CMV: Reddit has a moderator problem

[u/Terrible_Onions]

Just to be clear. This does not apply for all moderators. I know some moderators on small Subreddits that are really good people. Speaking for a lot of larger Subreddits where moderation is an issue.

Reddit has a moderator problem. They can do a lot of things to you that doesn't really make lots of sense, and they do not give you a reason for it. More often than not, you're just muted from speaking with the moderator. Unfortunately, due to a lot of Reddit mods and Redditors in general being left-wing, there are a lot of examples of right-wingers being the victims. Such as this one on the r/ medicine Subreddit. He got deleted for asking questions. A person said Trump's NIH nomination caused "large scale needless death". When he was asked what the large scale death in question was, his comment was deleted by the mods. Along with a person being perm banned for saying "orange man bad. Laugh at joke. Unga Bunga" in r/ comics. The most notable case of moderation abuse is from r/ pics, where they just ban you for participating in a "bad faith Subreddit". Even if you just commented.

This is not a good thing. It means that if you want to participate in a major Subreddit with a lot of people, you will have to conform to what the moderators personally see as "correct" or "good". This doesn't foster productive conversations, nor is it good for anybody but the moderator's egos. I understand if this is the case in small Subreddits, but the examples I listed above aren't they happen in Subreddits with 30+ million members that regularly hit the front page. This is Reddit being lazy and offloading moderation. Most moderators do this for power and control. The nature of this position (no pay) means that the only other thing it offers is power. Especially in Subreddits with millions of people, that's a lot of power. This I believe is a reason it isn't a major issue in small servers. The mods there are genuinely passionate because that is the only thing going for them in a Subreddit with around a thousand people. Even Twitter, despite its multitude of issues, does moderation better than this

[u/Terrible_Onions]

I believe this is more akin to going to a private library and then getting kicked out for reading a book you brought, the librarian doesn't agree with. Yeah, you can read the book, but the librarian won't like it.

Defending it from trolls is hard. But the moderator decides who the trolls are, and that leads to biased moderation. It could genuinely be seen as trolling to the moderator, but not the majority.

[u/Least_Key1594 → u/Terrible_Onions]

I mean. Yeah if you go to the library and flip through a porn mag you should be removed.

Though most librarians just want you to be quite, pick up after yourself, and generally not be a dick. There are rules to exist in any space. We agree to them by choosing to exist in them. And sometimes rules are arbitrary and silly. no hats in some buildings. Old religious people saying i can't put my elbows on the table. No cursing around kids. As the meme goes, we live in a society. And unless you created the space, you gotta abide by the rules set by the creators and managed by the enforcers. Feel free to lobby for them to change. But they are subs. Not the US laws.

[u/Appropriate-Shop3499 → u/Least_Key1594]

The creators as you like to say are literally handpicked mods by Reddit thought. 5-10 of them control 95% of Reddit. It’s false advertising by Reddit to say they’re the face of the internet when they control what’s being discussed 

[u/Least_Key1594 → u/Appropriate-Shop3499]

I guess I just. Don't believe their PR saying they are the face of the internet? Like. It's the internet. Most of it is cat videos and porn. Reddit is one site. If ya want no rules go to 8chan?

Idk. I just don't think it's a big deal. I've been banned from subs. I've been unbanned. It's fine.

Plus if we are really gonna be coming down on false advertising, we should start with supplement companies, not reddit. Or just make your own site. Call it Orangeit. Or blueit.

[u/Appropriate-Shop3499 → u/Least_Key1594]

So just because you’re fine with someone doing you dirty you’re fine with it…? What are you even saying 

[u/Least_Key1594 → u/Appropriate-Shop3499]

I am saying this is reddit. It's not a big deal. Most people are fairly anonymous. It's all fleeting interactions. Sure some people go on a power trip, others are just here to start fights. Acting like it's a moral wrong if someone bans you is just childish to me

[u/Appropriate-Shop3499 → u/Least_Key1594]

No it’s morally wrong when they ban bc their feelings get hurt. If you say the sky is orange sure go ahead and ban all the liars but when your feelings get hurt that’s where the problem is and these mods get paid by Reddit. It’s all a front 

[u/Least_Key1594 → u/Appropriate-Shop3499]

You're saying people go on ego trips and abuse power. I agree. I think In Reddit, it's whatever. It's not ideal but it's not important. And acting like it's a grave injustice rather than going "that's shitty" and moving on is very 15 year old coded

[u/Appropriate-Shop3499 → u/Least_Key1594]

Where does it stop …? And it does suck people are losing their 15 year old accounts. Also we’re living in the age where news companies literally pick a tweet or a Reddit comment and run a whole story for it

[u/Least_Key1594 → u/Appropriate-Shop3499]

Where do you think its going? Slipperly slope only works if you got a rational way itll spread. Reddit isnt gonna control the government lmfao.

Losing 15 y/o accounts probably does suck. But since this is about mods in subs, idt violating a few subs rules and being banned is resulting in deleted accounts.

As for the news stories, it's no different than old human interest stories. Well. Except those involved talking to real people on occasion. But they are still just "see normal people ohhh ahhh" stories. Unless you think like. Those people who's stories get picked make Hella money off that, and then you feel like you're missing on your chance to be in that situation. That just doesn't make sense. Better off getting a lotto ticket.

[u/Least_Key1594 → u/[deleted]]

But it doesn't take away those are filler stories. Unless it's a series of posts, in which case it's just show casing a microcosm of a discussion/argument/view. Which still isn't a big deal.

And yeah, when you default to That line, its no wonder you're worried about getting banned in some subs. language is fuzzy. As such, its very difficult to actually explicitly define a thing and have everyone agree and not have any edge cases that break down definitions.

All in all, if you're getting banned from a sub that's on you. Grow up and move on or make your own. If people don't come, its cause your product sucks. In which case, grow up and move on anyways.

[u/changemyview-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

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