A few days ago, Reddit began applying its new anti-harassment policy, shuttering subreddits (such as r/fatpeoplehate and r/shitniggerssay) found to be regular originators of personal attacks. This resulted in a lot of whining from a vocal minority of Reddit users, whose clueless beliefs about free speech remind everyone else that the site has a culture problem that piecemeal enforcement actions won’t change.
Digg’s Brian Menegus writes that, despite the appearance of an exodus, the misfits have nowhere to go—most of them, ultimately, don’t care about Voat or 8chan. They want to participate in Reddit.
Across multiple (soon-to-be-banned) subbreddits — 8Chan, the barely-functioning Voat and fph.io, which many of the old moderators of FHP allegedly created — these cells of small, angry and quickly-dwindling groups not only pale in comparison to the size of the original community, but have nothing justifying their continued existence other than ire at Reddit’s growing pains. Many who sought free speech (or the illusion thereof) without consideration for the quality of what was being said will likely realize they no longer enjoy the company they keep. Those who do leave permanently may hopefully realize they are a vocal minority, rather than the voice of “The Frontpage Of The Internet.”
What seems to be lost in this discussion of free speech is that, like it or not, Reddit — or any discussion platform on the Internet — is well within its rights to censor or ban anything they see fit. Whether it’s for the prospect of monetary gain, to create a more welcoming space for new users or to soften their image in the public eye is utterly immaterial. Although some banned communities have, in the past, been able to regroup on Reddit and continue doing whatever odious thing it is they initially set out to do, the amount of attention the FPH bans caused is likely to make regrouping impossible. As Baldwin put it, “If Reddit can’t keep a community off their site, they look incompetent.”