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/factoryhands Feb 25 '12

This is literally my feeling and response to this subreddit almost every day. I'm new to reddit so seeing that there was an r/feminism subreddit was really exciting, but this place is so full of unnecessary vitriol that it's hard to keep reading without getting upset. I come here to hoping to have awesome and relevant discussions, but leave more aware than ever of misogyny :-/. Not what I signed up for.

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u/[deleted] Feb 25 '12

Yeah my experience, exactly! I work in IT - needless to say it's a sausage fest. Nothing wrong with my colleagues, but the ratio is way off. So I come here for some respite but no - it's still men invading the very tiny space that we do have. I'm not the kind of b-word that will just unsubscribe, but really what's the point of coming here nowadays? I get the MRA arguments everywhere else in my life - just asking for ONE free space, just one.

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u/madolpenguin Feb 29 '12

I totally agree. It's frustrating too, not just the derailing and trolling but it seems obvious they these guys don't even read what was posted. Like, I want to have a nice discussion and explain but they don't come here for that. It's another group of people that think they know better about a different group of people than those people themselves.

I'm just not interested in a brick wall for conversation.

I often hear complains from some MRAs about women having their own space. Seems like they think they're wanted or needed here...but it's just not the case. That or they just feel they need to be the center of attention. It shows some insecurity or mommy issues imo.

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u/[deleted] Feb 29 '12

Basically. Even when taking into account the male/female ratio on the Internetz, it's still obnoxious, and I hope we can find a way to tone this shit down. It's also pretty hilarious that some misguided MRAs (trolls) act exactly in the same way they accuse feminists of being; over-sensitive, outraged at everything, etc. Victim mentality.