Earlier quoted context omitted.
I also appreciate the open nature of Reddit. No account is required if you just want to read, and you don't need to be first "approved" to most subreddits to be able to contribute. No "real-name" policies that often do more harm than good either. While Facebook by default erects walls around content, Reddit by default promotes the free sharing and equal access to information, which resonates much more with the origin…
They still allow anonymous sign-up without an email address, but I've noticed a few dark UI patterns hiding that feature with recent redesigns. I delete and create accounts all the time to improve anonymity and prevent karma-lust. A few months ago I almost swore off Reddit because it seemed not providing an email was no longer an option during sign up. Now you just have to hit "Next" with an empty email field, it use…
Reddit just passed Facebook as #3 most popular website in US
461–470 of 609 posts
Re: Reddit just passed Facebook as #3 most popular website in US
#462Earlier quoted context omitted.
I often use reddit as a search engine for answers with a "human touch" for lack of a better word. I once did this with del.icio.us back in the "social bookmarking" days. I'm curious if this is a big use case for Reddit users do this too? Maybe not based on the low quality of their search engine...
I frequently do the same with "site:reddit.com" searches on Google for "human touch" answers. I do the same thing with Hacker News for technical topics.
Re: Reddit just passed Facebook as #3 most popular website in US
#463Shut it down.
Re: Reddit just passed Facebook as #3 most popular website in US
#464Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't know the usage stats, but I think the app/website ratio is nowhere near the one of facebook. Some probable reasons for this (unbacked) claim: 1) Long sessions are more suitable on a laptop/desktop than on a smartphone (the average session time is ~15mn). 2) There is still a nerdy userbase (mostly early users) who prefer to use the website with all the features. 3) The app is relatively recent (April 2016 vs 2…
Nobody uses the official reddit apps. I've been using third party reddit apps (which are amazing) since 2010 (Galaxy S1).
Re: Reddit just passed Facebook as #3 most popular website in US
#465Earlier quoted context omitted.
I also appreciate the open nature of Reddit. No account is required if you just want to read, and you don't need to be first "approved" to most subreddits to be able to contribute. No "real-name" policies that often do more harm than good either. While Facebook by default erects walls around content, Reddit by default promotes the free sharing and equal access to information, which resonates much more with the origin…
> No account is required if you just want to read, It nags you SO hard to sign up. On this front it's no better than using Facebook to look at public posts.
Re: Reddit just passed Facebook as #3 most popular website in US
#466Earlier quoted context omitted.
The kind of toxic people we are talking about on Reddit are not toxic for their politics. Racism, bigotry, and misogyny are not political topics. It isn't like tax policy or any other topic that can be debated. There is one clear side that is wrong.
So there's no debate to be had on affirmative action, and everyone who supports it is racist and wrong? Plenty of people I know consider it racist. The reality is, how people and groups define terms like racism, bigotry, and misogyny is often very politicized.
Let me guess: they're mostly white, and mostly male, and mostly of average- to below-average intelligence.
Re: Reddit just passed Facebook as #3 most popular website in US
#467Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think this is the more important part of the quote: > Racism, bigotry, and misogyny are not political topics. Is there gray to any of those?
>Bigotry: noun. stubborn and complete intolerance of any creed, belief, or opinion that differs from one's own. Hmmm...
Re: Reddit just passed Facebook as #3 most popular website in US
#468Earlier quoted context omitted.
The kind of toxic people we are talking about on Reddit are not toxic for their politics. Racism, bigotry, and misogyny are not political topics. It isn't like tax policy or any other topic that can be debated. There is one clear side that is wrong.
You're equally hard on thug-rap subreddits, right?
You've used that term ("thug-rap subreddits") twice here in this discussion, and I'm pretty sure you're just trying to bait, because not only do they simply not exist, but even if one did, it would be about 1/100000th the size of a toxic waste dump like The_Donald or any of the MRA swamps that plague Reddit.
Re: Reddit just passed Facebook as #3 most popular website in US
#469Earlier quoted context omitted.
It is possible to have a civil discussion about things like affirmative action or immigration policy. Many reasonable people can disagree on those issues (racists just happen to have very strong opinions on these issues). You are being naive if you think everything that is labeled as racist on Reddit is part of a normal civil discussion. Subreddits like /r/Coontown and the many-headed hydra that pop up whenever those…
Should subreddits about thug-rap be worth tolerating? Do you think those lyrics spread "hate"? Are you equally vocal about those particular subreddits?
Re: Reddit just passed Facebook as #3 most popular website in US
#470Earlier quoted context omitted.
Isn’t the flip side to that Cambridge analytica? A bunch of anon accounts devoted to pushing an agenda? Maybe not. It sure seems like a knife edge to balance on. I agree with you, I like the ability to create random one shot accounts to comment on something, but that’s exploitable in weird ways.
It's funny that was a Facebook scandal, while Reddit has movements like hail corporate trying to self-police dishonesty and manipulative behavior. It seems like anonymity should be more of a driving force, but seeing both good and bad social media sites with each model, I'm no longer sure anonymity either preserves or inhibits culture... it might just be orthogonal.
Self-policing can also be manipulated. You cannot rely on user-intent alone, you need some structural protection against these kinds of things. Although I don't know what the best kind is.