
Ask HN: Is Reddit still toxic even after all their “changes”? - LordOfWolves
(Using throwaway here as I anticipate some potential flak...)<p>On Reddit:<p>- I&#x27;ve tried to help blossoming entrepreneurs by giving them advice from lessons learned myself, just to get downvoted to oblivion.<p>- I&#x27;ve contributed toward gaming communities, all to be downvoted &amp; &quot;flamed&quot;, because I was busy at work when the question I asked was answered by the game developers (just a couple hrs prior to my post on R).<p>- I&#x27;ve submitted topics highly relevant to other subs, all to have them shut down by a power-hungry moderator who repeats themself like a robot over-and-over again, saying I did not read the FAQ and sub rules, when I did so numerous times and the post&#x27;s title &amp; content comply.<p>Is there any hope left for Reddit? It seems either you agree to hate on everything you see or you are booted.<p>It is sad that many of our youth are on here absorbing and&#x2F;or spreading this toxicity! We cannot build a better world if we are occupied with spreading hate or other unproductive and potentially harmful actions.
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EnderMB
Most of the issues I've had with Reddit have been down to moderators, rather
than the admin staff themselves.

I won't name the subreddit, because it essentially names the moderator
involved, but I answered a question regarding website performance on a popular
developer subreddit. Someone responded back by saying that I was clearly a
terrible developer because I said that squeezing performance out of a personal
site wasn't essential. I told that person, quite bluntly, not to be a dick,
and I got permabanned with the message "no, you're a dick".

I protested to one of the mods, not necessarily for my ban to be rescinded,
but for that mod to stop being a dick to people. His comment history showed a
pattern of that behaviour, and (most likely) a pattern of bans. The other mod
unbanned me, and I left it at that.

Weirdly, the only subreddits I've ever had problems are the larger ones. I
post regularly on /r/Games and /r/bjj, and both are moderated brilliantly.

~~~
shifto
Reddit has a problem with the power-mods who mod a lot of subreddits and think
they own Reddit. Lot's of behind the scenes chatter and conspiring to stay in
power and take-over up-and-coming subreddits. This has been a problem for
years and Reddit doesn't care because where else will they find people as
motivated as the current power-mods? It's basically all they have in life I
feel like.

~~~
EnderMB
It's a weird dynamic, and it's one that I would love to see researched,
because being a moderator is a thankless job that doesn't really offer the use
any real power - but evidence suggests that people will go to great lengths to
abuse that power.

It gets especially weird in some of the football subreddits. Some moderators
try to push the narrative that having a popular football subreddit, or
controlling the subreddit for a particular football team (e.g. /r/reddevils)
gives them the ability to pretend to be "in-the-know", and to speculate on
transfers, pretend they know decisions going on at the club, etc.

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5351254578
I find the more they make changes to the website the less useful it is because
the mean people that would have usually staid in their typical subreddits
squeeze out into the mainstream stuff and make it an overall worse site. Today
was the breaking point for me. I'm actively looking for other sources of
entertainment/news/etc. Trying to figure out how to use this website because
it has been very trustworthy for the past several years.

To me reddit is dead as of today.

~~~
LordOfWolves
100% there with you. Looking for an alternative as well. I like "The
Information" (no referral link here) but it's tech-focused. I would love
something like Reddit but not censored or toxic.

~~~
companyhen
I'm enjoying [https://tildes.net](https://tildes.net) \- created by ex-reddit
employee (I think the one who created automoderator). If it's still invite
only I have some invites just let me know.

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bediger4000
I would have to say yes, based on my recent personal experience. I have
encountered moderators with their own weird axe to grind disrupting the entire
subreddit. Many or most contributors make simple comments, not very much more
complicated than "me too", or repeat myths, urban legends or common knowledge,
but pretending to expertise.

~~~
LordOfWolves
That happened to be the same experience I had with "my" "moderator".

Behavior like this should not be carpeted over with PR "here's how we're going
to fix things" announcements, like the one they advertised today and/or
yesterday. At the very least, Reddit moderators need some extent to the
control they have and repercussions for crossing lines when done so. It's
really too bad, because the platform could be so much more. Instead, it's
either cute animal photos or some of the worst toxicity you can find online.

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jaredcwhite
Maybe it's a problem in certain tech-oriented subs? I generally stay away from
those and hang out other places more geared around art, local interests,
travel, etc. and the communities there generally seem quite fun and friendly.

