Earlier quoted context omitted.
I had the same thought. I'm a little disappointed this isn't the case, actually.
The article mentions sitting down for lunch last week...business meeting?
Chris Poole
21–30 of 165 posts
Re: Chris Poole
#22Earlier quoted context omitted.
>primarily due to seeing the kind of place you get when the barrier for entry is non existent. you think reddit's bad, try 4chan! I was 4chan "janitor" (lesser-mod) for 18 months or so and I agree, these sorts of positions really twist your perception of the community you're moderating. When you're buried in reports -- and these are 4chan reports, which means not just spam, but gore, cp, raids, etc. -- it becomes all…
"not just spam, but gore, cp, raids, etc." (I'm assuming cp means children) "The good news is that I've recently returned to 4chan as a regular, anonymous user, and I'm really enjoying it." I've never visited the site, and really don't want to. So maybe I'm missing something, but why would you want to associate yourself with a place like that? It seems like even spending time there as an anonymous user would change y…
Re: Chris Poole
#23Earlier quoted context omitted.
>primarily due to seeing the kind of place you get when the barrier for entry is non existent. you think reddit's bad, try 4chan! I was 4chan "janitor" (lesser-mod) for 18 months or so and I agree, these sorts of positions really twist your perception of the community you're moderating. When you're buried in reports -- and these are 4chan reports, which means not just spam, but gore, cp, raids, etc. -- it becomes all…
"not just spam, but gore, cp, raids, etc." (I'm assuming cp means children) "The good news is that I've recently returned to 4chan as a regular, anonymous user, and I'm really enjoying it." I've never visited the site, and really don't want to. So maybe I'm missing something, but why would you want to associate yourself with a place like that? It seems like even spending time there as an anonymous user would change y…
4Chan can be extremely hilarious sometimes; some of the funniest content I've seen on the internet is from 4Chan.
But spending any real time there looking for that content, waiting for it, that's a waste in my eyes.
Re: Chris Poole
#24Earlier quoted context omitted.
>primarily due to seeing the kind of place you get when the barrier for entry is non existent. you think reddit's bad, try 4chan! I was 4chan "janitor" (lesser-mod) for 18 months or so and I agree, these sorts of positions really twist your perception of the community you're moderating. When you're buried in reports -- and these are 4chan reports, which means not just spam, but gore, cp, raids, etc. -- it becomes all…
"not just spam, but gore, cp, raids, etc." (I'm assuming cp means children) "The good news is that I've recently returned to 4chan as a regular, anonymous user, and I'm really enjoying it." I've never visited the site, and really don't want to. So maybe I'm missing something, but why would you want to associate yourself with a place like that? It seems like even spending time there as an anonymous user would change y…
Re: Chris Poole
#25Earlier quoted context omitted.
>primarily due to seeing the kind of place you get when the barrier for entry is non existent. you think reddit's bad, try 4chan! I was 4chan "janitor" (lesser-mod) for 18 months or so and I agree, these sorts of positions really twist your perception of the community you're moderating. When you're buried in reports -- and these are 4chan reports, which means not just spam, but gore, cp, raids, etc. -- it becomes all…
"not just spam, but gore, cp, raids, etc." (I'm assuming cp means children) "The good news is that I've recently returned to 4chan as a regular, anonymous user, and I'm really enjoying it." I've never visited the site, and really don't want to. So maybe I'm missing something, but why would you want to associate yourself with a place like that? It seems like even spending time there as an anonymous user would change y…
It's all very silly, of course. But the anonymous thing is fun and I've had some interesting debates where I can just test ideas and say whatever for the hell of it without worrying about any kind of repercussion in terms of my reputation. It's easier to go in guns blazing being wrong and learn something without feeling that it's personal when no one has a name.
Re: Chris Poole
#26Good points, but a minor pet peeve: It's moot, not Chris. Maybe Chris Poole, but again, probably moot. Has been moot. Always will be moot. Are you friends with him? Do you have lunch with him? Do you work with him? In all odds, no. It's really quite annoying seeing people refer to people by the first names like they actually are familiar with them. Were you a fan of Steve? Ever go on walks with Zuck? Seriously, it's…
Re: Chris Poole
#27Earlier quoted context omitted.
>primarily due to seeing the kind of place you get when the barrier for entry is non existent. you think reddit's bad, try 4chan! I was 4chan "janitor" (lesser-mod) for 18 months or so and I agree, these sorts of positions really twist your perception of the community you're moderating. When you're buried in reports -- and these are 4chan reports, which means not just spam, but gore, cp, raids, etc. -- it becomes all…
Reminds me of the Mark Twain story "Two Ways of Seeing a River". You ought to check it out.
The marvel that stopped us in our tracks—an aurora borealis, cognate words in
languages separated by continents and centuries, the peacock’s tail—becomes
only an apparent marvel once explained. Aesthetic appreciation may linger…but
composure has returned. We are delighted but no longer discombobulated; what
was once an earthquake of the soul is subdued into an agreeable frisson.… The
more we know, the less we wonder.
I feel this personally when learning a new piece of music. All the gestalt beauty drains out as the song is reduced to a mountain to be conquered rather than a landscape to be appreciated. By the time I've memorized all the notes, a grim irony sets in: when I listen to a recording of the piece, I am no longer capable of hearing what I initially set out to replicate.Re: Chris Poole
#28Huge respect for Chris, and I'm very happy he's feeling that sense of relief. I took a shot at moderating a few smaller subreddits, and managed to find myself hating every moment spent doing it. It sure makes the majority of internet look like selfish ingrates, even though it's usually just a vocal minority. I just stay away from Reddit now for the most part; primarily due to seeing the kind of place you get when the…
>primarily due to seeing the kind of place you get when the barrier for entry is non existent. you think reddit's bad, try 4chan! I was 4chan "janitor" (lesser-mod) for 18 months or so and I agree, these sorts of positions really twist your perception of the community you're moderating. When you're buried in reports -- and these are 4chan reports, which means not just spam, but gore, cp, raids, etc. -- it becomes all…
I honestly don't think the two are even comparable. Moderating a large subreddit on reddit is infinitely harder and more complex than 4chan. Some of the larger subreddits see more pageviews than the entirety of 4chan.
Moving beyond that, moderators on 4chan are completely anonymous unless they choose to be known. This isn't the case with reddit. Moderators often have to have a long and tenured account history or else they don't really have a shot at being added onto a mod team in the first place. Very few subreddits, and no large ones, will add someone to their team without a history.
This is important because with a history, you open yourself up to attacks. If you do something unpopular, you will get witch-hunted by reddit's masses. I speak from personal experience. People will call your house, your loved ones, send pizzas or worse. You're literally walking on eggshells 24/7, 365 days of the year. And then even if you do everything right, if someone has it out for you, it doesn't matter. They'll still figure out who you are and harass you. It's an added dynamic that just doesn't exist with moderation on 4chan.
Moderating a large subreddit on reddit (a large default, like /r/Pics, /r/Funny, /r/Worldnews, etc) is probably the toughest moderating job on the internet right now. And what makes it tough are the millions upon millions of users.
On 4chan, you're literally a janitor. On reddit, you're a janitor and you're also responsible for community building and everything that comes along with that. It's your community and if you don't build it, nobody will come.
Re: Chris Poole
#29Earlier quoted context omitted.
>primarily due to seeing the kind of place you get when the barrier for entry is non existent. you think reddit's bad, try 4chan! I was 4chan "janitor" (lesser-mod) for 18 months or so and I agree, these sorts of positions really twist your perception of the community you're moderating. When you're buried in reports -- and these are 4chan reports, which means not just spam, but gore, cp, raids, etc. -- it becomes all…
"not just spam, but gore, cp, raids, etc." (I'm assuming cp means children) "The good news is that I've recently returned to 4chan as a regular, anonymous user, and I'm really enjoying it." I've never visited the site, and really don't want to. So maybe I'm missing something, but why would you want to associate yourself with a place like that? It seems like even spending time there as an anonymous user would change y…