Reddit: a delicious bowl of ice cream, with only a few flecks of shit in it(freethoughtblogs.com)
freethoughtblogs.com
Reddit: a delicious bowl of ice cream, with only a few flecks of shit in it
http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2014/10/02/reddit-its-like-a-delicious-bowl-of-ice-cream-with-only-a-few-flecks-of-shit-poison-in-it/
12 comments
This post was killed by user flags.
> We need to recognize that reddit is a hate and porn site that has successfully masked its true nature with a thick layer of social chatter.
Rubbish. Speaking specifically towards hate (I have no moral objection to consentually created porn), the highlighted subreddits make up a microscopic fraction of reddit's content and traffic. One might just as easily say 'The internet is a tool for the propagation of hate'.
I'm perfectly willing to entertain an argument that reddit ought to censor more heavily (frankly, I'm not sure I've developed an opinion either way), but the implication that reddit is about hate, that this is what it's for, looks plainly ridiculous to me.
Rubbish. Speaking specifically towards hate (I have no moral objection to consentually created porn), the highlighted subreddits make up a microscopic fraction of reddit's content and traffic. One might just as easily say 'The internet is a tool for the propagation of hate'.
I'm perfectly willing to entertain an argument that reddit ought to censor more heavily (frankly, I'm not sure I've developed an opinion either way), but the implication that reddit is about hate, that this is what it's for, looks plainly ridiculous to me.
News flash, that's what happens when you're 100% open to user submissions. Our friend `moot would have things to say here, as with anyone who's run a large web community.
Your options are:
a) not being 100% open to user submissions (e.g. with an approval process for new subreddits)
b) hiring a team with hundreds, if not thousands, of human moderators who review everything posted and take it down when it fails to meet some criteria.
Let the illegal stuff get taken down, and just ignore the other stuff. Yes, it's terrible seeing subreddits with people saying women should be raped to teach them a lesson. But it's not illegal to say so (and most of us probably believe that it is a good thing), and we all know the people posting this crap are bored 15 year olds hanging out in their parent's basement.
Of course, if Reddit wants to actively hunt these down, why not- that's their own moral decision to make. If they want to focus their efforts on other, more important things, however, they're not doing anything wrong and it's probably a better use of their time and money.
It's not as if those morally reprehensible subreddits are displayed on the front page, either- in most cases, you have to spend some time on the site to even become aware of their existence.
At the end of the day, if you want internet to fulfill its promise of equal means of expression and communication for everyone in the world, you have to accept the unsavory content. Sure, we still want our society to hunt down and prosecute the producers of media depicting illegal acts, e.g. child pornography or people actually raping women. But we can't do much about someone taking a picture of an accident with their cellphone and posting the gory result on 4chan/reddit/etc., or some idiot saying that all black people should be murdered or all women raped. As long as it isn't showcased on reddit's front page, that's a price you have to pay for open platforms.
Over my teenage years, I've seen a lot of weird stuff through 4chan, IRC, etc. - some by curiosity, other by accident - and I grew up to be a mostly well adjusted member of society.
Your options are:
a) not being 100% open to user submissions (e.g. with an approval process for new subreddits)
b) hiring a team with hundreds, if not thousands, of human moderators who review everything posted and take it down when it fails to meet some criteria.
Let the illegal stuff get taken down, and just ignore the other stuff. Yes, it's terrible seeing subreddits with people saying women should be raped to teach them a lesson. But it's not illegal to say so (and most of us probably believe that it is a good thing), and we all know the people posting this crap are bored 15 year olds hanging out in their parent's basement.
Of course, if Reddit wants to actively hunt these down, why not- that's their own moral decision to make. If they want to focus their efforts on other, more important things, however, they're not doing anything wrong and it's probably a better use of their time and money.
It's not as if those morally reprehensible subreddits are displayed on the front page, either- in most cases, you have to spend some time on the site to even become aware of their existence.
At the end of the day, if you want internet to fulfill its promise of equal means of expression and communication for everyone in the world, you have to accept the unsavory content. Sure, we still want our society to hunt down and prosecute the producers of media depicting illegal acts, e.g. child pornography or people actually raping women. But we can't do much about someone taking a picture of an accident with their cellphone and posting the gory result on 4chan/reddit/etc., or some idiot saying that all black people should be murdered or all women raped. As long as it isn't showcased on reddit's front page, that's a price you have to pay for open platforms.
Over my teenage years, I've seen a lot of weird stuff through 4chan, IRC, etc. - some by curiosity, other by accident - and I grew up to be a mostly well adjusted member of society.
As much as I might disagree with the content of some of those subreddits, I come back to the Hall quote "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it". I personally really like operating in a society where you can run around saying inane or even offensive things, as long as it doesn't directly impact those who don't elect to listen to you.
The people who frequent these subreddits live in our society, like it or not. I'm not sure that censoring discussion about rape actually leads to less rape, it may just make it easier for the rest of us to pretend the rapists don't exist, and make it harder for the people who need help to get it.
The people who frequent these subreddits live in our society, like it or not. I'm not sure that censoring discussion about rape actually leads to less rape, it may just make it easier for the rest of us to pretend the rapists don't exist, and make it harder for the people who need help to get it.
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How do people even find this subreddits? I have been or reddit years, I am an active user that scroll r/all a lot and posts every time I have something to say. But I never encountered this subreddits. Only sometimes people post links to spacedicks and I just avoid them. This subreddits, jailbait and whatever else I heard only from articles of people complaining about them, giving them more exposure they need. It's a huge community, you can't generalize it. It's not a bowl of ice cream. It's a country made of ice cream. And being a country it has it's population, and there are always they rotten ones.
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The fact that Reddit does shut these subreddits down when media pressure is exerted shows that they know it's wrong, and that they know it's happening. They simply hope that it's hidden deep enough so that people won't notice. Granted, the deep web/4chan is where most of this stuff has had a safe haven to spawn and spread, but perhaps that is where it should stay. If a stand is made somewhere, it should be on Reddit.
The same logic can be applied to demonize any group or political movement.
For example: some fringe feminists claim that male homosexuality is merely an expression of misogyny. As a gay man, this is hugely offensive to me. However, I don't call on feminists to ostracize their radical fringe, or dismiss the entire movement based on the existence of such a fringe.
For example: some fringe feminists claim that male homosexuality is merely an expression of misogyny. As a gay man, this is hugely offensive to me. However, I don't call on feminists to ostracize their radical fringe, or dismiss the entire movement based on the existence of such a fringe.
You just got trolled son
The article points to immoral subreddits (racist, misogynist, pro-rape, etc.) Noteworthy that it's not a new problem; there have been several immoral subreddits, promoting child pornography for example, that were shuttered earlier this year.
Another problem is the group think. Certain subreddits, for example /r/worldnews, tolerate only a particular political slant. If your posts and comments contain a dissenting view, and they're downvoted off the front page and out of sight.
Another problem is the group think. Certain subreddits, for example /r/worldnews, tolerate only a particular political slant. If your posts and comments contain a dissenting view, and they're downvoted off the front page and out of sight.