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Reddit mods and scaling problems in social control

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Re: Reddit mods and scaling problems in social control

#151

Post by Sunspark »

madeofpalk wrote: post #90
knolan wrote: post #20

Interestingly enough there’s been some mod drama over on /r/AskScienceFiction today. This is a sub where people ask questions and get in universe responses. It’s very nerdy and can be fun. It also can attract a certain type of poster who can be lacking in say, self awareness and take it too seriously. The new Harry Potter game is generating a lot of posts and a particular mod who has personal reasons to dislike JK Ro…

> added an auto mod post to the top of each post related to Harry Potter spoiling the game story I think this is a pretty funny and apt, given the history of Harry Potter spoilers.

I wonder if the people doing this realize that this doesn't make friends for the trans community?

People seeing a spoiler are not going to think "dang, that JKR!" they're going to think "what a pain these trans people are".

Making enemies of people with no stake in the politics is not the way in a hostile political climate.

Re: Reddit mods and scaling problems in social control

#152

Post by tptacek »

ilyt wrote: post #133
tptacek wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When the 1001st patron at Philips Crab House in Ocean City is seated, the Crab House does not suddenly become publicly owned or operated.

Do they have moderators running around telling people what they can't talk about ? No ? Then it is public enough

I assure you that the crab house has rules.

Re: Reddit mods and scaling problems in social control

#153

Post by tptacek »

lmm wrote: post #120
tptacek wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, I don't think that's how HN works at all. Dan can in fact run amok on HN. I don't believe there are significant pressures from YC on how Dan structures moderation here. People unfamiliar with the setup here tend to think about YC first when they think about its management, but they should think about Dan first. My understanding is that things are pretty hands-off; even the perks that YC companies get here are, I…

The fact of being an HN employee means that Dan has a sword of Damocles above his head the whole time. Whether or not YC are actually calling him up day-to-day and telling him to do X or Y is irrelevant; he's smart enough to figure out what X and Y are and do them pre-emptively, and he knows his livelihood depends on it.

No it doesn't. In fact, if I had to guess, the power dynamic probably goes the other way.

Re: Reddit mods and scaling problems in social control

#154

Post by tptacek »

lmm wrote: post #123
tptacek wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When the 1001st patron at Philips Crab House in Ocean City is seated, the Crab House does not suddenly become publicly owned or operated.

Maybe it should. There are plenty of similar laws (e.g. when you sell shares to your 2001st investor you're suddenly subject to a much stricter disclosure regime, and this is widely considered a good thing).

That law is an OTC anti-fraud measure. The Constitution has something to say about the ability of Congress to nationalize and impose its own speech controls on private websites that happen to become popular. Congress also doesn't get a say in who performs the Super Bowl Halftime Show, despite its immense audience.

Re: Reddit mods and scaling problems in social control

#155

Post by lmm »

tptacek wrote: post #154
lmm wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe it should. There are plenty of similar laws (e.g. when you sell shares to your 2001st investor you're suddenly subject to a much stricter disclosure regime, and this is widely considered a good thing).

That law is an OTC anti-fraud measure. The Constitution has something to say about the ability of Congress to nationalize and impose its own speech controls on private websites that happen to become popular. Congress also doesn't get a say in who performs the Super Bowl Halftime Show, despite its immense audience.

"Private" corporations exist on the people's, via Congress', sufferance. Any entity benefitting from limited liability is not fully private and does not deserve the same rights as private individuals.

Re: Reddit mods and scaling problems in social control

#156

Post by winternett »

jedberg wrote: post #8

I think the author doesn't understand that reddit mods don't work for reddit. In their discussion with the mods they mention "site-wide rules" which makes me think they don't understand that the mods of each reddit make their own rules. On that sub, their rules don't allow people who mostly post links to their own site. It's up to you if agree with their rule, but those are the rules they have chosen. The common resp…

Everyone wants everyone else to just watch them make the money and play video games in reality... They don't want to have to watch anyone else playing and winning at them... This is the main reason why large-scale moderated communities always become corrupted... And also why algorithms always will get corrupted too.

Re: Reddit mods and scaling problems in social control

#157

Post by searealist »

tptacek wrote: post #52
operatingthetan wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Dan can in fact run amok on HN. I don't believe there are significant pressures from YC on how Dan structures moderation here. I'm sorry but this is absurd. If dang had a mental break and decided only cat picture posts were allowed going forward, there would definitely be a conversation. It being hands-off so far means that YC and dang have current consensus and trust exists.

The trust between YC and Dan regarding HN is probably the whole story about moderation here. Again: people think YC exerts a bunch of influence in how HN is moderated, and I doubt it exerts much influence at all. Dan is running this place the way he'd run it if YC didn't exist.

Then explain why yummyfajitas was banned. Pressure from above.

Re: Reddit mods and scaling problems in social control

#158

Post by tptacek »

lmm wrote: post #155
tptacek wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That law is an OTC anti-fraud measure. The Constitution has something to say about the ability of Congress to nationalize and impose its own speech controls on private websites that happen to become popular. Congress also doesn't get a say in who performs the Super Bowl Halftime Show, despite its immense audience.

"Private" corporations exist on the people's, via Congress', sufferance. Any entity benefitting from limited liability is not fully private and does not deserve the same rights as private individuals.

Yeah, that's not how any of this works.

Re: Reddit mods and scaling problems in social control

#159

Post by tptacek »

searealist wrote: post #157
tptacek wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The trust between YC and Dan regarding HN is probably the whole story about moderation here. Again: people think YC exerts a bunch of influence in how HN is moderated, and I doubt it exerts much influence at all. Dan is running this place the way he'd run it if YC didn't exist.

Then explain why yummyfajitas was banned. Pressure from above.

He was banned for trolling after being repeatedly warned to stop. I have no idea why you thought that was "pressure from above". But there are people who think any ban on HN is an insidious plot by YC, so it's not worth arguing.

Re: Reddit mods and scaling problems in social control

#160

Post by searealist »

tptacek wrote: post #159
searealist wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then explain why yummyfajitas was banned. Pressure from above.

He was banned for trolling after being repeatedly warned to stop. I have no idea why you thought that was "pressure from above". But there are people who think any ban on HN is an insidious plot by YC, so it's not worth arguing.

yummyfajitas was 95 percentile for sincerity on this site. Calling him a troll is just easy.
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