Reddit Has Started Removing Subreddits For Harassment

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Apparently Reddit is removing subreddits for harassment now. So far only five subreddits have been banned but I have a feeling the list is going to get pretty long in the near future.

It is not easy to balance these values, especially as the Internet evolves. We are learning and hopefully improving as we move forward. We want to be open about our involvement: We will ban subreddits that allow their communities to use the subreddit as a platform to harass individuals when moderators don’t take action. We’re banning behavior, not ideas.
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We’re banning behavior, not ideas.

Once you put down goal posts, they can be moved anywhere later.
 
they should, reddit is a cesspool. Yes there are a few good spots for information but the rest has the integrity of a middle school lunch room.
 
Darunion said:
they should, reddit is a cesspool. Yes there are a few good spots for information but the rest has the integrity of a middle school lunch room.
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But mah FREEDUMBS!

How many times do we hear "This is a private forum, if you don't like it leave" but all of the sudden reddit is somehow violating "freedom?" Don't like it? Leave!

Also, if subs are in fact being used to organize harassment off-site, it's not censorship to disallow that activity--it's common sense lest the webmaster end up associated with it. I'm gonna make a guess that deliberately turning a blind eye to doxxing doesn't leave a site operator, no matter how "principled," much of a leg to stand on.
 
Goddammit they banned r/fatpeoplehate. That shit was hilarious.
 
Considering the sheer volume of random stupid shit on Reddit, I'm sure something else will come in to fill the void left by the closing of those subreddits in no time at all.
 
Pretty soon it will look like Ars Technica... banned into the ground with only those people with whom they agree remaining.
 
The harassment thing I can understand. Once something gets too big its bound to leak and fail. fatpeoplehate was spilling over into other subs and getting incredibly popular. Reddit can't have something like that slandering their name on the internet. Without any kind of action they'll just turn into 4chan. This is no different than thefappening when reddit was getting huge publicity and media coverage for having a sub dedicated to celebrity nudes. They shut that shit down quick.
 
There is a massive shitstorm going down because of this at the moment, mostly directed at the CEO.

It's hilarious to watch.
 
More SJW crusading. They got rid of fatpeoplehate (150,000+ subscribers and 230th largest director) and threw in some tiny subreddits to try to make it look less bad. They also banned neofag, a sure subreddit that majored mocked NeoGAF, a site on the SJW side of gamergate.

The thorn in the side of reddit's eccuse is that FPH was the most scrupulously moderated subreddit in the top 300. Posting user names or any identifying info or linking to other subreddit was forbidden, and rigidly enforced.
 
I stopped using Reddit when they decided to ban people who were climate change deniers. Regardless if you're a denier or not I find something seriously wrong with only allowing one side of a debate. ArsTechnica is following the same path or has mentioned they may start doing the same thing.
 
The Donut said:
There is a massive shitstorm going down because of this at the moment, mostly directed at the CEO.

It's hilarious to watch.
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Yeah, this is pretty much an internet riot. Reminds me a lot of the HD-DVD decryption code thing on Digg years ago. I might actually have to go outside or something today.
 
pgwalsh said:
I stopped using Reddit when they decided to ban people who were climate change deniers. Regardless if you're a denier or not I find something seriously wrong with only allowing one side of a debate. ArsTechnica is following the same path or has mentioned they may start doing the same thing.
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Interestingly, I didn't have to deny climate change. I simply made a comment that Miami is built on coral, which was once under water. I was down voted pretty fast since it didn't follow with the logic that we are 100% at fault and turning into Water World.
 
Sovereign said:
But mah FREEDUMBS!

How many times do we hear "This is a private forum, if you don't like it leave" but all of the sudden reddit is somehow violating "freedom?" Don't like it? Leave!

Also, if subs are in fact being used to organize harassment off-site, it's not censorship to disallow that activity--it's common sense lest the webmaster end up associated with it. I'm gonna make a guess that deliberately turning a blind eye to doxxing doesn't leave a site operator, no matter how "principled," much of a leg to stand on.
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You do see that argument a lot. Why does no one fight to exercise their right to STFU. Most don't understand that your rights don't apply in my house anymore than they do on a private owned forum.

Once I was happy the internet gave everyone a voice in the fog, now I just want to go hide on an island with no connection. lol
 
Darunion said:
You do see that argument a lot. Why does no one fight to exercise their right to STFU. Most don't understand that your rights don't apply in my house anymore than they do on a private owned forum.

Once I was happy the internet gave everyone a voice in the fog, now I just want to go hide on an island with no connection. lol
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Tell that to cake makers and pizza restaurant owners.
 
heatlesssun said:
There is a some straight up garbage on Reddit and I guarantee that if I were to post that stuff here or just about anywhere else the shit would be removed.
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How do you know if they aren't throwing out the baby with the bathwater? Yeah its easy to hold up an example of something vile which most people won't argue with. How do you know it will stay confined to that? I'm sure a police state can justify its existence by producing actual rapists and murderers.
 
heatlesssun said:
There is a some straight up garbage on Reddit and I guarantee that if I were to post that stuff here or just about anywhere else the shit would be removed.
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Nice thing about Reddit, though, is that if you don't like something you don't have to look at it.
 
The Donut said:
There is a massive shitstorm going down because of this at the moment, mostly directed at the CEO.

It's hilarious to watch.
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Where is the shit storm going down, because it definitely doesn't appear to be on the Reddit front page. Then again I suppose the mods have cleared the front page of any anti-Reddit comments, just like they wiped the place clean of almost all Ellen Pao discussion since she is a snake...
 
heatlesssun said:
Denying service because of something someone says or does is different from the issue your trying to mention here.
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Please explain how choosing not to facilitate the publishing of statements you dislike when publishing them is your thing is different from choosing not to facilitate activities you dislike when what you're being asked to do is your thing?

In all the cases there are options to go elsewhere.
 
ocellaris said:
Where is the shit storm going down, because it definitely doesn't appear to be on the Reddit front page. Then again I suppose the mods have cleared the front page of any anti-Reddit comments, just like they wiped the place clean of almost all Ellen Pao discussion since she is a snake...
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It's largely been deleted by mods. The frontpage was littered with fat hate images that were posted on /pics/ and the announcements section still has a 25K+ comment thread. Check /outoftheloop/ or /subredditdrama/.
 
Whatever, go ban the world for all I care. If the people who operate the site wanna do it, that's their business not ours.

I'm sure someone's gonna be all like, "But 'Merica and Feedum from gubbermint cause of mah libbertarian riiats is bein' vi-o-late-ed!" and not really have any idea how to constructively channel their knee-jerk emotions.
 
They banned Fatpeoplehate and now r/all has been nothing but Fatpeoplehate spilling over into other, new subreddits faster than they can be banned for 2 days. Good job Ellen Pao.

Pretty much everything about Ellen Pao just makes me roll my eyes. Talk about a way to lose credibility - put her as your CEO.
 
SparkedFire said:
Interestingly, I didn't have to deny climate change. I simply made a comment that Miami is built on coral, which was once under water. I was down voted pretty fast since it didn't follow with the logic that we are 100% at fault and turning into Water World.
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And see... I appreciate that fact because I didn't know it.
 
jpm100 said:
Please explain how choosing not to facilitate the publishing of statements you dislike when publishing them is your thing is different from choosing not to facilitate activities you dislike when what you're being asked to do is your thing?

In all the cases there are options to go elsewhere.
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We have a long history in the country with this kind of nonsense (level of services based on race) and I simply not a hypocrite about it. I don't think brining back the signs helps anyone. And if making a cake for a gay couple is the only thing preventing someone having a faithful relationship with Christ, they're full of it and I don't mean the Holy Spirit.
 
pgwalsh said:
I stopped using Reddit when they decided to ban people who were climate change deniers. Regardless if you're a denier or not I find something seriously wrong with only allowing one side of a debate. ArsTechnica is following the same path or has mentioned they may start doing the same thing.
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Banning climate change deniers? From Reddit as a whole or from individual subreddits?

This current situation is wholly unrelated to that sort of incident, regardless. They removed an entire super active, 150K+ subscriber subreddit. Last I checked, it was the fastest growing subreddit proportionally and by a long shot. Very carefully moderated. Very Un-PC but that's nothing new to reddit.

Pretty much this may be the beginning of the end for reddit. The alternatives to reddit have been getting slammed under the new load, and its only a short matter of time before they upgrade their server capacity and we see a permanent flux of redditors to those sites.

With the clear goal of reddit being to control the perspective and to shut down "undesirable behavior" (aka advertiser-unfriendly content), reddit is reaching a convergence where its original scruples of "place to voice your opinion without fear of censorship" to the real life analog of music concerts cutting out all the drugs and nudity and catering to tweens and families.

Digg seemed to big to possibly fail and then they pulled some troll level bullshit and fell from grace. Reddit is on the cusp, however it may take a bit longer; the reddit administration is outright silencing bit by bit what they can. They're slowly sanitizing certain subreddits and posts. They're really making it a goal to squelch the userbase entirely and wash the site clean of controversy. Right now it seems they've made efforts to have r/all lower the value of certain subreddits and their posts so that they drop off of the front page even though they have an absolutely overwhelming upvote and post count.

I'm certainly going to be moving onto other pastures once they buffet their server capacity. Reddit has become less voice, more surveillance, advertising and data selling than ever before.
 
heatlesssun said:
We have a long history in the country with this kind of nonsense (level of services based on race) and I simply not a hypocrite about it. I don't think brining back the signs helps anyone. And if making a cake for a gay couple is the only thing preventing someone having a faithful relationship with Christ, they're full of it and I don't mean the Holy Spirit.
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Signs? what a fucking red herring.

Its about choosing who you work for? Nobody was blocking anyone from entering their public establishments. They were individual contract jobs in question.

Say you're web designer and the local NAMBLA asks you to do a website for them, should you be required to do it if you don't want to? They aren't asking you to join or what the fuck ever. Should they be allowed to sue you for breach of contract if you do a crap job or put in some sabotoge of somekind?

People aren't slaves and should be able to chose for whom they work for.

Anyways, you helped identify one way the Reddit is different, they seem be more like a public establishment than a private cateerer. So its worse.
 
Oh also they've shadowbanned dozens of moderators of the subreddits, some of whom are considered to be the most meticulous and active moderators on the entire site. They are the ones who have actual insight to the mechanics behind the userbase in question and the claims made by reddit admins in their justification for shutting down r/fph

and I still get a good chuckle out of the reddit announcement, "we've banned a few subreddits going forward with our new policies, only one of which had more than 5K subscribers." Then it comes out that 5 subreddits were banned, 4 of them with a combined total of about 10K subs, and then the 150K subscriber reddit. Talk about trying to gloss over a targeted event by saying "look look, we didn't only ban you!"
 
jpm100 said:
Signs? what a fucking red herring.

Its about choosing who you work for? Nobody was blocking anyone from entering their public establishments. They were individual contract jobs in question.
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You were the one that bought up pizza restaurants, something that doesn't immediately ring contract jobs.
 
Rizen said:
They banned Fatpeoplehate and now r/all has been nothing but Fatpeoplehate spilling over into other, new subreddits faster than they can be banned for 2 days. Good job Ellen Pao.

Pretty much everything about Ellen Pao just makes me roll my eyes. Talk about a way to lose credibility - put her as your CEO.
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You want to know why Ellen Pao is a toxic waste mutant, then here you go on a silver platter. She is everything that has been said about her and more. She's a vindictive, venal, hypersensitive harpy.
 
Nobody should defend this, especially since we all know that ++++bag Ellen Pao is behind it.
 
Censorship is bad, mmmkay? Except when it is done to something we don't like, then it is A-Okay.
 
cvinh said:
Goddammit they banned r/fatpeoplehate. That shit was hilarious.
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They did it to keep people safe. ROFLMAO!!! Keeping people safe as defined by Ellen Pao and Reddit now:

Keep Everyone Safe: You agree to not intentionally jeopardize the health and safety of others or yourself.

Did r/fatpeoplehate even do that? I don't think so. The whole thing is bullshit and it smells like Ellen Pao.
 
Sovereign said:
But mah FREEDUMBS!

How many times do we hear "This is a private forum, if you don't like it leave" but all of the sudden reddit is somehow violating "freedom?" Don't like it? Leave!
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What are you even talking about? There are subreddits for EVERYTHING, so the comment was that if you don't like a subreddit, then just make your own subreddit. There was a community for everything and anything, so if you don't like it, you were never asked to leave but to just make your own little subcommunity on reddit. Which part of that was most confusing to you?

I told you all this was coming when Pao came on board, and yet some people acted like it was just woman bashing or felt they had to point out that Pao now somehow "owns" reddit, so the millions of users just have to suck it and better over and butter their butts for the pegging they rightfully deserve.

Reddit is clearly going to be the next Digg, and its sad that all it takes is one person to tear down a thriving community like that.
 
Somehow I just guessed after reading this thread title that it had something to do with fat shaming. Never been to that subreddit but I've noticed people complaining about fat shaming lately like there's been some sudden surge. Has there been? I know Boogie/Francis was whining about it a few weeks ago on his youtube.

Since no-highheels-in-videogames has kind of wound down, Anita Sarkeesian should gain 100 lbs and co-opt this as her next social justice crusade.
 
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