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Former Reddit Executive Sees 'No Hope' For Reddit (nymag.com)

Posted by EditorDavid on from the does-Reddit-need-editing? dept.

An anonymous reader quotes former Reddit product head Dan McComas: I think, ultimately, the problem that Reddit has is the same as Twitter and Discord. By focusing on growth and growth only and ignoring the problems, they amassed a large set of cultural norms on their platforms. Their cultural norms are different for every community, but they tend to stem from harassment or abuse or bad behavior, and they have worked themselves into a position where they're completely defensive... I really don't believe it's possible for either of them to catch up on the problem. I think the best that they can do is figure out how to hide this behavior from an average user.

I don't see any way that it's going to improve. I have no hope for either of those platforms. I just think that the problems are too ingrained, in not only the site and the site's communities and users but in the general understanding and expectations of the public... I don't think that they're going to be able to turn these things around...

I fundamentally believe that my time at Reddit made the world a worse place. And that sucks, and it sucks to have to say that about myself... I've got a lot of advice for start-ups, and it's not very fucking complicated. It's just: Think about the impact that you want to have on your users and on the people consuming your content and do the right thing... Don't be idiots about it. You're people, you see what's going on, you see trends that are forming, just fucking do something. It's not that hard.

10 of 177 comments (clear)

  1. Question by quonset · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Now that Mr. McComas has said he is/was part of the problem, how much money was he raking in for being part of that problem, and is he returning any of it?

    I like these mea culpas, such as from Reddit or Facebook. "I was raking in the dough and living the high life, but yeah, we screwed you and probably society. Live and learn. Excuse me, my yacht awaits."

    1. Re:Question by thomst · · Score: 2, Insightful

      DNS-and-BIND blurted:

      Half of all people are less intelligent than average. You're saying you don't want to read their opinions? Not only is that racist, but it's ugly classism as well. They have just as much a right to representation as anyone.

      <facepalm>

      I'm accustomed to you spewing stupid, thoughtless, didactic nonsense, but this takes the entire catering truck.

      Half of all people are less intelligent than average. Not only is that racist, but ...

      It's not UnknownSoldier who's being racist here, you nimwit. You are the one who's claiming that non-white people are "less intelligent than average." UnknownSoldier's disinterest in the opinions of stupid people makes no distinction that I can see regarding race. In my own experience, idiots come in all colors, all sexual persuasions, all ethnicities, all religions. You are the one who is saying, in effect, that prejudice against dimwits is somehow equivalent to being prejudiced against a particular race or group of races.

      It's not.

      But saying - even by implication - that white people aren't stupid, so not wanting to hear from dumbasses must automagically mean you're prejudiced against black people (or asians, or Hispanics, or American Indians, or anyone other than white folks) IS as blatantly racist as it's possible to be without physically waving a Confederate flag and chanting "You will not replace us!"

      Please, just STFU and go the fuck away ...

      --
      Check out my novel.
  2. Why is it really a problem? by SuperKendall · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Whatever social norms that exist on Reddit, are the things that led Reddit to becoming the success that it is. Any attempt to "cure" it will kill the company, as it is killing Facebook and Twitter.

    I don't personally use Reddit much myself, but I read it from time to time and the "culture" seems board dependent and overall fine. I think instead some people with more and more fascist (read: liberal) bents are alarmed that the platforms they helped create sometimes host WrongThink, and thus they would rather see the platforms burn than allow heretics to continue to speak...

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:Why is it really a problem? by war4peace · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Same here, I rarely visit Reddit but when I do, I am looking for specific subjects and my overall experience was positive.
      I would add that Reddit has become so big that it has similar population layout (statistically, socially, etc) as the entire Internet. In other words, it's a representative subset of the Internet.
      So this guy's saying there's no hope for "The Internet".

      --
      ...gis sdrawkcab (usually not responding to ACs; don't bother posting as AC)
    2. Re:Why is it really a problem? by ArchieBunker · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Reddit is mostly leftists in a giant circle jerk. I looked at voat and while entertaining it was full of the opposite, right leaning conspiracy nuts. Both sides equally dumb.

      --
      Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
  3. commentsubject by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I think, ultimately, the problem that Reddit has is the same as Twitter and Discord: It's full of internet users.

    Every day, another surface dweller strays too far from the spawn zone on Tutorial Island and gasps.

    Every day, another 24 hours of Eternal September.

  4. Members Volunteer by cahuenga · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Members of Reddit communities self select, they choose to be there. If things are bad for you at r/weiner_pretzels, move on.

  5. Many useful subreddits by JoshuaZ · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Yeah, there are some pretty toxic subreddits, but for many niches or specific interests they are really good. /r/spacex is pretty much the best place to discuss SpaceX and a lot of other New Space things, /r/math is pretty good for mathematical discussion that's more relaxing and not has high level as Math Overflow, etc. One of the real problems that Reddit has which is really a problem not just with Reddit but in many other parts of the internet is the bubble problem: people self-organize into subreddits not just based on interests but on beliefs. So one has left-wing or right-wing subreddits for example who just reinforce their preexisting political viewpoints. This mixes in really badly with confirmation bias and other standard cognitive biases.

  6. Any factual statements hidden in linked article? by ffkom · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I tried reading the linked article but gave up after reading 3 paragraphs that contained many words without making any concise statement. Reads like the blabber of a literary critic.

  7. Reddit is just... by b0s0z0ku · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Reddit is just Usenet in 2018. It's a communication tool; I don't see a need for every community to be a comfortable space for everyone. Don't like a community? Start your own.