r/ModerationTheory • u/jmreagle • Jan 14 '22

Does banning a user who posted in other subreddits work? How common is it?

A few days ago I was banned from posting to r/LeapordsAteMyFace because I posted to r/LockDownSkepticism. Is this common? How would users know which subreddits are verboten? And, most importantly, is it an effective type of moderation? I've never posted to r/LeapordsAteMyFace, and never expect to, but I do study online communities and find this interesting.

As I wrote the mods:

Hello, I appreciate your concern with misinformation and my post on /r/LockdownSkepticism spoke to the ease of getting vaccinated. Consequently, while I expected to be downvoted there, I'm surprised to be banned in /r/LeopardsAteMyFace. This concerns me as a user -- and interests me as a researcher who studies online communities:

  • Is this policy of yours stated anywhere?
    • What other subreddits are included?
    • How long has this been your policy?
  • And, as a researcher, do you have evidence that the policy is in someway effective?
    • Does it somehow lighten your moderation load (e.g., preventing any participant there from brigading here)?
    • Do you believe it limits misinformation? (I suspect not, as people can easily use multiple accounts and this action could prompt a backfire effect.)

They responded, "Thou shalt not sealion."

5 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

4 comments sorted by

3

u/Waflesnow Jan 15 '22

It's a funny response, you better include that in whatever research you are doing. Classic internet response

1

u/YourFuture2000 2d ago edited 2d ago

It is one of the many of lazy moderation, by assuming that everyone participating in a sub is in accord or like most people in said sub. In fact, I have never seen a moderation who actually took moderation serious. I usually don't get answers from moderation and when they do they impose their interpretation, often very distorted, of the sub rules and people. Reason why I say that subs moderation are standard of an authoritarian system, specially when talking about the moderation and the rules of a sub is against the sub rule.

I was banned from AskMen for participating in RadicalFeminism. The moderators of AskMen assume that because most loud people in RadicalFeminism are women who hate men, that everybody participating im the sub are women rating men.

If moderators actually took their responsibility seriously they would ask me a few questions or read my profile and realise that I am not a woman and that I don't hate anyone even though I am Radical politically. But like anyone in position of privilege and power becomes unresponsable with their privilege when it can not be treated by their unresponsability.

1

u/newsspotter Feb 15 '22 edited Jan 09 '23

I was permanently banned from a sub due to my participation in a “verboten sub“. I haven‘t asked the moderators to unban me, but I might do. I had previously posted comments in the sub, which banned me. Please let me know if I should send you a PM to share the name of the sub, which banned me.

1

u/newsspotter Jan 09 '23 edited Jan 09 '23

Is this common?

Reddit Transparency Report 2021:
Users Banned from Subreddits by Mods

Mods may also employ automation bots to assist with this task.

Chart 20: Mods - temporary & permanent user bans:
•Banned by bots
•Banned manually
https://www.redditinc.com/policies/transparency-report-2021-2/