Reddit has turned into a cesspool. I’m sure the majority of users are great, honest and open minded, but you can’t keep the internet outside the walled garden forever. And it only takes a handful of bad actors to ruin it for everyone.
As frustrated as I’ve found myself on Reddit, to the point I’ve all but quit using it save for some video game stuff, I still can’t imagine how mods can be bothered to put up with bad actors, trolls, whiners, and fools. Everyone checks out at some point —- and as a normal user, I can and I feel no compunction about letting the conversation devolve, but when you rely on volunteers to do the policing, it’s going to happen more often and with harsh consequences. And you can see on many subs that absent strong moderation, discussion on anything remotely contentious devolves into an ugly free for all. Even if the thread is locked or certain comments get deleted, it’s too little too late, and the damage has been done to civil discourse.
This article has me thinking more broadly about the internet and the future of online communities. Large platforms can’t thoroughly patrol every nook and cranny without unreasonable amounts of employees. And yet it’s never been more important to have fair and timely moderation on serious issues. Machine learning might have a role to play here, but it’ll require some sort of human oversight to provide a “starter” or some context within which a system can determine what can be censored. What else is left? Unmasking everyone isn’t going to happen for good reason. The internet is in dire need of a police force, and volunteerism isn’t sufficient.
As frustrated as I’ve found myself on Reddit, to the point I’ve all but quit using it save for some video game stuff, I still can’t imagine how mods can be bothered to put up with bad actors, trolls, whiners, and fools. Everyone checks out at some point —- and as a normal user, I can and I feel no compunction about letting the conversation devolve, but when you rely on volunteers to do the policing, it’s going to happen more often and with harsh consequences. And you can see on many subs that absent strong moderation, discussion on anything remotely contentious devolves into an ugly free for all. Even if the thread is locked or certain comments get deleted, it’s too little too late, and the damage has been done to civil discourse.
This article has me thinking more broadly about the internet and the future of online communities. Large platforms can’t thoroughly patrol every nook and cranny without unreasonable amounts of employees. And yet it’s never been more important to have fair and timely moderation on serious issues. Machine learning might have a role to play here, but it’ll require some sort of human oversight to provide a “starter” or some context within which a system can determine what can be censored. What else is left? Unmasking everyone isn’t going to happen for good reason. The internet is in dire need of a police force, and volunteerism isn’t sufficient.
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