News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:FCC commissioner wants TikTok removed from app stores ove... by autoexec on Thursday June 30, 2022 @12:53AM (#31928816)
> I've heard the unsubstantiated claim that /r/india is covertly run by Pakistanis, which of course, would be a pretty big problem considering the relations between those countries-

Assuming that it's actually true (and that's a huge assumption since pretty much everyone with an unpopular opinion makes those kinds of accusations), is it really a big problem? The reddit solution would be for someone to create a new subreddit (/r/TrueIndia?) with more diverse moderators or at the very least a moderation style less likely to invite the accusation. Repeat as often as necessary until you get the community that you want. Name recognition/discoverability is a bit of a problem, but not an insurmountable one. There are thriving communities with names that have almost nothing to do with the topic (/trees being a perfect example).

When it comes to reddit at least, the biggest problem is the admins. They've demonstrated a willingness to ban things they don't like, their ban process is not transparent, and there's zero oversight or veto power in the hands of the users. If reddit admins target your message or your community you're only option is to rehome at a new site.

Re:FCC commissioner wants TikTok removed from app stores ove... by 1123581321 on Thursday June 30, 2022 @01:39AM (#31929011)
The issue there would be about the information on an “official” subreddit being shaped by a hostile country, or loyal members of a hostile country. The public perceives certain subreddit names as being “of record” and subscriber numbers tend to reflect that. I’m not from either country.
Re:FCC commissioner wants TikTok removed from app stores ove... by autoexec on Thursday June 30, 2022 @02:01AM (#31929100)
Subreddits with ideal names got an early advantage which helps boost the subscriber count, especially because reddit's search has always been terrible. Like I said, discoverability is tricky and not every subreddit that tries to fork off from a popular one is successful, but if people think that /r/india is more "official" than /r/india2 or even /r/india4204eva it's because they don't understand how reddit works.

The closest thing reddit had to official public subreddits were the defaults. For just about everything else it was 'first come first serve' to get a good subreddit name and then you're still at the whims of the current moderation team. People have the option to take over subreddits and change the culture through mod replacement, convincing the admins to give it them, or by brigading.

I think reddit could do a better job letting people know that the subreddits with the most obvious name aren't necessarily the most active, the most fairly moderated, or the highest quality. Even better, I think they should go back to having defaults and letting the community choose who gets them with a means to vote to put them under new management so that people can put more faith in a documented subset of subreddit names.

Re:FCC commissioner wants TikTok removed from app stores ove... by 1123581321 on Thursday June 30, 2022 @02:09AM (#31929143)
You identified the issue in the first paragraph, which is that the public doesn't understand how reddit works so the default named subs have that advantage, which in the case of nationally-oriented subs makes some members nervous about the moderation team.

I participate in reddit and appreciate the endless forking of True____ communities to preserve discussion quality, but it's a different issue.

Re:FCC commissioner wants TikTok removed from app stores ove... by impossiblefork on Friday July 01, 2022 @04:05PM (#31952060)
Yes, it would be a very severe problem.

Imagine if a major American newspaper, let's say the New York Times, was secretly run by Russia for example. I'd go as far as to say that if the India subreddit were run by Pakistanis, then it might even be a more severe problem than if the NYT was secretly run by Russia.