Why do people still use Reddit?

[TheyCallMeBruce]

If we're going to talk about Reddit, we cannot ignore 4chan. That place is worst than reddit x100

[PsYcNeT]

Originally Posted by Brannigans Law

Nazis invented the zip/postal code system. Should we throw that away too?

I'm kidding of course.

I know you're just kidding, but I just want to clarify:

I'm asking why people continue to use it if they are aware of what horrific content it hosts/promotes. Ideally, I would love to go back to Reddit and enjoy fast updates about scientific achievements and chats with videogame developers, but I don't want to be subsidizing the scum of the internet while I do it.

It's not baby out with the bathwater, just throw out the dirty, greasy, horrible bathwater.

Originally Posted by TheyCallMeBruce

If we're going to talk about Reddit, we cannot ignore 4chan. That place is worst than reddit x100

Except that 4Chan banned CP 6 years ago and does massive ban waves for anyone posting any illegal content.

In 2007, yeah, we could talk about this. Also, 4Chan is the 936th most popular website, not the 6th.

[GP_Matt]

Originally Posted by PsYcNeT

Not going there.

Why not?
I spend time on Reddit because it has a ton of great subreddits that are both informative and entertaining. For every TV show there is always a solid discussion after the episode. I can spend a bunch of time on askscience, and the AMA's are usually great.

So I guess, while I haven't looked too much into all the bad things that the site has to offer, there is a ton of great stuff on there that keeps me coming back. It also helps that people are lazy and like to find everything in the same place. I am sure that each subreddit I read has a similar or better quality forum somewhere else on the net, but it is hard to find and maintain each individual account, and stumbling onto interesting stuff is so easy with the site.

[PsYcNeT]

Originally Posted by GP_Matt

Why not?
I spend time on Reddit because it has a ton of great subreddits that are both informative and entertaining. For every TV show there is always a solid discussion after the episode. I can spend a bunch of time on askscience, and the AMA's are usually great.

So I guess, while I haven't looked too much into all the bad things that the site has to offer, there is a ton of great stuff on there that keeps me coming back. It also helps that people are lazy and like to find everything in the same place. I am sure that each subreddit I read has a similar or better quality forum somewhere else on the net, but it is hard to find and maintain each individual account, and stumbling onto interesting stuff is so easy with the site.

So again, out of convenience to yourself, you are able to reason that your ad revenue going to child pornography and hate groups is justifiable?

I mean if you do, fine, just be open enough to admit that convenience of web surfing is worth peripherally condoning horrible crimes.

[TheyCallMeBruce]

Originally Posted by PsYcNeT

Except that 4Chan banned CP 6 years ago and does massive ban waves for anyone posting any illegal content.

In 2007, yeah, we could talk about this. Also, 4Chan is the 936th most popular website, not the 6th.

Really?

In one afternoon browsing 4chan, I encountered:
1. loli hentai thread with no banning or moderation. It was allowed to continually pop up to the top of the thread when people would bump it.
2. A pre-teens thread with little girls in bikinis and whatnot. It, too, was constantly being bumped.
3. Dead women (raped or killed) gore thread continually being bumped in the same manner.

The moderation on 4chan, if there's any, is no better than Reddit. That's the last time I visited 4chan.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by PsYcNeT

So again, out of convenience to yourself, you are able to reason that your ad revenue going to child pornography and hate groups is justifiable?

I mean if you do, fine, just be open enough to admit that convenience of web surfing is worth peripherally condoning horrible crimes.

Would you please explain to me (like I'm a five year old) how me looking at r/funny and r/cars and r/calgary generates revenue for child pornography and hate groups? I honestly don't understand.

[MarchHare]

You're being disingenuous when you state that Reddit is a child porn site. Illegal content has never been permitted by the site owners. Subreddits with teenagers in bikinis or whatever -- while unquestionably distasteful -- fall into the grey area of being creepy but not illegal.

[PsYcNeT]

Originally Posted by TheyCallMeBruce

Really?

In one afternoon browsing 4chan, I encountered:
1. loli hentai thread with no banning or moderation. It was allowed to continually pop up to the top of the thread when people would bump it.
2. A pre-teens thread with little girls in bikinis and whatnot. It, too, was constantly being bumped.
3. Dead women (raped or killed) gore thread continually being bumped in the same manner.

The moderation on 4chan, if there's any, is no better than Reddit. That's the last time I visited 4chan.

Well to be fair, I am going by heresay, as I don't use 4Chan (if it isn't explicit already, I am a goon). So there's my full disclosure on that issue, as goons have no love lost for 4Chan.

Originally Posted by MarchHare

You're being disingenuous when you state that Reddit is a child porn site. Illegal content has never been permitted by the site owners. Subreddits with teenagers in bikinis or whatever -- while unquestionably distasteful -- fall into the grey area of being creepy but not illegal.

Yes because there were no trade networks setup in PMs that the mods had to crack down on during the jailbait scandal. The site is/was actively facilitating in the trade of child pornography.

Originally Posted by Sliver

Would you please explain to me (like I'm a five year old) how me looking at r/funny and r/cars and r/calgary generates revenue for child pornography and hate groups? I honestly don't understand.

You goto site. Site visits increase ad exposure. Site gets money for views. Money goes to supporting infrastructure for child pornography trade rings. As long as Reddit exists, any money they take in goes towards supporting their site (which includes all hosted sub-reddits), and paying the salaries of admins like Reddit CEO Yishan Wong who still actively supports violentacrez.

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2012/10/...-violentacrez/

[Mazrim]

I just want to know why Psycnet has this huge hate-on for Reddit that requires him to bring this up constantly. This is far from the first time you've brought this up, and I don't get why this topic suddenly came around with such a detailed OP with nothing new to talk about.

I know goons sometimes go a little crazy in their internet bandwagons but this seems a little strange to be going all over the place to spread the news (...again).

(I don't visit reddit personally as the site is as bad as 4chan on most occasions, and they are both some of the worst places on the internet to visit. I think somethingawful has merits but their witch hunts are tiring. I stopped visiting the site after the helldump got out of hand.)

[PsYcNeT]

Originally Posted by Mazrim

I just want to know why Psycnet has this huge hate-on for Reddit that requires him to bring this up constantly. This is far from the first time you've brought this up, and I don't get why this topic suddenly came around with such a detailed OP with nothing new to talk about.

I know goons sometimes go a little crazy in their internet bandwagons but this seems a little strange to be going all over the place to spread the news (...again).

(I don't visit reddit personally as the site is as bad as 4chan on most occasions, and they are both some of the worst places on the internet to visit. I think somethingawful has merits but their witch hunts are tiring. I stopped visiting the site after the helldump got out of hand.)

It came up in a games thread, so I took 15 minutes to type the OP to put the discussion in a proper forum. All of this information has been known to me for years, it's not like I was researching a thesis.

Also, to a degree, I think CP represents a more level-headed internet demographic, so I'm looking at a cross-section from something beyond bronies and 16 year olds.

[Misterpants]

What's a goon?

[GP_Matt]

Originally Posted by Sliver

Would you please explain to me (like I'm a five year old) how me looking at r/funny and r/cars and r/calgary generates revenue for child pornography and hate groups? I honestly don't understand.

I don't think he is saying that the hate groups receive money directly, just that you are providing money for an entity that allows those groups to exist. If no one went to Reddit then it would shut down and those groups would have to go somewhere else.

I would have to question whether or not those groups existed when Reddit was still small. It seems to me that they were more prolific then and the popularity of Reddit has helped to curb them. I think the better method is to highlight the scum of Reddit as has been done already. The pressure from that should help them to ban illegal things. As for the immoral material that you mention, it isn't illegal and I don't condone it, but the question is where to draw the line. Reddit has decided that the line is at illegal/not illegal rather than the far more arbitrary immoral/moral.

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by PsYcNeT

It came up in a games thread, so I took 15 minutes to type the OP. All of this information has been known to me for years, it's not like I was researching a thesis.

No, but you started a thread and throw in heavy handed statements like:

"Money goes to supporting infrastructure for child pornography trade rings."
"So again, out of convenience to yourself, you are able to reason that your ad revenue going to child pornography and hate groups is justifiable?"
"Or a section dedicated to pictures of dead children? "

Vic Toews would be proud.

[PsYcNeT]

Originally Posted by GP_Matt

I don't think he is saying that the hate groups receive money directly, just that you are providing money for an entity that allows those groups to exist. If no one went to Reddit then it would shut down and those groups would have to go somewhere else.

I would have to question whether or not those groups existed when Reddit was still small. It seems to me that they were more prolific then and the popularity of Reddit has helped to curb them. I think the better method is to highlight the scum of Reddit as has been done already. The pressure from that should help them to ban illegal things. As for the immoral material that you mention, it isn't illegal and I don't condone it, but the question is where to draw the line. Reddit has decided that the line is at illegal/not illegal rather than the far more arbitrary immoral/moral.

The difference is, having a large, public forum where people are open to even discussing the topic allows them to create networks with each other (which constantly grow).

Pushing this crap back to the DeepWeb is the best course of action, not allowing to exist on what should otherwise be a completely normal site.

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

No, but you started a thread and throw in heavy handed statements like:

"Money goes to supporting infrastructure for child pornography trade rings."
"So again, out of convenience to yourself, you are able to reason that your ad revenue going to child pornography and hate groups is justifiable?"
"Or a section dedicated to pictures of dead children? "

Vic Toews would be proud.

I'm glad you think I'm being overdramatic, but the sad and awful truth is, I'm completely sincere (for once) and all of that stuff exists on Reddit, and it's not like I'm the only person to have noticed.

[MarchHare]

Money goes to supporting infrastructure for child pornography trade rings.

By that logic, anyone who pays for an internet connection is helping to support the infrastructure that enables CP trade rings.

[PsYcNeT]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

By that logic, anyone who pays for an internet connection is helping to support the infrastructure that enables CP trade rings.

Not necessarily. I could see this logic working if you paid for hosting services from a webhost known to support CP sites (GoDaddy found themselves in hot water for this about 5 years ago), but unless Shaw is actively hosting or linking to CP I think there's an identifiable difference.

It's about the company/site itself, not about the internet. You can't stop people from being disgusting and horrible, but you can stop frequenting the same places they do.

[photon]

I don't buy the advertising dollars argument, I can easily say the advertising revenue goes only to pay for the reddits I read (not that I read any, I rarely go on reddit) and not ones I don't read.

Just like the fee I pay to Shaw ultimately pays for the Internet which allows for the exchange of illegal information, but I only count what I view and download.

[valo403]

Originally Posted by PsYcNeT

So basically responses so far boil down to

Who cares? I like x, y, z and I don't go to those awful places.

That sounds pretty morally bankrupt for the sake of convenience.

Well do you boycott all products tied to say, China? There's certainly a well documented record of immoral behavior there, so by your logic any action that contributes to the economic well being of China would be morally bankrupt, and likely for the sake of convenience.

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by PsYcNeT

Not necessarily. I could see this logic working if you paid for hosting services from a webhost known to support CP sites (GoDaddy found themselves in hot water for this about 5 years ago), but unless Shaw is actively hosting or linking to CP I think there's an identifiable difference.

It's about the company/site itself, not about the internet. You can't stop people from being disgusting and horrible, but you can stop frequenting the same places they do.

While you disavowed it, you are sounding very Orwellian.

[photon]

Originally Posted by PsYcNeT

Not necessarily. I could see this logic working if you paid for hosting services from a webhost known to support CP sites (GoDaddy found themselves in hot water for this about 5 years ago), but unless Shaw is actively hosting or linking to CP I think there's an identifiable difference.

Shaw pays money upstream to their provider, etc etc, until ultimately the money goes to pay for the backbones which facilitate all Internet traffic.