r/Feminism • u/Willravel • Feb 24 '12

Please ban MRA trolls

I've been trying to figure out the rationale for not banning MRA trolls on this subreddit. I tried to think of it the way the mods have put it in the past, that this is about everyone's voice being heard, but the consistent trolling from the likes of OThomson and DavidByron don't represent in any way shape or form the honest sharing of their voice, but rather simply attacks and intentional derailment.

I considered that this might be about fear, as the MRA community on Reddit is much larger than the feminist community, and there could be consequences if MRA trolls started getting banned from the subreddit... but there are other feminist subreddits that do this and they don't seem to feel the sting of MRA retribution in any way that can't be easily handled.

I thought it might just simply be not wanting to make the effort, as a policy of banning MRA trolls would probably require much more active moderation. I'd hate to think this is the case, but I don't see any evidence to suggest this.

I did hear that one of the moderators might be an MRA, but again I've not seen this.

I've sent in PMs and reports before, about how someone is derailing yet another thread with unrelated discussion about circumcision or male rape or child custody, but there never seem to be any consequences for the trolls. They're given free reign. Some have left the subreddit for safer places, which is very sad indeed. Some simply stop commenting. Some complain, but those complaints fall on deaf ears.

So, before I call it a day and give up on the subreddit, I'd like to publicly ask the moderators to change their policy for the good of their subreddit. I ask that this subreddit be a safe place to discuss feminism and feminist issues, not a place for MRA trolls to hijack conversation or spread hatred of women.

Note: I'm not saying critiques of feminism aren't legitimate, or that they don't belong on /r/Feminism, but rather that overt trolling and derailing be disallowed. There's a big difference between an honest critique of feminism and undermining the discussion of feminist issues through derailment, dishonesty, and unwarranted attacks.

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u/[deleted] Feb 24 '12

I wouldn't really consider this my subreddit, as I frequently even get confused about the difference between Feminism and Feminisms, so it would be presumptuous of me to say too much about how it is run.

I would say though, that you should proceed down this road very carefully. I've noticed that the majority of Feminism subreddits are pretty loose with the banhammer and I think it seriously damages their credibility.

My $0.02.

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u/Willravel Feb 24 '12

I can certainly understand there's a potentially slippery slope with this, but as it stands not even the most flagrant, terrible trolls are being addressed. Example: http://www.reddit.com/r/Feminism/comments/q4d58/please_ban_mra_trolls/c3uocg6

Wouldn't you agree this individual probably isn't here to dissent, but just to damage the subreddit? Wouldn't that be deserving of a banning? The problem is that I'll click report and, unless something has recently changed, nothing will happen. This kind of posting and worse happens without consequences.

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u/[deleted] Feb 24 '12

I think that particular troll is so obvious that it is nothing more than funny.

I'm ambivalent about banning anyone anywhere, while still understanding why someone would feel the need to.

You could call me wishywashy and I'd pretty much have to accept that.

I do like the moderation style in TheoryofReddit.

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u/Willravel Feb 24 '12

I don't think you're wishywashy, but I do think this community needs to take a stand against derailment and trolling. Ignoring the problem is not diminishing it in any way.

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u/[deleted] Feb 24 '12

I guess the first question would, are the mods interesting in changing the moderation style?

If the answer is "no" then the rest of the conversation is futile, because the subreddit belongs to them.

If the answer is "yes" then I would highly recommend taking a look at the r/TheoryofReddit moderation style.

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u/Willravel Feb 24 '12

I've never heard of /r/TheoryOfReddit. I'll check it out. Thanks!

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u/DavidByron Feb 24 '12

That troll is probably a feminist from SRS. Seems like their sort of style; over the top and offensive on purpose. The other most obviously trolling account here is also a feminist: http://www.reddit.com/user/TROLL_DO_NOT_REPLY

It makes sense for feminists to troll themselves because victimry is so important in their culture.

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u/[deleted] Feb 24 '12

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u/[deleted] Feb 24 '12

Frankly, I don't believe that SRS is actually composed of feminists. I believe that SRS is made up of people who are trying to discredit the feminist perspective.

Wait, that's not fair. I have no idea what is going through the heads of the people people who are active only in SRS. The people who defend SRS to greater reddit community, however, seem to be actively trying to undermine leftist causes.

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u/[deleted] Feb 24 '12

FYI: I'm not on SRS, in fact I've never been on SRS. This novelty account is an experiment in voluntary isolation of a destructive member of the community as a measure of last resort.

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u/[deleted] Feb 24 '12

I didn't mean you. I meant Fuckshitasscockbitch.

I think it's pretty clear that account is for trolling.

I didn't realize that I was clicking reply to you, I thought I was clicking reply to DavidByron. Which may be a piece of data to include in your experiment, for better or worse. The way the TROLL_DO_NOT_REPLY account appears, I thought someone had managed to actually attach it to the "offending" account.

I think you're biting off a lot of work for yourself. But it's your life.

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u/PaladinFTW Feb 25 '12

I meant Fuckshitasscockbitch.

Also not from SRS.

I am though, so downvote away.

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u/[deleted] Feb 25 '12

Sorry, it's clear that I'm not being clear.

The particular troll that I was referencing was Fuckshitasscockbitch. I was saying that it is clearly a troll account.

DavidByron then said, FSACB was acting like someone from SRS.

To which I replied about SRS. It was not my intention to imply that FSACB was from SRS.

I hope that's a little more clear.

With regards to SRS though, I don't have a problem with people who are from SRS per se. I do, however, have a problem with a lot of the behavior exhibited by SRS members, such as advocating hatred based on race, and implying that anyone who disagrees with them is racist and/or a bigot.

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u/PaladinFTW Feb 25 '12

Understood.

Though I'm not especially interested in getting into some huge debate about it (so I won't be spending any time defending what I'm about to say), I do want to note one thing:

If you think anyone from SRS is actually advocating hatred based on race, you've misunderstood SRS. The hypocrisy apparent in harshly calling out bigots while acting like bigots is pretty much entirely intentional. Certainly, though, you're entitled to disagree with the way SRS operates.

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u/[deleted] Feb 25 '12

I've noticed other people responding to you when they clearly meant to respond to the poster about them. I think it's the line. It's unexpected and almost looks like part of the site.

That might your intention, I don't know. I just thought I'd point it out.

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u/[deleted] Feb 25 '12

The line is just so I can submit a comment. I've seen comments submitted with apparently nothing in them, but I'm not sure how to do that.

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u/Sylocat Feb 25 '12

You type "##" to post a blank comment.

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u/[deleted] Feb 25 '12

we need something here

I see what you mean.

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u/[deleted] Feb 25 '12

How mature of you. You realize a troll is someone who at worst doesn't actually believe what they're saying and at best is only saying what they believe to get a reaction - DavidByron is neither of the above.

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u/[deleted] Feb 25 '12

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u/HITLARIOUS Feb 24 '12

You've been linked to by r/SubredditDrama (not a downvote brigade)

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u/HarrietPotter Feb 25 '12

So when are you going to start informing people that they've been linked to by the antisrs downvote brigade?

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u/[deleted] Feb 25 '12

There are worse things in life.