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Reddit's top user leaves platform after harassment

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Re: Reddit's top user leaves platform after harassment

#11

Post by vertex-four »

thebouv wrote: post #5

So, I don't get it. Why does it matter if a few volunteer mods manage a ton of subs? Isn't it hard to do? So they have a hard job? And it's volunteer? And .. what? I don't understand the outrage directed at mods I guess. Note: I'm a light Reddit user. I follow a handful of subs. And I can't name a single mod of any of them. Maybe this is more meaningful for people who spend more time on the site and are more involved…

The argument is that these mods are biased in their moderation, and because of how many subreddits they moderate, that bias is reflected across those subreddits.

Re: Reddit's top user leaves platform after harassment

#12

Post by BitwiseFool »

thebouv wrote: post #5

So, I don't get it. Why does it matter if a few volunteer mods manage a ton of subs? Isn't it hard to do? So they have a hard job? And it's volunteer? And .. what? I don't understand the outrage directed at mods I guess. Note: I'm a light Reddit user. I follow a handful of subs. And I can't name a single mod of any of them. Maybe this is more meaningful for people who spend more time on the site and are more involved…

As a moderator you have the power to control what people see - subscribers and visitors alike. To me, it's easy to see how moderators with an agenda can curate content to match their views. It also wouldn't surprise me if some moderators are compensated - under the radar - by influencers and marketers.

Re: Reddit's top user leaves platform after harassment

#13

Post by doublesCs »

eganist wrote: post #4

Relationship Advice lead-ish mod here. We were one of the subs "called out" as being controlled by Gallowboob with the original post and subsequent reposts. We (buu700 and I) added Gallowboob some years back largely to have insight into how other teams modded their subs at a time when we were growing quickly and needed to know what to do to keep up. While useful in meeting that goal, we quickly realized it was pretty…

> Most mods burn out quickly because of how dark the questions get

Care to give us some examples?

Re: Reddit's top user leaves platform after harassment

#14

Post by haunter »

eganist wrote: post #4

Relationship Advice lead-ish mod here. We were one of the subs "called out" as being controlled by Gallowboob with the original post and subsequent reposts. We (buu700 and I) added Gallowboob some years back largely to have insight into how other teams modded their subs at a time when we were growing quickly and needed to know what to do to keep up. While useful in meeting that goal, we quickly realized it was pretty…

>how meaninglessly violent people become when their posts are modded

Maybe if mods were more transparent across all the subs.

Most people get angry when someone removes their post and yet they see it reposted and approved hours or even minutes later (Gallowboob is infamous for that but regular users do it too)

Re: Reddit's top user leaves platform after harassment

#15

Post by bredren »

I am a freshman moderator of /r/portland.

I had thought working as a moderator would be a great way to help grow the subreddit's base. Offer more useful real world interaction points and basically have a big impact on Portland.

Instead what I've found is that 99% of the time the moderators are dealing with bad actors and that has to be the primary focus to keep the sub from falling apart.

It isn't just dealing with trolls or stepping into stopping out of control discussions.

It is actively performing anti-ban-evasion against people who are targeting the sub for disruption and then going after moderators that get in the way of these attempts.

There is at least one active case number with the Portland Police Department of a person that has both attempted to doxx our moderators and has gone to the home of a moderator and vandalized property repeatedly.

In this example, the person will not stop and creates new accounts every day.

While there are things Reddit can be doing to help, (such as improving tools to counter ban-evasion,) I think this problem is bigger than Reddit and focuses on lack of enforcement for digital actions that would qualify as genuine crimes of harassment if translated into the physical realm.

Re: Reddit's top user leaves platform after harassment

#16

Post by MagnumOpus »

thebouv wrote: post #5

So, I don't get it. Why does it matter if a few volunteer mods manage a ton of subs? Isn't it hard to do? So they have a hard job? And it's volunteer? And .. what? I don't understand the outrage directed at mods I guess. Note: I'm a light Reddit user. I follow a handful of subs. And I can't name a single mod of any of them. Maybe this is more meaningful for people who spend more time on the site and are more involved…

These positions are unpaid volunteer positions. Moderating more than a handful large subs is a full-time job.

There is a good chance that a proportion of these people willing to do an unpaid full time job that can direct the attention of a billion pairs of eyeballs have ulterior motives, or are indeed paid by third parties (companies, political parties, governments) to promote or censor certain news/memes/opinions.

Re: Reddit's top user leaves platform after harassment

#17

Post by severine »

doublesCs wrote: post #13
eganist wrote: post #4

Relationship Advice lead-ish mod here. We were one of the subs "called out" as being controlled by Gallowboob with the original post and subsequent reposts. We (buu700 and I) added Gallowboob some years back largely to have insight into how other teams modded their subs at a time when we were growing quickly and needed to know what to do to keep up. While useful in meeting that goal, we quickly realized it was pretty…

> Most mods burn out quickly because of how dark the questions get Care to give us some examples?

Maybe sorted by controversial?

https://old.reddit.com/r/relationship_advice/controversial/?...

Re: Reddit's top user leaves platform after harassment

#18

Post by ceejayoz »

hi41 wrote: post #9

Can someone please explain how doxing works at a technical level? Suppose I post something on Twitter or Youtube that someone does not like how would they dox me? For example, CNN outed a guy who did a video where Trump bashes a guy superimposed with CNN in a boxing ring. Wouldn't such attempts at doxing people also put pressure on their freedom of speech and expression?

It's very difficult to not leave breadcrumbs. Maybe your personal blog had your name, address, and phone number on it back in the 1990s and there's a record of that. Maybe you made one post six months back on your main account instead of your throwaway. Maybe you've inadvertently given enough details for someone to narrow it down.

One mistake is all that's needed.

For example, Mitt Romney's secret Twitter account was found from just a few bits of info. https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/10/mitt-romney-has-...

> “That’s kind of what he does,” Romney said with a shrug, and then got up to retrieve an iPad from his desk. He explained that he uses a secret Twitter account—“What do they call me, a lurker?”—to keep tabs on the political conversation. “I won’t give you the name of it,” he said, but “I’m following 668 people.” Swiping at his tablet, he recited some of the accounts he follows, including journalists, late-night comedians (“What’s his name, the big redhead from Boston?”), and athletes. Trump was not among them. “He tweets so much,” Romney said, comparing the president to one of his nieces who overshares on Instagram. “I love her, but it’s like, Ah, it’s too much.”

Re: Reddit's top user leaves platform after harassment

#20

Post by pgrote »

I understand why mods of smaller subreddits do it. They are passionate people looking for a community. The volunteer efforts they put into it help them and the community.

I do not understand why mods work for free on the huge subreddits. Abuse, spam and more would make the position horrible.

Reddit needs to start paying folks to do this job.

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