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| Reddit takes a new direction (b-list.org) | ||
| recommended by 2 users | 2012 | 392 points by tswicegood | social media | original thread | | ||
| 2 users recommended this thread. What they said: |
| dodedo Feb 13, 2012 | on: Reddit: a necessary change in policy | context |
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kypro Jun 3, 2019 | on: Top search result for “Tiananmen Square” on China's top… | context
Maybe or 6-7 years ago now Reddit decided to remove some extremely objectionable subreddits such as those that sexualise minors, then shortly after that it took action to remove subreddits which had been deemed extremely offensive by some higher ups at the company. During these times I remember people both on here and on Reddit were extremely concerned. I remember that although most people didn't like these subreddits they felt these actions might spell the beginning of further restrictions to their speech on the platform - a platform which once believed strongly in the principles of freedom of speech. If I remember correctly there was even significant media attention and many Reddit users were so upset they attempted to boycott Reddit. However now Reddit bans subreddits all the time. Twitter and Facebook delete the accounts of individuals at a whim, even they're publicly relevant or political candidates. And the sad thing is no one really cares any more. We just accept it as the new normal. Now if the media reports on it they often celebrate it. It was deserved they say, based of course solely on their subjective moral objections. It's really quite worrying. Edit: Found the thread if anyone is interested: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3585997 It's quite a balanced perspective, especially given the subreddit being banned in this case is /r/jailbait. I can't imagine anyone arguing that Reddit should allow that subreddit to exist today. I suppose it surprises me how quickly perspectives have changed given we all now seem to accept private companies have the right to censor our legal speech online. |
It's irrelevant what the people here or elsewhere think -- as you say there are many dissenting opinions but very few professional legal opinions.
Rather than dally with opinions, let's stick to facts: The authorities will shut down sites with illegal activities and the authorities are aware of these subreddits. The authorities did not intervene.
Regarding your comfort with blanket bans, you may want to read this other article recently posted to HN which offers a much more insightful analysis: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3585997