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Ellen Pao Is Stepping Down as Reddit’s Chief

nytimes.com

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Re: Ellen Pao Is Stepping Down as Reddit’s Chief

#751

Post by tomjen3 »

Natsu wrote: post #626
lmartel wrote: post #615

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Didn't Google just remove the confederate flag from Shopping Express and ads, not from search results? They don't sell Nazi flags in their store or (afaik) let people advertise using them, so this doesn't seem as inconsistent to me as you make it sound.

Yes, and Google is happy to sell you all manner of Nazi items: https://www.google.com/search?q=nazi+swastica&ie=utf-8&oe=ut... Not to mention copies of the Mein Kampf, etc. Thankfully, the various non-Nazi uses of the swastika appear to be the most popular, but you can find plenty of Nazi items. I dislike the meaning of both symbols, so I have a hard time imagining any logic where it's okay to sell one of them but no…

They probably also sell the soviet flag, copies of Das Capital etc. Equally horrible but for the other side.

Also side note: reading Mein Kampf doesn't make you a nazi, indeed if more people had read it back in the day somebody might have stooped that little corporal.

Re: Ellen Pao Is Stepping Down as Reddit’s Chief

#752

Post by tomjen3 »

microtonal wrote: post #713
danielweber wrote: post #466

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most people are completely unaware of /r/all

Isn't that what you get when going to the site while not being logged in? (I echo the comments that say that Reddit has great subreddits like /r/Haskell and it's easy to mis all of this when you are just subscribed to a few subreddits.)

No, you get a restricted set of /all with posts from some subreddits: https://www.reddit.com/r/defaults/comments/2ycn0x/list_of_de... is the current list.

Re: Ellen Pao Is Stepping Down as Reddit’s Chief

#753

Post by tomjen3 »

seanflyon wrote: post #482
dimino wrote: post #362

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I completely and utterly disagree with this opinion, and furthermore find it dangerous for what it suggests - specifically, the idea that a large group of anonymous people can do anything but fall prey to their collective impulse. I would argue that decisions of large bodies of anonymous people are historically and demonstrably inaccurate, misleading, nearsighted, and wholly terrible for not only the decision they're…

Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others. We have decided that no one is more trustworthy to pick our leaders than large bodies of anonymous people.

Actually we ended up proving that democracies are pretty sticky - it is hard to go from a genuine democracy to a dictatorship, both because people don't like to lose power but also because if a significant group becomes unhappy with the way things are going they will get enough political power to change things within the current system.

In fact I don't know of a true democracy (defined here as a democracy where no group is excluded, where votes are counted fairly and where each person who wishes to do so can vote for whatever he wants) that has since transitioned into anything else.

None of this, of course, means that democracy is a good system, merely that it is sticky.

Re: Ellen Pao Is Stepping Down as Reddit’s Chief

#754

Post by joshuapants »

sampo wrote: post #724
joshuapants wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Reddit banned several subreddits for organized harassment behavior While leaving up other subreddits that also have organized harassment behavior. If they had cleaned out all the trash at once, the community impact probably would have been minimal.

> While leaving up other subreddits that also have organized harassment behavior. I think "organized harassment" here means, people form the banned subs reached out to harass people in the real life, outside of reddit. Not just posting vile stuff in a sub.

Yes, that's exactly what I said. There have been doxxings and harassment campaigns from plenty of subreddits, and only a few were removed.

Re: Ellen Pao Is Stepping Down as Reddit’s Chief

#755

Post by [deleted] »

dmfdmf wrote: post #520
WalterBright wrote: post #298

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd rather have appalling speech than censored speech. The idea is to not confuse supporting a person's free speech with endorsing his views. Also, reddit is a private company and so is not obliged to provide a platform for anyone's free speech, that also is a facet of freedom.

At last, a voice of reason in hundreds of pointless comments. Free speech is a principle and people should be free to say whatever they want no matter how disgusting or distasteful to the majority or mainstream. This is the ideal of a free society and people who can't make the distinction between supporting the principle and yet rejecting the advocates of idiocy are implicitly advocating some form of government censo…

[deleted]

Re: Ellen Pao Is Stepping Down as Reddit’s Chief

#756

Post by kbatten »

Patrick_Devine wrote: post #47
nhf wrote: post #10

I think this was the right thing to do from a PR perspective. Having Steve back as the new CEO will definitely be good for the community. I also applaud Reddit's announcement for calling the community out on their childish BS: > As a closing note, it was sickening to see some of the things redditors wrote about Ellen. [1] The reduction in compassion that happens when we’re all behind computer screens is not good for…

As an occasional user of reddit, this whole ordeal has confirmed the reason why I prefer not to hang out in its forums. I have no idea whether Ellen was a capable CEO, but the vitriol which I kept seeing peripherally (through other news articles and here on HN) was absolutely appalling.

If you are only an occasional user why are you even commenting? I'm only picking on you because you are an easy target, but I have seen a number of HN posts from people who first state that they barely use reddit, then go on to blast all reddit users as vitriol spitting losers. What do you gain from getting on this bandwagon?

Re: Ellen Pao Is Stepping Down as Reddit’s Chief

#757

Post by rndn »

vacri wrote: post #749
benihana wrote: post #725

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> These persons life aren't at risk because they can't express opinions, isn't that what is meant by FoS ? No. That's the exact opposite of free speech. Free speech is meant to protect the most disgusting, heinous, pointless, hateful, ignorant, foolish speech. That's the whole freaking point - nobody wants to silence unoffensive opinions. > ps: I'll add that I was somehow afraid to express my views on Freedom of Spee…

> Free speech is meant to protect the most disgusting, heinous, pointless, hateful, ignorant, foolish speech. No it's not. It's meant to protect speech which the politically powerful find objectionable. It's not about protecting abuse, but protecting ideas . Rebellious and revolutionary ideas, for example. This is all a canard anyway - Reddit is not the (US) government. They get to set the rules for communication in…

I wished the ideal of free speech would include the ideal of being open to discussion (perhaps even the scientific method). I think many movements fail in that regard, for example it was pretty much impossible to have reasonable discussions with FPH subscribers. You were immediately downvoted when you tried to argue against it. If people are completely ignorant towards alternative, consistent points of view, they don't deserve to be listened to.

Re: Ellen Pao Is Stepping Down as Reddit’s Chief

#758

Post by asddubs »

Jimmy wrote: post #589
morbius wrote: post #569

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The SRS sidebar makes it pretty clear that the whole SJW façade is exactly that: a façade. They obviously have legitimate complaints but hyperbolise everything to poke fun at it.

They don't accept the "it's just a joke" excuse from their targets, why should we accept it from them?

the idea is to expose people to a "taste of their own medicine", for what that's worth.

Re: Ellen Pao Is Stepping Down as Reddit’s Chief

#759

Post by DanBC »

dvanduzer wrote: post #739
DanBC wrote: post #695

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> By extension of holding Pao responsible for all actions taken under her charge, I declare PG to be sociopathic, if not outright evil. You don't think the downvotes are for this hyperbolic insult?

As a long time enthusiast of HN, and not a total shithead based on karma, I don't think there was anything hyperbolic in the original comment. What is even slightly out of sorts about comparing Ellen Pao to Paul Graham?

You don't think calling PG sociopathic or downright evil is hyperbolic?

Re: Ellen Pao Is Stepping Down as Reddit’s Chief

#760

Post by sangnoir »

thelamest wrote: post #733
Eupolemos wrote: post #709

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I absolutely agree with you. Free Speech is not a thing on private boards or sites on the internet. Moderation is a good thing if you want a healthy online environment and conversation. That said, I think the moderation Pao symbolised on Reddit as a whole was a very wrong move. The Community certainly did. All the subreddits are individually moderated and the subreddits are opt-in; there's very little need for an ove…

> the agenda used to rule the masses by fear and security > the wild west of the interwebs > clamp down on everything This is, joking or not, way out of proportion to what happened, which is, a single harassment-focused group was disbanded.

> which is, a single harassment-focused group was disbanded.

That wasn't the only event that transpired. I'd venture to say things got really intense after Victoria was let go and sub-reddits accounting for 33% of visits were shut down in protest of how the affair was handled (poor communication, no transition planning). I think the disconnect between the mods and Reddit's leadership is what got Pao fired; not the shutting down of FPH.

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