/r/politics mods now censoring community feedback.

47  2013-08-30 by AssuredlyAThrowAway

OP is here

Proof of censored feedback here.

Update 1: They are now using the spam filter to "shadow-delete comments"-http://minus.com/mNeGbgDpn8Z6J. These comments, instead of rendering as deleted, simply do not appear. Original source for that comment string is here

Update 2: They are now nuking all criticism. It's all over boys, they're gonna be allowed to v4 the place; on to snapzu we go I guess.

Udate 3: Another example of shadowdelete being used is here.

That string renders like this on my screen.

It's now really fucking clear why mods wanted to be able to add comments to the spam filter. I'm reporting this bullshit to some of the investors.

7 comments

2  [deleted] 2013-08-30

[deleted]

5  AssuredlyAThrowAway 2013-08-30

I call it "PR firms getting mod slots".

1  GetsBetterAllTheTime 2013-08-30

Hi again friend... Sock puppet of Thrilllhouse here. You may remember me as Simulex, Simulax, or Hitler_Hates_Me, etc.. How can we even begin to discuss this on reddit when the same thing happens EVERYWHERE? I'm sure solidwhetstone and englishmunichfan are chomping at the bit for a chance to pounce on any slip up by transparency advocates in this post. Is anonymous social media inherently geared towards manipulation? Is it just a failed experiment? I don't want to sound defeatist, but this entire forum is the domain of the national security state.

0  AssuredlyAThrowAway 2013-08-30

I think it's a reflection of the pervasive influence afforded to monied faction in the American Political culture; this community of certain mods simply inculcates that condition and it seems only the power of public discourse will stop them. (I don't think any mods on /r/conspiracy do this. To be clear. I'm talking about these /r/news folks and a few unnamed others.)

1  GetsBetterAllTheTime 2013-08-30

Nice save ;)

-2  AnSq 2013-08-30

It looks like they deleted an unhelpful and unproductive comment in order to try to foster better discussion. That's not "feedback" that they're "censoring".

Also, that is not a general feedback thread. It is a discussion thread. As someone else in that thread pointed out:

What we don't need is repetitive multiple repeating posts from one person across thread after thread. This thread is not about feedback, which by the way, we have gotten from you, and I thank you for it. This thread is a guided discussion.

So, no. We're not trying to silence your feedback because we disagree with it. We're silencing it :here:, :in this thread:, because we have had more than enough from you elsewhere from all the times you've posted it.

And you can't say they're censoring feedback when right there in the picture you posted there is actual, constructive, relevant feedback from someone else that is still there two hours later. (Why did they delete yours and not his? Because yours was not constructive or particularly relevant.)

If there's a thread you don't like, then reddit already has a built-in system for expressing that: downvote and move on.

3  AssuredlyAThrowAway 2013-08-30

If there's a thread you don't like, then reddit already has a built-in system for expressing that: downvote and move on.

Mods have said upvote/downvotes will not be taken as community feedback on stickies. They even went so far as to say that feedback through comments is all that mattered. That they attack and censor me for my feedback is more likely indicative of their nefarious intent regarding the implementation of these stickies than it is an earnest attempt to foster discussion.

1  GetsBetterAllTheTime 2013-08-30

Hi again friend... Sock puppet of Thrilllhouse here. You may remember me as Simulex, Simulax, or Hitler_Hates_Me, etc.. How can we even begin to discuss this on reddit when the same thing happens EVERYWHERE? I'm sure solidwhetstone and englishmunichfan are chomping at the bit for a chance to pounce on any slip up by transparency advocates in this post. Is anonymous social media inherently geared towards manipulation? Is it just a failed experiment? I don't want to sound defeatist, but this entire forum is the domain of the national security state.