I've been using Reddit for just over four years now. It's quite the addictive platform, filled with subject matter even the pickiest among the Human Species can find something to discuss. Millions of people use Reddit everyday for a variety of reasons, from simple gossip, to thoughtful discourse, to advertising. And it's super convenient to have all your favorite topics show up on an endless scroll feed-- even suggesting new interests automatically.
But I'm beginning to seriously dislike Reddit, even with all of it's good features. About a week ago, my account was suspended, automatically, by a Bot Account. Something I said off-handed triggered it (probably the keyword gunshots) and claimed I was advocating for violence. This is a huge problem, and not only Bots but People have been taking words out of context since the birth of language. Anyway, my punishment was a three day ban. I wasn't able to post anything, talk to anybody privately, even Upvote. All I could do was read. Okay. But I'm now at a -5 day suspension. There's obviously a bug in the algorithm. I reported this to Help/Support, and so far after three days of waiting, nothing.
In frustration, I created a new account. I didn't really care for my automatically generated name that I failed to change over four years ago anyway. I purposely curated my new account's feed. Filling it with my favorite, non-toxic topics, like Star Trek, anime, role playing, and that sort of stuff. But as I was searching for my favorite things, other interesting subreddits popped up. Like one about Conspiracies, another one about Aliens/UFOs, Alternative Energies. While I'm not too keen on adding much to these, I do find the topics fascinating. If nothing else, I can kill time with these subreddits.
So now, three days in, I have a shiny new account. With a name I like, and a feed that is pretty positive. Awesome! But there's a big problem with Reddit, and I was blind to it for over four years. Auto-moderation. Because my account isn't old enough (whether it be three days old, or up to eight weeks), I can't add anything meaningful to the conversation. It's almost like these moderation groups demand that, yeah, you can create an account, and then just sit on it for like a year. Don't bother using it-- yet. And then there's groups that state that you need a certain level of subreddit Karma, or else your post will be removed.
It's like, I get it. Groups are trying to protect themselves from Bots, but they're also missing out on some interesting content from being added. Talk about digitally shooting yourself in the foot. But I don't think these people really care. Maybe that's why I prefer smaller forums over the mega platforms. At least here, I don't have to worry about triggering some stupid Bot with a predefined bad word, and loosing my account. And I won't even get into the the toxic commentary and flame wars that go on, but that's pretty much common just about anywhere on the Net, especially when you're surrounded by a large concentration of people.
Maybe I'll just change my use of Reddit and only advertise with it. Something neutral, non-toxic, and not really worth investing in. This entire experience has left a bitter taste in my mouth, and I know there's so much better on the Internet.
But I'm beginning to seriously dislike Reddit, even with all of it's good features. About a week ago, my account was suspended, automatically, by a Bot Account. Something I said off-handed triggered it (probably the keyword gunshots) and claimed I was advocating for violence. This is a huge problem, and not only Bots but People have been taking words out of context since the birth of language. Anyway, my punishment was a three day ban. I wasn't able to post anything, talk to anybody privately, even Upvote. All I could do was read. Okay. But I'm now at a -5 day suspension. There's obviously a bug in the algorithm. I reported this to Help/Support, and so far after three days of waiting, nothing.
In frustration, I created a new account. I didn't really care for my automatically generated name that I failed to change over four years ago anyway. I purposely curated my new account's feed. Filling it with my favorite, non-toxic topics, like Star Trek, anime, role playing, and that sort of stuff. But as I was searching for my favorite things, other interesting subreddits popped up. Like one about Conspiracies, another one about Aliens/UFOs, Alternative Energies. While I'm not too keen on adding much to these, I do find the topics fascinating. If nothing else, I can kill time with these subreddits.
So now, three days in, I have a shiny new account. With a name I like, and a feed that is pretty positive. Awesome! But there's a big problem with Reddit, and I was blind to it for over four years. Auto-moderation. Because my account isn't old enough (whether it be three days old, or up to eight weeks), I can't add anything meaningful to the conversation. It's almost like these moderation groups demand that, yeah, you can create an account, and then just sit on it for like a year. Don't bother using it-- yet. And then there's groups that state that you need a certain level of subreddit Karma, or else your post will be removed.
It's like, I get it. Groups are trying to protect themselves from Bots, but they're also missing out on some interesting content from being added. Talk about digitally shooting yourself in the foot. But I don't think these people really care. Maybe that's why I prefer smaller forums over the mega platforms. At least here, I don't have to worry about triggering some stupid Bot with a predefined bad word, and loosing my account. And I won't even get into the the toxic commentary and flame wars that go on, but that's pretty much common just about anywhere on the Net, especially when you're surrounded by a large concentration of people.
Maybe I'll just change my use of Reddit and only advertise with it. Something neutral, non-toxic, and not really worth investing in. This entire experience has left a bitter taste in my mouth, and I know there's so much better on the Internet.
