Pedophiles Are Still Tearing Reddit Apart
A controversy is once again brewing on Reddit over moderator protection of its pedophile users. One Reddit user is accusing moderators of AskReddit,
the catch-all subreddit that you're automatically subscribed to upon
registering, of banning people who "out" admitted pedophiles.
the catch-all subreddit that you're automatically subscribed to upon
registering, of banning people who "out" admitted pedophiles.
The full post
is kind of convoluted, but here is the gist: user A claims that he or
she was banned from AskReddit after noting that user B has admitted to
pedophilia in past posts, in a thread in which user B was defending the
rights of pedophiles in the work place (#reddit). According to
screenshots posted by user A — whose user name is "CoonTown" (#reddit),
by the way — he or she was banned because "pointing out [that] someone
is a pedophile is likely to cause them to suffer the wrath of the
hivemind."
is kind of convoluted, but here is the gist: user A claims that he or
she was banned from AskReddit after noting that user B has admitted to
pedophilia in past posts, in a thread in which user B was defending the
rights of pedophiles in the work place (#reddit). According to
screenshots posted by user A — whose user name is "CoonTown" (#reddit),
by the way — he or she was banned because "pointing out [that] someone
is a pedophile is likely to cause them to suffer the wrath of the
hivemind."
The banned
user, and others in subsequent comments in the thread, are accusing
Reddit of having a double standard when it comes to the protection of
its posters. They allege that Reddit's moderators condone the common
practice of male users bullying female posters by digging through their
post histories in order to re-post nudes from Reddit's many "gonewild" subreddits in non-related threads. One moderator, at least, acknowledges the double standard but nonetheless wipes it away.
user, and others in subsequent comments in the thread, are accusing
Reddit of having a double standard when it comes to the protection of
its posters. They allege that Reddit's moderators condone the common
practice of male users bullying female posters by digging through their
post histories in order to re-post nudes from Reddit's many "gonewild" subreddits in non-related threads. One moderator, at least, acknowledges the double standard but nonetheless wipes it away.
"Look
at it this way: you're in a thread, and you see that someone's posted
nudie pics if [sic] the chick they replied to. You have one of two
thoughts - a) "that's pretty creepy", or b) "nice tits". But if you see
that someone has shown that another person is a kiddy fiddler, you're
going to be angry. Now, while you may not, other people will want to
punish that person."
at it this way: you're in a thread, and you see that someone's posted
nudie pics if [sic] the chick they replied to. You have one of two
thoughts - a) "that's pretty creepy", or b) "nice tits". But if you see
that someone has shown that another person is a kiddy fiddler, you're
going to be angry. Now, while you may not, other people will want to
punish that person."
This is just a few moderators of one subreddit, albeit one that reaches nearly 20 million people per month.
The story, though legitimate, could be a minor one. Nonetheless, it
speaks to a problem at Reddit's core that the site has been unable to
completely destroy: that its libertarianism is so deeply poisoned by
misogyny that freedom from harassment is more urgent for child
pornographers than women.
The story, though legitimate, could be a minor one. Nonetheless, it
speaks to a problem at Reddit's core that the site has been unable to
completely destroy: that its libertarianism is so deeply poisoned by
misogyny that freedom from harassment is more urgent for child
pornographers than women.
