Jotting some quick notes I’ve observed so far from running /m/scifi for a couple of weeks and getting to 3K subscribers:
- Even though most people will return to Reddit and it’ll be ‘business as usual’ - the seeds of destruction are already in place.
- No one is coming to a place where there’s nothing to read / think about / interact with
- The thing that made Reddit great is content - we came there for content. So when it comes to asking ‘how can we grow Kbin?’ the answer is simple: It’s the content, stupid.
- Reddit has tons of free content - in the spirit of being a #chaoticgood, we can grab the best parts of that content and use it to make Kbin an interesting, thoughtful place to be
- Creating spaces with well-thought-out rules to encourage inclusivity, collaborate, and mutual respect. It’s working out well for /m/scifi
- Redditors know what’s up - they’re pissed at Spez but there’s not much they can do about it. They’ll vote with their feet if we give them a new place to come to.
Thoughts?
Reddit right now is like a car crash. It’s hard to look away. However, there’s a very good reason not to engage, the debate on reddit has become more artificial than most realise.
Reddit’s inflated numbers by using bots and fake accounts since day 1. A quick google will result in articles where they admit as much. We all know reddit’s had increasing amounts of bots, posting content and increasingly comments, but I don’t think people realise how bad it’s become.
It’s not even that time that reddit’s blog accidentally posted about Eglin Air Force base being one of the most reddit addicted cities. I think everyone knows (foreign) governments engage in influence operations online, and that this includes reddit. Even if it’s just on an intellectual level, without truly realising that they’ve been semi-regularly interacting with bots while arguing on reddit. I also don’t think anyone’s naive enough to think that plenty of political content isn’t artificially upvoted or promoted. Same thing goes for product placement.
But the recent shit storm just illustrates reddit the company is part of the problem. Recently, I’ve seen twenty different accounts post the same comment about not needing third party apps, and dusting off their laptop. I’ve attempted to compare the current situation to the previous blackout. You know, when reddit hired someone who defended paedophiles as an admin. Deleted comment. Try an alt. Deleted comment. Posted in subs without karma requirements in a fresh account. Auto-deleted.
When you’re visiting reddit, you’re no longer even watching a car crash. It’s a simulacrum. An imitation of what’s actually happening.
And it’s been like this for a while. I’ve seen naive redditers engaging with bot comments under bot promoted content, posted by bots on more than one occassion.
Reddit has become worse than a hentai date simulator. I don’t think anyone who plays those is particularly proud of it. But what to think of the lonely people who engage in reddit discussions with bots, and think they’ve had a genuine social interaction?
It’s all very dystopian and sad.
I have noticed how many of the “I didn’t know there were 3rd party apps” and “who cares” comments seem to phrase things very similarly and have wondered how many are being posted by bots. RIP Reddit, we’ll remember what you used to be.
Bots and paid actors are all over social media. It didn’t strike me until I noticed how professional the photography was for a majority of posts. EDC, and Wicked Edge had some well designed still photos. Others too. And they all had links for buying the products.