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Reddit CEO admits to altering user comments that were critical of him

(www.reddit.com)
668 points wildmusings | 5 comments | 24 Nov 16 00:50 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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seanalltogether ◴[24 Nov 16 01:24 UTC] No.13027203[source]▶
The tension that The_Donald and many alt-right subreddits place on reddit in general seems to be reaching a boiling point. I get the feeling the admins are just waiting for a credible reason to present itself that lets them cleanly wipe out all of them.
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gottam ◴[24 Nov 16 01:37 UTC] No.13027290[source]▶
What is the tension about exactly? That they don't align with their own personal political views?
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bcherny ◴[24 Nov 16 01:44 UTC] No.13027327[source]▶
I think it's more about the way they express their opinions, rather than the content of those opinions.

Posting in ALL CAPS, posting fake news or insults to other members of the community, posting to incite anger, etc. does not make for good discussion, and hurts the sense of community. That, and bringing that to other subreddits via brigading, etc.

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a_bonobo ◴[24 Nov 16 01:54 UTC] No.13027390[source]▶
Plus heaps of users browse /r/all and the the_donald community is so large, and the upvotes come so quickly (some insist it's upvoting bots since it's so fast) that the top of /r/all is often the_donald. Right now the nr. 1 post and another one on all are from the_donald.
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1. justin_vanw ◴[24 Nov 16 12:27 UTC] No.13029961[source]▶
It seems like the sensible thing would be to change the /r/all algorithm to prevent a single sub from dominating?

I mean is reddit going to start deleting every sub that becomes popular because it will have too much stuff on /r/all? What kind of reasoning is that?

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2. mememachine ◴[24 Nov 16 12:42 UTC] No.13030004[source]▶
They have already tried to change the algorithm.

The real sensible thing to do would be to recognize reddit as a platform for open and free discussion. saying the wrong things or in the wrong way should be as far away from the admins concerns as possible, so long as the org itself is not threatened. I think reddit is far too obsessed with /r/thedonald, to the point where their obsession is actually becoming tangibly harmful (see: this post)

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3. justin_vanw ◴[24 Nov 16 13:43 UTC] No.13030271[source]▶
So just to be clear, I think they are fundamentally motivated by a dislike of the users in that sub and they want to quash their views.
4. CmdrSprinkles ◴[24 Nov 16 16:11 UTC] No.13031000[source]▶
Well, the whackjob subreddit was a threat to the org because they were organizing harassment and slander/libel from there and it is a matter of time until there is a lawsuit for damages

And one can argue that the trump subreddit does the same in light of Twitter allegedly not being bought out because of the hate and toxicity. If Reddit can't secure investors and funding because of notoriety, they have to do something.

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5. justin_vanw ◴[24 Nov 16 17:02 UTC] No.13031304{3}[source]▶
If reddit is trying to find investors and funding after 10 years of being one of the top traffic sites on the internet, well, that might be a pretty big red flag right there.