Live data from Hacker News

Reddit and the Struggle to Detoxify the Internet

newyorker.com

21–30 of 757 posts

Re: Reddit and the Struggle to Detoxify the Internet

#21

It's not that the "trolls are winning", it's that people are allowing the trolls to bother them. Trolls have always existed; it's our heightened sensitivity and inability to just shrug them off or laugh in the face of their obscenity that's letting them "win".

Ah, the old "We just need to change human behaviour" solution. Yeah, that would definitely work if it worked.

Re: Reddit and the Struggle to Detoxify the Internet

#22
It's worth noting that instead of community management, Reddit has been soft-pivoting to become a new Facebook with features like group chat, new profile designs, and a News Feed-esque view on the official mobile apps.

Incidentally, Facebook itself hasn't solved the problem of its community/fake news, hence the recent algorithmic changes to the News Feed to surface more content from friends, and a public push toward Facebook Groups. To be like Reddit.

It's a never-ending cycle.

Re: Reddit and the Struggle to Detoxify the Internet

#23
post #10
post #2

The only way to detoxify the internet, is to get rid of the "social" aspect. Starting with gasp comments. My online experience has been that much better, since adding comment blockers to my browser.

While I agree with you, and I also run a comment blocker, I find it difficult to believe that sites are going to willingly give up the engagement that comments brings.

Lots of sites are giving up on comments. They add nothing of value to advertisers.

Re: Reddit and the Struggle to Detoxify the Internet

#24
post #3

> Huffman can no longer edit the site indiscriminately There's precisely zero proof of this.

It's described in the article...

EDIT: I misunderstood OP, I thought the comment was saying there was zero proof of Huffman's ability to tamper in the first place. Agreed there's no way to prove he can't do this anymore.

Re: Reddit and the Struggle to Detoxify the Internet

#25
Reddit used to be a place where you could post links to anything on the internet (kind of like this place) and comment on it (without signing up with your email). Now it's place more like Facebook with algorithms based on your personal taste, geolocation, forced email, shadow banning, banning of politically incorrect subreddits, endless political posts and "Futurology" and "Uplifting" news articles. Free speech on reddit died a long time ago.

Re: Reddit and the Struggle to Detoxify the Internet

#26
post #21

It's not that the "trolls are winning", it's that people are allowing the trolls to bother them. Trolls have always existed; it's our heightened sensitivity and inability to just shrug them off or laugh in the face of their obscenity that's letting them "win".

Ah, the old "We just need to change human behaviour" solution. Yeah, that would definitely work if it worked.

No one needs to change anything. The internet existed for years without this being an issue.

If you encounter someone on the internet who is annoying you, most platforms give you the option to block them. You do that, then move on with your life. It's not hard.

Re: Reddit and the Struggle to Detoxify the Internet

#27
post #2

The only way to detoxify the internet, is to get rid of the "social" aspect. Starting with gasp comments. My online experience has been that much better, since adding comment blockers to my browser.

Personally I'm guilty of often seeking out comments before or soon after viewing an article or video online. As social creatures I think its reasonable to want, even need, others opinions. The effects of receiving these opinions may not always be positive, but I think they are necessary.

Pragmatically, comment sections can have bots, ads, instigators. I think there is a better solution than outright getting rid of online discussion. There's room here for innovation (Not even technical innovation, I think there's low hanging fruit here in terms of comment section design)

Re: Reddit and the Struggle to Detoxify the Internet

#28

Social media sites are learning the hard way that they're media properties like any other media property, and that they have to have strong editorial control over their media property to be a proper media business. Reddit is a hive of working-class populism, which is incompatible with any advertising-oriented business. Advertisers don't want their ads next to shitty toxic content. They want their ads next to elite, w…

Reddit initially rose to prominence because of bad decisions on Digg's part. Reddit is nothing without its users. Any decision that potentially drives users off its platform can't be made lightly.

Re: Reddit and the Struggle to Detoxify the Internet

#29

It's not that the "trolls are winning", it's that people are allowing the trolls to bother them. Trolls have always existed; it's our heightened sensitivity and inability to just shrug them off or laugh in the face of their obscenity that's letting them "win".

Trying to get everyone to not be bothered by trolls is a massive and neverending undertaking.

But policing the expression of wide (and fluidly defined) swaths of thought that some believe to be "toxic" isn't?
Post reply on HN