizard 1y ago
        Many of them are using their subreddits for submarine promotion. Here's a public example: https://www.reddit.com/r/SeattleWA/comments/547wxd/comment/d7zmfmo/ https://www.reddit.com/r/SeattleWA/comments/547wxd/comment/d... There's much worse that's "pure speculation", because a few thousand unemployed losers that nonetheless have six figure incomes aren't suspicious at all. See the kerfuffle when the mod of r/antiwork went on Fox News, where several of the other power mods alluded to their true incomes and professions (they know what they are - PR people) when trying to boast about how they'd have done better.
        GauntletWizard 1y ago
        Found on the front page today, an article about exactly this kind of "marketing" https://larslofgren.com/codesmith-reddit-reputation-attack/ https://larslofgren.com/codesmith-reddit-reputation-attack/
- jjoe 1y ago
  So they own the media...
Aerbil313 1y ago
Everyone should learn the concept of a Skinner Box. [1] Reddit is a Skinner Box. HN is too, though to a much lesser extent [2]. Every Skinner Box has one dominant opinion on every matter, which means, by simply using the product, your beliefs on any matter will shift towards the dominant opinion of the platform. I was a chronically online Reddit user once. I can spot any chronically online Reddit user in just a few minutes in any social event by their mannerisms and the way they talk. I’ll ask and without fail indeed they are a daily Reddit user. It’s even more obvious in writing where you can spot them in just a few always-grammatically-correct text messages flavored with reddit-funny remarks and snarks and jokes. Same goes for chronic X users. Their signature behavior is talking about social/political issues unprompted. It’s even easier to spot them. I think the main reason behind platforms shaping user behavior is this: The most upvoted content will always surface to the top, where it will be seen by most users, meaning, its belief-shaping impact is exponential instead of linear. In the same manner unpopular opinions will be pushed to the bottom, and will have exponentially small impact. Some opinions will even be banned or shadowbanned, which means they are beyond the Overton Window of the specific platform. This way, the platform both nudges you towards the dominant opinion and limits the range of possible opinions you will be exposed to. Over time, this affects your personality and character. 1: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operant_conditioning_chamber https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operant_conditioning_chamber 2: The HN moderators and the algorithm both actively resist the effect and try to increase diversification.
1oooqooq 1y ago
"i quit reddit but I'm 100% bullish in llms that just distil reddit posts to me" oh you

transcriptase 1y ago

Worse when you find out there’s a couple dozen of the same moderators running nearly all the top 500 subreddits.

hnhg 1y ago
That makes some sense. Are they paid for this?
- GauntletWizard 1y ago
  By reddit? No. By the users? No. But they are paid.
  - KronisLV 1y ago
    You’d like to substantiate that? I’d love to have someone pull the curtain back and learn by whom, if that’s the case.
    - Workaccount2 1y ago
      I don't know about money, but they definitely get ego strokes.
    - GauntletWizard 1y ago
      Many of them are using their subreddits for submarine promotion. Here's a public example: https://www.reddit.com/r/SeattleWA/comments/547wxd/comment/d7zmfmo/ https://www.reddit.com/r/SeattleWA/comments/547wxd/comment/d... There's much worse that's "pure speculation", because a few thousand unemployed losers that nonetheless have six figure incomes aren't suspicious at all. See the kerfuffle when the mod of r/antiwork went on Fox News, where several of the other power mods alluded to their true incomes and professions (they know what they are - PR people) when trying to boast about how they'd have done better.
      - GauntletWizard 1y ago
        Found on the front page today, an article about exactly this kind of "marketing" https://larslofgren.com/codesmith-reddit-reputation-attack/ https://larslofgren.com/codesmith-reddit-reputation-attack/
jjoe 1y ago
So they own the media...

Aerbil313 1y ago

Everyone should learn the concept of a Skinner Box. [1] Reddit is a Skinner Box. HN is too, though to a much lesser extent [2]. Every Skinner Box has one dominant opinion on every matter, which means, by simply using the product, your beliefs on any matter will shift towards the dominant opinion of the platform. I was a chronically online Reddit user once. I can spot any chronically online Reddit user in just a few minutes in any social event by their mannerisms and the way they talk. I’ll ask and without fail indeed they are a daily Reddit user. It’s even more obvious in writing where you can spot them in just a few always-grammatically-correct text messages flavored with reddit-funny remarks and snarks and jokes. Same goes for chronic X users. Their signature behavior is talking about social/political issues unprompted. It’s even easier to spot them. I think the main reason behind platforms shaping user behavior is this: The most upvoted content will always surface to the top, where it will be seen by most users, meaning, its belief-shaping impact is exponential instead of linear. In the same manner unpopular opinions will be pushed to the bottom, and will have exponentially small impact. Some opinions will even be banned or shadowbanned, which means they are beyond the Overton Window of the specific platform. This way, the platform both nudges you towards the dominant opinion and limits the range of possible opinions you will be exposed to. Over time, this affects your personality and character. 1: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operant_conditioning_chamber https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operant_conditioning_chamber 2: The HN moderators and the algorithm both actively resist the effect and try to increase diversification.

1oooqooq 1y ago

"i quit reddit but I'm 100% bullish in llms that just distil reddit posts to me" oh you