Reddit banning subreddits used as a platform to harass groups in society

REDDIT has announced it will be going after users who engage in bigotry following changes to its community management.

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REDDIT has announced it will be going after users who engage in bigotry following changes to its community management.

The social media site based around forums has identified five topics that they’ll ban, including homophobia and racism.

In a detailed post, the social media website said it was now banning subreddits (individual forums) that are being used as a platform to harass particular groups in society.

“Our goal is to enable as many people as possible to have authentic conversations and share ideas and content on an open platform,” the post read.

“We want as little involvement as possible in managing these interactions but will be involved when needed to protect privacy and free expression, and to prevent harassment.”

Reddit said the ever-evolving landscape of the internet made it difficult to find a balance between these values for its 170 million monthy users, but admitted it was taking steps in the right direction.

“Today we are removing five subreddits that break our rules based on their harassment of individuals,” Reddit said.

“If a subreddit has been banned for harassment, you will see that in the ban notice.”

While Reddit believe this diplomatic approach is best for the future, not all of its users agree.

The post is littered with commenters questioning the effectiveness of such guidelines.

“This is a hole with no bottom. Admins will now be fielding non-stop requests from person “x” because sub “y” offended them somehow and they will try to spin it as harassment,” wrote a user calling themselves ‘Exploding Jesus’.

“If you’re so concerned with preventing harassment that you’re banning subreddits, you’re either going to need to be seriously transparent with the rules (”these activities are okay” vs. “these activities are not”) or you’re going to have to recognise that this is just going to end up as a popularity contest,” wrote KingoCarrotFlowers.

“Reddit — whatever your feelings on the matter, this is clearly a retrograde step and if you don’t rectify it, I worry for your future. Don’t let all your hard work be thrown away. The internet will always find ways to express itself, either with you or without you,” wrote Yurilovescats.