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Reddit Threatens to Remove Moderators from Subreddits Continuing Blackouts

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Re: Reddit Threatens to Remove Moderators from Subreddits Continuing Blackouts

#451

Post by faeriechangling »

0xParlay wrote: post #299

Reddit clearly doesn't understand the product. When users join a sub it's because they like the content and tacitly approve of the moderation. All but new users are aware that subs are governed by mods. Installing a corporate-approved mod panel because a community isn't acting in Reddit Inc's financial best interest is to light the whole product on fire. What's the point of starting a new sub if it'll be repurposed a…

> When users join a sub it's because they like the content and tacitly approve of the moderation.

People don’t choose subreddits because of mods, they only leave subreddits because of mods. One of Reddit’s larger problem’s really is that some subreddits have better names than others, and the moderators have to be extremely bad for users to get mad enough to migrate to a new community with new mods and a worse name. Or Reddit has to replace the mods (seldom happens).

It’s not at all the case that the most popular communities correspond the best mods. Reddit also not only doesn’t want to provide their own mods, they can’t, it’s not even close to fiscally feasible. They will more likely appoint new community mods or remove some of the mods and let the remaining mods continue to moderate. This will likely lead to a general decline in the quality of moderation, especially in the short term, and especially in terms of neglect as it might surprise people how many subreddits have NO additional volunteers to do actual mod work.

Re: Reddit Threatens to Remove Moderators from Subreddits Continuing Blackouts

#452

Post by mellow-lake-day »

capableweb wrote: post #199

One thing I don't quite understand is how the CEO first claims that only 3% of the user base is using 3rd party apps, and then later claims that "And the opportunity cost of not having those users (3rd part app users) on our platform, on our advertising platform, is really significant" (from https://www.npr.org/2023/06/15/1182457366/reddit-ceo-steve-h... ) Is that 3% of the user base really having such a big impact s…

Was that number taken during the blackout period?

Without any more context that is a completely meaningless number.

Re: Reddit Threatens to Remove Moderators from Subreddits Continuing Blackouts

#453

Post by protocolture »

ardit33 wrote: post #38
nikau wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In that case reddit should pay for a moderating team vs volunteers.

true... or just get new moderators in that are ok with keeping the site without turning it into private/blocking access to everyone else. No one likes personal fiefdoms, and the mods are acting like local warlords. This is just bad management from reddit.

Well thats the crux of the issue, reddit mods find third party apps improve their ability to perform their free labor. Theres no expectation that new mods would find the core reddit experience better.

Current mods can protest even after their removal by mass reporting posts on their former subs, causing the new mods to engage with the poor moderation experience on the core app.

Re: Reddit Threatens to Remove Moderators from Subreddits Continuing Blackouts

#454

Post by hliyan »

moskie wrote: post #76

We (the internet community) made such a terrible mistake with social media. We formed connections and communities and friendships on sites like Facebook and Twitter and Reddit, but those companies need to make money, so those connections are only allowed to exist as long as they are part of a profitable system. How awful it is to reduce human connection to that. To think that I am only allowed to maintain certain soc…

A few years ago, I came up with this idea: "...a social network that uses email as its communications protocol and regular mail servers as the “cloud”. There is no “platform”, but an app which is basically a re-skinned mail client with certain features disabled or abstracted. There is no advertising." https://hliyan.medium.com/email-re-skinned-as-a-social-netwo...

Re: Reddit Threatens to Remove Moderators from Subreddits Continuing Blackouts

#455

Post by hn_throwaway_99 »

capableweb wrote: post #199

One thing I don't quite understand is how the CEO first claims that only 3% of the user base is using 3rd party apps, and then later claims that "And the opportunity cost of not having those users (3rd part app users) on our platform, on our advertising platform, is really significant" (from https://www.npr.org/2023/06/15/1182457366/reddit-ceo-steve-h... ) Is that 3% of the user base really having such a big impact s…

I have never used any third party apps, and I primarily used old.reddit.com on mobile to browse Reddit.

Yet this whole brouhaha got me to delete all my posts going back years, delete my accounts, and block reddit on my phone. To start, I think reddit management has just acted like total douchebags throughout this whole event, and I'm not interested in supporting that.

More importantly, though, the majority of time I spend on reddit is just a bad habit that I'm happy to now be breaking. All these social media companies are basically just "the drug dealer planet" from my favorite episode of Star Trek TNG: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbiosis_(Star_Trek:_The_Ne...

Truth be told, we don't need it, and in many ways are better off without it.

Re: Reddit Threatens to Remove Moderators from Subreddits Continuing Blackouts

#456

Post by aerio »

MaxikCZ wrote: post #223
Vanclief wrote: post #183

Unfortunate, but it was pretty obvious this would happen. The blackouts lasting only 48 hours was a mistake anyways. The only way I see them changing course is if enough people: 1. Delete the official app 2. Stop buying reddit awards, subscriptions, etc. 3. Mass delete their comments (Ideally after backing them up so that they can restore them later) 4. Stop visiting reddit all together From reddit, this could easily…

1. never used it 2. never bought any 3. too much work 4. as soon as my RedditIsFun app stops working

Cool story bro

Re: Reddit Threatens to Remove Moderators from Subreddits Continuing Blackouts

#457

Post by kccqzy »

SanjayMehta wrote: post #390
kccqzy wrote: post #309

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't consider Reddit in the same league as other social media sites. I consider it a centralized collection of forums. I hardly use my Reddit account, but I have obtained tremendous amount of useful information by searching for a topic and landing on a useful Reddit post or comment.

This was the only use I had for reddit - usually some hardware specific issue. Now I find reddit rarely shows up in DDG results. Searching directly on reddit is futile. Posting queries is also futile as many mods have implemented features to limit infrequent posters. It's been an old boys' club since EKP left.

Try Googling; Reddit ranks surprisingly high on Google searches. Better yet use something more specialized such as https://redditsearch.io/

Re: Reddit Threatens to Remove Moderators from Subreddits Continuing Blackouts

#458

Post by tumaru »

TechBro8615 wrote: post #161
tumaru wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Odd, maybe it's a quirk of the harmonic app, as I can see a normal comment now. Please ignore my previous reply.

I believe @dang has addressed this before. You see it when someone has configured a "delay" (see the input field at the bottom of your settings page [0]) which is an integer value representing the number of minutes before which your comment is "published" (visible to other users) - it's meant to be a short window of time where you can edit your comment before anyone has seen it. Once the delay has expired, other user…

Thank you very much for the explanation, that makes sense.

Re: Reddit Threatens to Remove Moderators from Subreddits Continuing Blackouts

#459

Post by mikrl »

RheingoldRiver wrote: post #235
harryf wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What gives me hope is if you ever take a break from social media you realize how worthless it all is. It really doesn’t hurt to disengage. For similar reasons it’s possible for new networks to show up which disrupt the old, such as TikTok. The point is as individuals we are way less dependent on social media than we imagine.

I disagree. If you find the right communities, you really make close friendships with people - even if you don't know their real names, how old they are, where they work, or where they live. None of that matters, because you share and connect over a common interest. And you could never find so many people IRL with similar interests as you. If this isn't how you're using reddit, discord, etc, and it's easy to disconne…

I love that feeling of deep, basically throwaway connection. I met a guy in a hostel once and we never exchanged names or anything, but hit up some tourist spots together, shared life stories and smokes.

In undergrad I once befriended and flirted with a classmate for a few weeks and only realized, when I was putting her number in my phone, that I had no idea what her name was. It’s like connection so intoxicating that you just enjoy it for itself.

Re: Reddit Threatens to Remove Moderators from Subreddits Continuing Blackouts

#460

Post by satvikpendem »

ddtaylor wrote: post #378
satvikpendem wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How can anyone sincerely believe that being a user, even a mod, on another platform by a corporate entity lets them have their own space? I mean, of course the company owns everything one does or publishes on said platform. There is no trust because the premise is faulty in the first place. The fact that people actually believed that is not really the problem of the platform, there is always inherent platform risk.

Maybe they shouldn't have extended that much trust to Reddit as the company grew and changed, but that doesn't change the fact that Reddit admins are now lying. I don't really like this carte blanche idea that everyone is going to do bad things, so when you trusted them in the past it was your fault ideology.

> I don't really like this carte blanche idea that everyone is going to do bad things

It's not about doing good or bad things, it's about following the incentives (cui bono?). Corporations are amoral entities that seek to maximize profits, just as living organisms are entities that seek to maximize reproductive success. There's nothing wrong with either incentive, but it's crucial to recognize that those are the incentives present instead of thinking that entities will instead act against their incentives for the sake of others (indeed, even cooperation and sometimes self-sacrifice, as in the case of ants, can lead to greater genetic dispersion of the individual).

Therefore, in this case, there was no reason to trust Reddit admins on what they say, since at the end of the day, they will simply say whatever they want in order to pursue profit, which they are currently doing.

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