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Unpaid and Abused: Moderators Speak Out Against Reddit (engadget.com)
In a joint investigation, Engadget and Point spoke to 10 Reddit moderators, and all of them complained that Reddit is systematically failing to tackle the abuse they suffer. Keeping the front page of the internet clean has become a thankless and abusive task, and yet Reddit's administration has repeatedly neglected to respond to moderators who report offenses. From the report: "I've had a few death threats," said Emily, who asked to be referred to by her first name and her Reddit username, lolihull, to prevent the online harassment from spilling over into her real life. [...] "I had three death threats this past month," said abrownn, who moderates r/Futurology, with more than 13 million subscribers, and r/technology, with more than 6 million subscribers. abrownn asked only to be known by their username. All the moderators interviewed confirmed they had received death threats, which they said can take a toll.
[...] It's hard to pin down how many moderators there are: Even the moderators themselves don't know, but most estimate their numbers are into the tens of thousands. Some spend hours each day working for free on the site. Whatever the actual figure, they far outnumber the higher-ranking and paid administrators, whose job it is to respond to the evidence that the moderators collect.
[...] It's hard to pin down how many moderators there are: Even the moderators themselves don't know, but most estimate their numbers are into the tens of thousands. Some spend hours each day working for free on the site. Whatever the actual figure, they far outnumber the higher-ranking and paid administrators, whose job it is to respond to the evidence that the moderators collect.
If you wouldn't say it to their face then don't say it online. What's wrong with people?
.. like 90% of the channels you can tell people of low education and people who are young tend to be moderators. AKA people with lots of free time.
The reason reddit is so popular because it is a confirmation bias wonderland for people who are not very bright and that is most of our species. So reddit is a wonderland of egoboost for the none too bright and uninformed. It's just 100% drama generating machine between the informed, uninformed, young and old and it has to do with the karma and moderation system. Reddit is just one monkey ego war where opinions no matter how dumb are fought and defended by drive by upvoting and downvoting of whatever subgroup is most dominant on the sub unfortunately for our species .
The whole thing thrives off putting people of various ages and education backgrounds together and watching them go at it. It's just a battle royal, to a large extent.
... A great deal more is said than done.
I've been getting death threats since the FIDONET days, and once in a while one of the losers trying to scare me has mentioned where I was living or working at the time in their threat, but not one of them has even showed up to TP my house, let alone try anything dangerous.
If you can't ignore the Internet Tough Guys, then get off the internet, for fuck's sake. If you actually believe that any of them will show up, get a pump-action shotgun: problem solved.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
So many people are willing to do a job for a web site (in this case reddit) and not get paid for it. Suckers.
You can't get a tax write off for your time spent herding assholes on reddit as a moderator. If you have a need to help, volunteer at a library, food bank, or soup kitchen.
Reddit's business model heavily depends on people being so power hungry and loyal that they don't get paid for what is for some a full time job. As time goes on, the power hungry become somewhat insane, until they are deposed or regain their senses.
It's the power and control they get from being moderators. Some people deal with this good feeling by becoming politicians. Others become message board moderators. It feels wonderful to slap people you don't like with bans, doubly so when you get to attach a shitty little message to it that the recipient can't reply to. Especially when your life offline is nothing.
Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
There is something wrong with people who are moderating 100+ subs. Often they have an agenda/axe to grind and moderate for the sake of power. Some subs are moderated very well but many have mods that are completely missing the point of their being there. Paid shills are rife in some subs where other people are banned for posting unambiguous facts that don't line up with the moderators tastes.
But unless there is a sub for people who spend 150 hours a week on redit moderators need to be cut way back in what they can do. Limit the number of subs any individual can moderate. Have a team who replace moderators who are clearly abusing their power.
And if that team has any spare resources, fight the shills, especially the chemical company shills.
Reddit is what Usenet was. With a worse interface and images. It also made it impossible to follow a discussion.
And the majority of groups are not interesting to you. So concentrate on the ones thar are, if you can find them.
Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
You mean like people who moderate Slashdot?
People want to build communities, for companionship and socializing or for free and open debate in a marketplace of ideas. Both of those things require moderation, and for people who get a lot from those communities it's a reasonable trade to make.
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
The difference is that on Slashdot, all you really do is mod them down. You can still read all the app apps and all the GNAA, not to mention the cosmonaut Golden Girls.
No idea why anyone would, but you can.
The information is still there. That's the difference.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
People desiring the power of a moderator that much, have historically rubbed people the wrong way ie. the kid who helps the teacher enforce rules.
I am 100% for worker's rights. However, being that they can leave at any time, with zero penalty (other than, you know, not getting to moderate), I struggle to sympathize here. People who crave the ability to exert power over others to the extent that they will endure death threats, for nothing, have issues of their own. It's kind of unsurprising that they evoke strong emotions from those with an equally strong hatred of being controlled. I mean, wars have been fought for less.
Then stop giving it to them. People used to have webpages. Now they have Facebook pages. If you don't own your stuff, it's just a matter of time before someone takes it from you.
Ding ding ding! We have a winner!
This is the root of why I stick around. Anyone can (and does) say anything here. I am free to read it all and make my own decision on who's an idiot and who I want to talk to.
Nice victim-blaming there.
There are people on the Internet that will issue death threats because they disagree with you - whether or not you enter into any argument whatsoever.
And it doesn't matter how "controversial" you are. A death threat is a criminal offence. People can, do, have and will go to jail for uttering them in a serious manner.
"A key thing about responsible web usage" is that it's no different to the real-world, because it is the real-world. And you can no more threaten someone's life online as you can offline.
Trust me, threaten my life - not in jest - offline and I'll prosecute. Do so online, and it's the same. Especially if you take it anywhere beyond actually just posting a comment (e.g. private messaging, revealing information, chasing, harassment, etc. etc. etc.). Just because it's online doesn't grant you an exception.
And there's no web-forum-argument in the world that's justifiable of a death-threat, the same way that there's no web-forum-argument in the world worth going to jail for, or living in fear of death threats of.
I have a friends who's a children's author. He's received death-threats because he posted a political comment that wasn't in any way offensive. He's had actual death-threats, over involved and proloned conversations (including literal offers of meeting him at the airport when he flies to an announced meeting to kill him, including threats of gun use) because he was mildly sexist in jest in a tweet.
Sorry, but the world's full of nutters. We can no more live in fear of saying something that might offend them in case they make a death threat than we can allow people who make death threats to say "Oh, it's just a joke", or "oh, that happens online, just deal with it".
8. There are no real rules about posting
9. There are no real rules about moderation either - enjoy your ban
Have to jump in here.
> It's the power and control they get from being moderators. Some people deal with this good feeling by becoming politicians.
I know it's all the rage to dump on politicians. But there are so many, many problems with where things are headed.
For example? Can in imagine if you're an *honest* politician? And one that just wants to solve a few problems, wants to generally 'fix' something they see broken? Not in it for the power, or money, but honestly just want to make things better.
Sure it's somewhat selfish in the end, because they want to make it better for their family, their friends, their community. But that's the sort of selfish we want!
So you have a TV interview. Or, say something on twitter. Welp. Everything is completely distorted out of context, quotes are taken and slapped together with other quotes, the list goes on. If you tell the truth? It will be distorted, taken out of context, and if you discuss something for an hour? They'll take a 4 second quote and slap it on the air.
Things I remember a Prime Minster I *didn't even like*, but couldn't believe he was being harassed for:
- he wore a sweater, and was mocked because it looked a little off
- he shook his son's hand one day, when he left for school -- everyone called him a cold, calculating bastard because he didn't hug his son (I didn't want hugs from my dad when 10!)
- his hair was too neat (boy, he sure must use a lot of hair spray!!)
- his smile is a little funny, he must be a psycho
I could list a 100 of these. What. The. Fuck.
How about people actually commenting on policy?
But no you become a politician, and every single aspect of your life is examined. People think death threats on the internet are bad? Well I wonder what sort of vile crap gets thrown your way, if you're a politician? I'm sure death threats would almost be preferable to some comments sent via no-return address letters, or phone calls, or whatever.
Yet, let's say you put up with all that. The threats, the vile spew coming out of people's mouths, the criticism for the smallest things, and hell -- even being criticized for doing what you said you'd do in campaign speeches?
Well, you put up with all that -- and you STILL get no-where often with the things you WANT to genuinely help with.
And then everyone dumps on you. Again. Because the opposition and sometimes even your own party works against you.
I don't know. I'd have to say that being an honest, open, caring politician is the worst job on the planet.
And this is what disturbs me. Because all day long, every day, I see little cracks like the one you made about politicians. I see them regarded as scum. I see what they do equated to a waste of time. I see them assumed as thieves, assholes, pricks -- when people aren't even aware of the person behind the office, nor of what they've done -- good or bad.
If people want things to REALLY turn around, then people need to create an environment where an honest, caring, loving GRANDMOTHER would be happy being a politician.
Why?
Because -- if only scum can stand the job, wtf!
I know from personal experience that, for one example, the AlbionOnline (MMO game) subreddit is controlled and operated by employees of Sandbox Interactive, the company that makes and sells the game. They quash any meaningful criticism of the game in the Reddit forums.
So that is an example of heavy bias in a Reddit forum where the mods are quite well paid for their effort.
Predicted the wrong thing, I'm assuming.
There are people who threaten mods, there are mods who abuse their power, and luckily there are also quite a few people with a sense of humor, e.g. see comments in https://www.reddit.com/r/video...
I know Europe is a wonderland of homogeneity safety but even so, the entire point of SWATing is to create a high tension situation where the police have been told there is an active shooter.
I was banned from /r/Futurology.
Fuck them.
Can't you leave your disagreement with /r/Futurology in the past?
"That's the way to do it" - Punch
It presages the American political landscape in 2018 where if you are not with Blue Team, you are assumed to be Red Team and that's the end of the story: they will censor you, exclude you, defame you, and try to get you fired from your job, depending on level of dissent.
The problem with Reddit is the users. Having seen them transplanted to other sites where they immediately begin calling for censorship and violence, I think it is something inherent to that group which makes them so hair-trigger and doctrinaire.
This might explain why they are so quick to make death threats.
Alternative Right.
All of these ring true. The people who get selected mods at Reddit are those who do not offend the hive mind. I like the "alternate reality" description. The worst part is that, in a community with that many toxic users, if you do not start out as a censor, being a mod for a few weeks will do it to you.
Alternative Right.