The Reddit Implosion

[the_std]

So as you may or may not know, the popular user-aggregate content site Reddit is currently tearing itself apart. All the details can be found here, but long story short is this: Over the past few months, Reddit has come under fire for their lack of transparency and supposed censorship - many have accused the company that owns Reddit of not understanding their user base or the way their website works. Then, yesterday, with no prior warning, they fired Reddit's most visible and popular employee, Victoria, the woman who handles high-profile AMAs (Ask Me Anything)s, was fired. The poor handling of the situation has led a near-website wide revolt against the admins, and default subreddits have been going dark or shutting down to protest this.

As a frequent Redditor, I am watching this with awe and disbelief - to me, it seems like a classic example of a corporation buying something popular without really understanding their cash cow, and then mismanaging it into the ground (*cough*Digg*cough*). Many have jumped on the Voat train, but that's little use as their suddenly-increased amounts of traffic have temporarily crippled the site. I'm going to be sad to lose Reddit, but this does not seem like a fixable issue.

[Kuari]

A lot of people over there are putting the blame on Ellen Pao and how she is running reddit into the ground with her business decisions. There have been loads of issues with the site, and the moderators of many of the subreddits are pissed that very little has been done to improve the shoddy mod tools they have been provided. Firing Victoria without any warning or attempt at mollification or explanation about how to run AMAs without her assistance was a final straw for many people. And then it gets out that the creator of redditgifts was let go as well, although it was about a month ago but nobody knew until he spoke up in the past day about it.

Yes, some stuff had to go - I was never a fan of the FPH sub and felt that it was very hateful. But it's been getting really, really bad lately over there. Hell, there have been people banned just for speaking out against Pao on any of the subs. It's getting ridiculous and it's not the place I used to enjoy frequenting

[Gravekeeper]

I'm of mixed minds about this. On one hand the sheer level of human garbage on display on Reddit has been a long standing problem and I could not give a rat's ass about those particular shit smears being upset that their hate parties got shut down.

On the other hand, I have nfi what the thought process behind the current crisis was. It seems like a complete and total clusterfuck. Even if you were, inexplicably, going to fire one of the premier faces of your company and cornerstone to its community; Why would you do so without explanation, without warning and without having any sort of replacement ready?

That goes beyond being out of touch with your customers and into just poor management/business practices.

[Hyena Dandy]

On one hand the sheer level of human garbage on display on Reddit has been a long standing problem and I could not give a rat's ass about those particular shit smears being upset that their hate parties got shut down.

You realize that Reddit isn't actually just a hate site, yes? Like, it's not fucking Stormfront, and there's a good number of redditors who are pretty cool.

[the_std]

I'm of mixed minds about this. On one hand the sheer level of human garbage on display on Reddit has been a long standing problem and I could not give a rat's ass about those particular shit smears being upset that their hate parties got shut down.

Are you specifically referring to the FPH fiasco? Or all of Reddit in general?

Cause the default subs tended to collect the worst of the bunch simply by having such a huge audience, but there were/are tons of smaller subs that were populated and tended by normal-ass people. You have to remember that there were millions of subscribers to Reddit, so calling everyone shit smears is a pretty broad brush.

[Gravekeeper]

You realize I said "those particular shit smears" as in, a specific group, as in, not a broad brush. But don't let that get in the way of jumping down my throat over what you think I said. >.>

Cripes.

[the_std]

That's why I asked for clarification, which you didn't provide. Which particular shit smears are you talking about?

[BlaqueKatt]

I could not give a rat's ass about those particular shit smears being upset that their hate parties got shut down.

That's why I asked for clarification, which you didn't provide. Which particular shit smears are you talking about?

I believe he was quite clear, just some people want an argument over nothing.

You know the revenge porn, the jailbait, the neo-nazis, pro-rape, and various other hate groups.

Subreddits on beating women, the disabled, homosexuals and the transgendered.

#8 on the list of awful internet communities

[the_std]

I believe he was quite clear, just some people want an argument over nothing.

Well, that wasn't clear to me, since I asked for clarification in my first post. I replied to half of my own question because I thought it could curtail unnecessary blaming of the entire Reddit community, not because I wanted to shove answers down anyone's throat. Also because I have no defence for the FPH members or other groups who use websites like Reddit as gathering places to spread this hate.

But I also know that, while those groups give these sites a bad name, they do not accurately represent those sites. Like I said earlier, Reddit was a community made up of millions of members, the vast majority of which never participated in those hate groups. Hence my impulse to defend the website.

I'll be honest, I haven't replied till now because I didn't expect to receive a hostile response such as the one I did, and I wasn't sure how to reply to it.

[s_stabeler]

, Reddit was a community made up of millions of members, the vast majority of which never participated in those hate groups. Hence my impulse to defend the website.

um, Reddit is still around,and still as popular as ever afaik, so the past tense is probably not yet appropiate. ( I agree that if they aren't careful it will run into trouble, but it isn't yet gone)

[the_std]

um, Reddit is still around,and still as popular as ever afaik, so the past tense is probably not yet appropiate. ( I agree that if they aren't careful it will run into trouble, but it isn't yet gone)

While the site may still be around, my opinion is that the events of the past few months add up to one gigantic breach of trust that shattered what the community was, and it won't ever be the same again. Hence the past tense.

[Hyena Dandy]

While the site may still be around, my opinion is that the events of the past few months add up to one gigantic breach of trust that shattered what the community was, and it won't ever be the same again. Hence the past tense.

I just poke around the badacademics areas, and those have been mostly steady.

[Andara Bledin]

Yeah.. pretty sure Reddit's not going anywhere.

Implosion's over, things are heading back to the new normal...

Whether the issue is insurmountable depends on how they move going forward.

Honestly, I'll be unsurprised if this is merely a blip on the radar five years down the line... something for cranky 'old farts' of the site to rattle their canes over.

[the_std]

Alrighty, so we have established that my use of the past tense was incorrect, and I don't think it negates the point I was making. The culture of Reddit was largely one of open exchange of ideas, whether or not those ideas were good, or even morally acceptable. I know that these can't be absolutes as it's a private company, so freedom of expression is just however much the parent company feels like allowing. However, considering the rumours (I know, unsubstantiated, blah blah blah) that this fiasco was over a change in the AMA structure allowing big names to pay for preference and visibility in AMAs, I think that Reddit will be altered, and that the intellectual base that made the good parts of Reddit good will leave and take up residence on a different site. I will miss that atmosphere, and won't be using Reddit now that I blatantly can't trust the overall structure of the site.

[Gravekeeper]

The CEO really isn't helping, is she? That apology was pretty bad. -.-

I think that Reddit will be altered, and that the intellectual base that made the good parts of Reddit good will leave and take up residence on a different site. I will miss that atmosphere, and won't be using Reddit now that I blatantly can't trust the overall structure of the site.

Yeah, no they won't. Its too large and too established a website. The good parts of Reddit are no more going to go elsewhere then the good parts of Facebook did after Facebook's #47 site redesign and violation of privacy. Anyone claiming otherwise on Reddit is honestly just posturing for dramatic effect. A few may put their money where their mouth is, but it'll be a drop in the bucket compared to Reddit's overall user base. I mean this "implosion" basically last 24 hours before it was back to business as usual.

The shitsmear factories of Reddit may crawl off elsewhere, but they were already somewhat in the process of doing so after being told they couldn't scream at black people, fat people, post revenge porn, etc. Granted, they missed a lot of the garbage so Reddit will still continue to be a haven to festering internet bile. No worries there. A glance at the nonsensical shit being flung at the CEO because of her vagina is indicative enough that that part of Reddit will likely never die. -.-