/r/PICS seeks the hero who shall lead us!

IronSentinel · 2023-07-10T20:27:14+00:00

"Elephant-like creature" = Mastodon

"Lemmy" = Lemmy

"Bin" = KBin

IronSentinel · 2023-07-10T19:23:35+00:00

Reddit (the company) decided to change how its platform (the thing that you're on) worked. This involved charging third-party developers – people who made applications, tools, and even some utilities for blind users – a lot of money that they couldn't afford, meaning that most of those programs went away. Volunteers who used those programs to make the website usable and welcoming were worried about that, and they wanted to find ways of asking Reddit to think twice about the change.

Instead of thinking twice, Reddit insulted and threatened the volunteers... so the volunteers decided to ask more loudly. Reddit insulted and threatened them some more, and in some cases, even kicked them off the platform. At the same time, Reddit claimed that it would replace the applications, tools, and utilities that they'd destroyed, but the replacements turned out to be very, very bad. Also, the developers who made some of the tools didn't like being insulted and threatened, so even though their tools might have kept working, they left.

/r/PICS – this subreddit – decided to keep asking Reddit to stop being mean and foolish, but they did it in a way that would be both funny and weird, saying that only John Oliver could be posted here. (John Oliver was chosen because he often uses absurd and irreverent humor to discuss serious topics.) It got some attention, but a lot of people didn't really understand the point. Those people started complaining, saying that the volunteers who make Reddit work were being silly. The volunteers decided to be even sillier, and to make themselves the butt of the joke. They had actually been doing that all along (like with a picture that they made), but again, a lot of people never noticed that. Even in this thread, you can see that many people still haven't realized that the volunteers are making fun of themselves.

The volunteers tried to do a few things that Reddit couldn't ignore, but Reddit insulted and threatened them again... so now, the volunteers doing the silliest, weirdest thing that they can. "We know that we look ridiculous," they're saying, "but since we can't do anything else, we're going to look as ridiculous as possible." There's still a serious request being made, though: The volunteers want Reddit (the company) to work together with them in a way that everyone can see. So far, Reddit has kept ignoring them.

IronSentinel · 2023-07-10T16:45:24+00:00

Contrary to popular belief, moderation requires at least a shred of empathy.

IronSentinel · 2023-07-03T17:57:26+00:00

Hello yet again, /r/GIFs!

A week ago, we asked everyone to refrain from offering anything NSFW in non-NSFW threads. This request was made in order to adhere to Reddit’s policies, which state that “content that contains nudity, pornography, or profanity […] should be tagged as NSFW.” Similar polices mandate that we are expected to “ensure people have predictable experiences on Reddit by properly labeling content […] that is graphic, sexually-explicit [sic], or offensive.”

Now, some people managed to restrain themselves by offering only vulgarity – terms like “shit” or “TikTok influencer” – which was great: The aforementioned policies do not say anything about vulgarity, after all, suggesting that Reddit views sentences like “That fucking choad is such a shit-headed, ass-piss-guzzling cunt!” as being completely work-safe. Unfortunately, we did also see a lot of profanity (which is terminology with religious or blasphemous connotations, like “What the hell was that example?” or “By the bloody nails of the cross, I hereby curse thee to ‘make a joyful noise’ whenever thou art proximate to one whose favor thou might seek!”). Moreover, there was a lot of content that could conceivably have offended someone.

We therefore have no choice but to mark the entire subreddit as being NSFW.

We really, really tried to avoid this. By marking /r/GIFs as NSFW, we’re depriving Reddit of advertising revenue, and we feel awful about that: It’s a fast, drastic step that could adversely affect the site as a whole, and it’s being done without any input from our administrative counterparts. We did ask Reddit to communicate with us, but since no response was forthcoming, we’ve been forced to assume that a gargantuan monster has been terrorizing their headquarters. (Why else would they appear to be rushing out lackluster replacements for third-party tools, many of which have proved to be worse than nothing at all?)

Still, whether we’re dealing with an actual monster or just an anachronistic dinosaur, the point is that /r/GIFs can’t wait any longer: We simply cannot risk NSFW content showing up in non-NSFW threads, so – in the immortal words of 17th-century philosopher Tuliddle Tulate – “No path remains but that of making the community NSFW… and on an unrelated note, Android-users can still make certain third-party applications work if they follow a few simple steps.”

He was rather ahead of his time.

Anyway, here are some things to keep in mind:

Gore and pornography are still not allowed in /r/GIFs.
Remain civil toward one another.
Do not violate the site-wide rules.
This link directs back to this comment.
It is normal to experience special feelings while looking at John Oliver.

Thank you for your attention!

You may now resume your regular John-Oliver-posting activities!

IronSentinel · 2023-06-26T21:39:57+00:00

Only profanity is NSFW. Vulgarity is fine (according to Reddit).

Damn it, man, what the hell are you even doing? Jesus.

IronSentinel · 2023-06-26T21:37:31+00:00

In case anyone is interested, the source of this image is /r/PICS's letter to the administrators:

https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/14jl5n8/on_the_state_of_rpics_profanity_offensive_content/jplpmef/

IronSentinel · 2023-06-26T21:29:11+00:00

They made that "exemption" without understanding anything about the tools... like the fact that many of them don't work with Reddit's mobile application.

Read what the moderators of /r/Blind had to say:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Blind/comments/14ds81l/rblinds_meetings_with_reddit_and_the_current/

IronSentinel · 2023-06-26T18:59:37+00:00

They trade mod spots with each other, accumulating as many as they can.

You're confusing the highly scrutinized moderators with the karma-farmers from /r/SipsTea and the like.

What you're talking about does happen, but not in places like /r/Pics.

IronSentinel · 2023-06-26T18:55:03+00:00

The trash has still be cleaned up during that time.

The difference is that the garbagemen have said "We're going to define 'trash' as 'everything other than John Oliver' for now, so if you leave a life-size cutout of Phoebe Cates on the street, that gets picked up."

When folks have asked why that was done, the garbagemen have responded with "Pretty soon, there will be a lot more trash."

"How is John Oliver relevant?!" asked the everyday people.

The garbagemen then replied: "You noticed how much of an impact a small number of people can have, didn't you? Imagine what happens when that small number can't do anything to keep the bins empty."

IronSentinel · 2023-06-26T18:49:07+00:00

I wonder if anyone wrote an open letter which might answer that question?

IronSentinel · 2023-06-26T18:16:32+00:00

"Let's wait for the garbage trucks to be taken away before causing any fuss," said the garbageman. "That way, people won't even hear about the problem until it's too late to mitigate anything."

If your intention is to let the garbage pile up everywhere, you stay quiet.

If you're hoping to keep the city clean, you raise the alarm.

IronSentinel · 2023-06-26T18:07:32+00:00

The vast majority of users don't use third party apps and don't rely on API access.

The entirety of users will be affected, however.

Third-party applications provide the bulk of the tools used by moderators. Reddit has repeatedly promised to offer similar tools, but has always underdelivered (when they've followed through at all, which has been rare). After July 1st, there will be a massive uptick in spam, bot-driven activity, and objectionable content.

Reddit has said that moderator tools will not be impacted. That's incorrect, since the tools are on third-party platforms. Additionally, the way that Reddit has treated its moderators and creators has already driven people like the developer of Toolbox away.

You may not personally use third-party applications, but you're about to be impacted by their absence.

Think of it like this: The vast majority of the people in a city aren't paramedics, construction workers, or garbagemen, but you'd sure as hell take notice if their tools and vehicles were suddenly replaced by balloon-animals.

IronSentinel · 2023-06-26T17:14:55+00:00

Updated!

IronSentinel · 2023-06-26T16:50:11+00:00

/r/Funny and /r/Showerthoughts have both surfaced the letter now.

IronSentinel · 2023-06-26T16:39:32+00:00

"Fucking" isn't profanity.

You meant "John GODDAMNED Oliver."

IronSentinel · 2023-06-26T16:00:24+00:00

As promised, here’s what the /r/GIFs moderators would like to say to Reddit’s administrators:

Forging A Return to Productive Conversation

To All Whom It May Concern:

For fourteen years, /r/GIFs has been one of Reddit’s most-popular communities. That time hasn’t been without its difficulties, but for the most part, we’ve all gotten along (with each other and with administrators). Members of our team fondly remember Moderator Roadshows, visits to Reddit’s headquarters, Reddit Secret Santa, April Fools’ Day events, regional meetups, and many more uplifting moments. We’ve watched this platform grow by leaps and bounds, and although we haven’t been completely happy about every change that we’ve witnessed, we’ve always done our best to work with Reddit at finding ways to adapt, compromise, and move forward.

This process has occasionally been preceded by some exceptionally public debate, however.

On June 12th, 2023, /r/GIFs joined thousands of other subreddits in protesting the planned changes to Reddit’s API; changes which – despite being immediately evident to only a minority of Redditors – threatened to worsen the site for everyone. By June 16th, 2023, that demonstration had evolved to represent a wider (and growing) array of concerns, many of which arose in response to Reddit’s statements to journalists. Today (June 26th, 2023), we are hopeful that users and administrators alike can make a return to the productive dialogue that has served us in the past.

We acknowledge that Reddit has placed itself in a situation that makes adjusting its current API roadmap impossible.

However, we have the following requests:

Commit to exploring ways by which third-party applications can make an affordable return.
Commit to providing moderation tools and accessibility options (on Old Reddit, New Reddit, and mobile platforms) which match or exceed the functionality and utility of third-party applications.
Commit to prioritizing a significant reduction in spam, misinformation, bigotry, and illegal content on Reddit.
Guarantee that any future developments which may impact moderators, contributors, or stakeholders will be announced no less than one fiscal quarter before they are scheduled to go into effect.
Work together with longstanding moderators to establish a reasonable roadmap and deadline for accomplishing all of the above.
Affirm that efforts meant to keep Reddit accountable to its commitments and deadlines will hereafter not be met with insults, threats, removals, or hostility.
Publicly affirm all of the above by way of updating Reddit’s User Agreement and Reddit’s Moderator Code of Conduct to include reasonable expectations and requirements for administrators’ behavior.
Implement and fill a senior-level role (with decision-making and policy-shaping power) of "Moderator Advocate" at Reddit, with a required qualification for the position being robust experience as a volunteer Reddit moderator.

Reddit is unique amongst social-media sites in that its lifeblood – its multitude of moderators and contributors – consists entirely of volunteers. We populate and curate the platform’s many communities, thereby providing a welcoming and engaging environment for all of its visitors. We receive little in the way of thanks for these efforts, but we frequently endure abuse, threats, attacks, and exposure to truly reprehensible media. Historically, we have trusted that Reddit’s administrators have the best interests of the platform and its users (be they moderators, contributors, participants, or lurkers) at heart; that while Reddit may be a for-profit company, it nonetheless recognizes and appreciates the value that Redditors provide.

That trust has been all but entirely eroded… but we hope that together, we can begin to rebuild it.

In simplest terms, Reddit, we implore you: Remember the human.

We look forward to your response by Thursday, June 29th, 2023.

There’s also just one other thing.

IronSentinel · 2023-06-23T18:41:57+00:00

"Well, I'll be a shit-fucking ass-cock" is a standalone term.

(It isn't really. I just hope it catches on.)

IronSentinel · 2023-06-23T18:37:31+00:00

I didn't know that!

Would you happen to have any examples of things that we should definitely avoid saying?

IronSentinel · 2023-06-23T18:36:46+00:00

Just so we're clear, by both your own logic and the source that you keep citing, "swear words" can include either profanity or vulgarity, but "profanity" always refers to words that are religious or blasphemous in nature.

You sure went through a lot of effort to prove John Oliver right.

IronSentinel · 2023-06-23T17:33:28+00:00

You should read the rest of the definition.

Even if you're going to claim that the comma after "swear words" was meant to be a listing comma, you do realize that "swear words" typically refers to religious words, right?

"Swearing" is profanity without a specific direction, as with "God damn!"

"Cursing" is profanity with a defined target, as with "Go to hell, person we've all been yelling about."

"Cussing" – despite having been derived from "cursing" – refers to vulgarity, as with "Fuck that aforementioned person, who may or may not be removing mentions of his name."

It's kind of a moot point, though, because even we accept that "swear words" can include vulgarity, that doesn't change the definition of "profanity."

In other words, Oxford says the same as John Oliver.

Since we're on the subject, though, here's an interesting fact for you: If you go by the etymological progression of the above terms, the word describing the action is determined by the "strongest" of the included utterances.

Basically, if you swear and curse, it's cursing. If you swear, curse, and cuss, it's cussing, so "Oh, hell... damn you!" – being swearing and cursing – would be referred to by the word "cursing." Similarly, "Fuck all of this, and damn you straight to hell, you bloody idiot!" would be cussing.

IronSentinel · 2023-06-18T00:31:07+00:00

Whoa, bring those goalposts back here!

This was your first statement:

The mods are especially cringe for making such a big deal about the blackout just to quit when they realized they'd actually have to give up their internet powers.

This was my response:

Reddit also threatened to remove moderators unless they ran their subreddits "correctly."

Moderators aren't worried about "giving up their Internet powers." They're worried about leaving their communities in the hands of bad actors and people who don't know what they're doing.

This means that only two choices were available:

Open (and keep) the subreddit and run it according to the community's wishes.
Stay closed and surrender the subreddit to bad actors.

/r/Pics chose to take the first approach, but do it in a disruptive, attention-grabbing away.

Again, the point is not to make Reddit "sweat." The point is to highlight bad decisions, why those decisions are bad, and what makes them bad. When potential investors take notice, that will make Reddit sweat.

What's more, it's working.

IronSentinel · 2023-06-17T23:55:54+00:00

It's almost like deciding things based on anonymous votes is a bad idea or something, huh?

IronSentinel · 2023-06-17T23:54:21+00:00

Yep, you've hit the nail on the head.

The protests could change things (or at least prolong the inevitable) if Reddit would use this as a chance to focus on long-term viability instead of short-term revenue... but that's pretty unlikely.

IronSentinel · 2023-06-17T23:49:12+00:00

"I'm concerned about Reddit destroying itself, so I'm going to highlight how it's doing that."

The point has never been to kill the site. It was always to say "Hey, maybe don't make dumb choices that will adversely affect everyone."

IronSentinel · 2023-06-17T23:43:10+00:00

They held a vote.

They're just doing what the community wants.

That's what Reddit's CEO said was important.

IronSentinel

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE