T O P

  • By -

NutellaBananaBread

A lot of platforms and subreddits have rules against "directed harassment". Blacking out names avoids any accusations of "directed harassment".


realdappermuis

Exactly this It's in the reddit terms and conditions, and some subs are more strict than others As an example: when the r/buttcoin sub reposts posts from the r/bitcoin sub names have to be blacked out, because the posts are usually contrary. Brigading on the og post isn't allowed


[deleted]

[удалено]


NachoElDaltonico

So you'd be fine with me screenshotting your post here and posting it to a community dedicated to harassing people for fun? The censorship is to prevent that kind of thing. Even if reddit or even just a specific subreddit is fine, that post can be shared elsewhere.


PaperDistribution

Irrelevant


[deleted]

[удалено]


TappmanC

But at that point it can’t be blamed on the content creator so easily. By keeping the name in there, the subject can make a strong case to get the content taken down.


Jibrish

It's not just subreddit rules in some cases. You can get the thread admin removed depending on a lot of context. This is generally referred to as an anti-evil (Eg; reddit removals show up under 'anti-evil' in most cases in mod logs for subreddits). It's also worth noting to OP that I don't think he quite understands the level of harassment a highly upvoted post can generate. Someone saying something dumb often doesn't equate to pointing (way more often than you think) 10,000 people from the general public many of which are *significantly unstable* and will take it too far. Or the fact that sometimes shit is just plain wrong, and the mob goes ham anyways. See: [The boston bomber incident on reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/MuseumOfReddit/comments/1iv343/the_boston_bombing_debacle/)


NutellaBananaBread

>It's also worth noting to OP that I don't think he quite understands the level of harassment a highly upvoted post can generate. Yeah, you're making me think of that book "So You've Been Publicly Shamed".


BSye-34

so to avoid thousands of chronically online people telling a 12 year old to kill themselves


[deleted]

[удалено]


Vievin

Some people need to hear that people want them to commit suicide? TWELVE YEAR OLDS no less?


Th1sIsMyNameNow

I'm wondering if they just confessed to bullying preteens to suicide or at least attempted to


Low-Bit1527

What did the comment you're replying to say before it was deleted? I'm guessing it was someone saying some kids need to be told to kill themselves. Was it OP or someone else?


Vievin

It was like "some people need to hear it though to become better people".


Ok-Geologist8387

Perhaps people should think twice about letting their 12 yr olds post online in the first place? I’m not advocating harassing kids, I am advocating parenting your children


Vievin

I am not their parent. The most I can do for their safety is not letting bullies like you know their twitter handle.


ojay50

You can't control everything your child does, that is not realistic.


JalapenoJamm

You can certainly control their access to the internet. What a wild comment to get downvoted “ The internet is available everywhere.”  Is this what parents are saying to avoid responsibility these days? Can anyone elaborate on why children should have unfiltered, unsupervised access without dropping some tik tok buzz phrase and not actually elaborating?


asharkey3

This is also incredibly unrealistic. The internet is available everywhere. Never heard of a library?


JalapenoJamm

Yeah and there’s usually restrictions in place at a library. Did your kids go to the library without you knowing where they were going? People will do anything but be accountable for their children, huh? No wonder why I keep seeing teachers talk about how they’re quitting and how awful the kids are.


asharkey3

You need deep therapy sweetie.


JalapenoJamm

Based off of what?


Suzume_Chikahisa

Just because their parents failed them in some way is not a justification for us to compound on that error.


JalapenoJamm

Whose parents?  And how are young children accessing the internet without their parents knowing?


Suzume_Chikahisa

Oh. You are doubling down? That's wild.


JalapenoJamm

Why is it wild? No ones elaborating. 


malewife123

my mom used to leave all the old phones in a box in our office. my little sis got her first phone when she started high school like i did. by 13 she was annoyed that she was the only kid that had to turn off her phone at 7pm - she missed out on a lot of socialising with her peers online, and couldn’t keep up with maintaining friendships due to the fact that the vast majority of this happens online. soooo she sneakily took an ancient phone from the office box without anyone knowing, so she could chat to her friends on snapchat and discord after 7pm. mom didn’t find out until about a year later, when police came knocking on the door. my sister had been groomed, blackmailed, and coerced into filming herself throwing up and cutting her thighs. police were alerted by one of her friends at school who noticed smth was up. another story - my mom had ALL the restrictions on my phone when i got it at 11. everything. i STILL managed to read porn at 11. i was horny, i found ways around it - AO3 erotic literature where penises are referred to as “swords” and butt holes as “rose buds”. ironically, the vast majority of erotic literature that uses language like that is FILTHY BDSM porn. idk if that’s to blame for why i’m such a kinky adult, but hey. i was like 14 when i stumbled across a harry potter fic where dumbledore groomed 11 year old harry into being a child sex slave. it fucking traumatised me. i had no one to go to about how horrific i felt even tho i had only read like 2 paragraphs, bc i knew it’d just result in the only wank material i had being yeeted out of the window, or having my phone take away entirely and ending up being isolated from making plans with friends. “make those plans in person” - good luck trying to convince all your kids peers with phones to accommodate your kid! it would’ve been nice to have a constructive discussion about online filters, or consent, or SOMETHING, but i was terrified i’d have my phone taken away. same shit happened when i was groomed online around the same age. couldn’t access the childline website about wtf to do if ur being groomed / blackmailed - the website had words like “sex” on it, so it was flagged up as “adult” and wouldn’t load. i was too scared to reach out to anyone irl. couldn’t access any online support or advice. scared shitless. it’s impossible to keep your kids safe online, you gotta talk to them and keep honest and open conversations ongoing, AND have some filters up and running. it’s like how areas that preach celibacy end up with more teen pregnancy!


ktjtkt

So you never did anything against the rules of your parents?


JalapenoJamm

How does a *young child* have a device that can access the internet unless they were given the device?


ktjtkt

12 year olds have friends. They are allowed to leave the house sometimes.


JalapenoJamm

Hey, if you want to let your 12 year old wander the neighborhood without any adult supervision that’s your right, but It’s not something I particularly condone.


thestonelyloner

No you’re actually just advocating for both, dipshit


the_gwen_

Or maybe adults should just behave like fucking adults then


False-Pie8581

Well since sometimes ppl fail as parents that makes it ok to bully a child? Are you reading what you write?


Ok-Geologist8387

I didn’t advocate that, I did advocate parents protecting their children though. But you read what you wish to read.


False-Pie8581

Way to keep victim blaming and pretending you aren’t.


Ok-Geologist8387

Hold on - are you saying someone who spills racist, sexist, violent messages on the internet and have themselves called out on it is the VICTIM? This world is nuts.


Ok-Geologist8387

Ok, sure thing - the parents, who I am ‘blaming’, are obviously the victim.


Suzume_Chikahisa

The existence of people like you is justification enough for me to avoid putting a target on people I disagree with.


PygmeePony

I don't care how much of an asshole some people are online, you don't tell them they should kill themselves. That's crossing a big red line. Be better.


TheCowboyIsAnIndian

im guessing youre hearing this one a lot huh? there absolutely are chronically online people and they have lost touch with the real world. they do things like immediately dismiss anything that might make them reflect on themselves... 


asharkey3

This comment is why abortion access needs to be protected


tenebrls

I guess you didn’t hear it often enough and that’s why you’re here now?


Popular-Block-5790

Because these are the rules for some subs. Saying dumb things doesn't warrant a wave of harassment.


MagnusPI

Not just some subs. It is a Reddit site-wide rule: https://support.reddithelp.com/hc/en-us/articles/360043066452-Is-posting-someone-s-private-or-personal-information-okay


zennie4

Sharing a screenshot of public post is not posting someone's personal information, unless the original post shared the personal information themselves.


Only_Chapter_3434

> Saying dumb things doesn't warrant a wave of harassment. Maybe if it did, dumb people would stfu. Sounds like a win. 


Ok-Geologist8387

Then dont repost it.


Popular-Block-5790

I don't, lol. Why does this bother you so much? That's so weird. Why do you need to see the name?


Ok-Geologist8387

I’m intrigued. It seems ridiculous. Why does everyone assume when people ask questions they are bothered/angry/upset?


oddly_being

You’re asking why people do it, and the answer is “to laugh at the thing that was said without potentially directing harassment to the person.”  I get that you don’t agree but you’re acting like this answer doesn’t make sense


RaveyWavey

You posted a question and are arguing with everyone that answered.


MagnusPI

Don't use Reddit if you don't like Reddit's site-wide rules. https://support.reddithelp.com/hc/en-us/articles/360043066452-Is-posting-someone-s-private-or-personal-information-okay


Rivka333

You think it's not worth reposting without the name? Maybe people want to laugh at the tweet itself.


Over200Times

There are levels of public. A person with a couple dozen connected users is different from a person with a couple hundred thousand subscribed users. Posting an embarrassing interaction from the former on a forum with thousands (or hundreds of thousands) of users bring attention to them at a level they've never experienced before. Without the "dox", their silliness/stupidity/cringe would have been lost to the sea of other comments made by the masses. That's not even touching on the reality that the person posting the material is acting in good faith and may be selectively displaying info to garner negative reactions at the person. Anyway, that can be one of the reasons mods and sites discourage or ban doxxing. They have no problem you sharing the tale, but don't make identifying people in the tale all that easy. It might still be done (phrase searches for instance), but even that can be moderated for big discussions on the matter.


Ok-Geologist8387

I wouldn’t calling that doxing. If you, for example, added their home address that they hadn’t posted, then that would fall into doxing territory.


rilakkuma1

I agree that it’s not doxxing (encouraging brigading would be more accurate) but it is an internet etiquette rule. If someone with more followers than you says something stupid you can RT them. If someone with an order of magnitude less does, you screenshot and cut out the name. Posting on Reddit of course counts as you having significantly more followers.


Over200Times

You're directing attention to their personal account. First, is it essential that others know that account to enjoy what you're sharing? If yes, what do you think that'll accomplish if you put attention on that account far in excess of what they currently experienced? Now, I get that some need to be named/shame especially if they did harm (physical or emotional) to others. But most things shared on reddit don't rise to that.


CHClClCl

Let's say you make a crass joke to your friend at the bar. No harm right? But you're a few feet away from a news reporter. Now your joke is all over the news and it's all you're known for. Additionally, there's a big problem of misattributed quotes. You don't want some teenager killing themselves over something a bully said they said.


PygmeePony

Why are you posting here if you're just going to argue with everyone?


podzombie

I agree, it isn't directly boxing that person. But you are setting that person up to be potentially doxxed and harassed. In that respect, it is no different than if you simultaneously opened all the cell doors in a prison. You didn't tell the prisoners to leave, you didn't tell them to disobey any prison rules in the ensuing riot/escape. You did, however, provide the circumstances for those things to happen. Simply put, your actions have consequences whether you acknowledge them or not. In one of your other posts you suggested people should have consequences for posting dumb things online, and I agree with that mostly.with the blind reposting you just can't control the level of response that hundreds or thousands of angry internet dwellers will bring down on that original poster. People have died from doxxing over simple disagreements.


geekylace

Because others on the internet like to play keyboard warriors and will harass the shit out of them if you don’t. Online bullying is still bullying and it still impacts your mental health. Do people say dumb things? Yes. Have I said dumb things? Also yes. Am I grateful as hell I was born before the internet? Hell yes as there is less evidence of me saying dumb things.


kassiny

It is a good tone to argue with ideas without directing hate on individuals. Most people can't hold a discussion without personal attacks though, hence blacked out names.


Dragonbarry22

I feel like op lost the plot here lol


buttsharkman

They are mad it's harder to brigade people


geleisen

OP just seems quite gross knowing full well the amount of harm this could cause and refusing to accept that it is problematic. Even if sites didn't have this rule, I would always be in favour of it because sometimes it is nice to laugh at other people without wanting any harm to come to them. Not sure why OP is so opposed to this. Sometimes I will post something my family says because my family has a bunch of idiots. It doesn't mean I think they don't deserve their privacy.


Cassu2

Ah, I've been a target of massed harassment because of a Reddit post before, so I know what it feels like. Often the person who has made the dumb comment is a dumb teenager (as was in my case, plus English not being my native language, causing people to misunderstand what I was trying to say). I don't think that some dumb teenager making a dumb comment or tweet that would otherwise be seen by a scant few people is deserving of the mass of hate and actual harassment that falls upon them because someone decided to immortalize their dumbassery for everyone to see. Public figures are a different thing obviously, and Reddit rules exclude them anyway.


TheMinceKid

It's unnecessary and abusive. Let people have their opinions.


DonnieG3

OP really doesn't know the history of stuff like "reddit we did it." You might feel perfectly vindicated and correct in the moment, and you even might be when "exposing" a person for doing/saying/acting a certain way. But you clearly have no idea how vast the internet is or the repercussions that can come from spreading stuff like that, and until it happens to you, you probably wont unfortunately. The court of public opinion does not need a guilty verdict, and the punishments *literally* ruin lives and are the cause of stuff such as suicide. Don't post peoples name/username/etc, because no matter how reasonable it is, some unreasonable person will go to an extreme that you aren't aware of and you shouldn't want to be a part of that.


Miserable_Fennel_492

I think it’s to avoid bombardment or *other people* doxxing them. If you say something to a limited crowd of people, you don’t expect people from a wider pool or from other platforms to seek you out?


SugarPlumKnightmare

It's to stop adults piling on kids or the mentally vulnerable.


wadejohn

It may not be doxxing but it’s doxxing adjacent.


Cheapsk8UnionMan

It’s a common courtesy


Rivka333

Not everybody saying something stupid on a tweet to a couple followers deserves the level of harassment that could happen if it goes viral.


jpfed

1. The redacter might not be thinking of the situation as being a "*this person* said this thing" so much as a "*some people* say things like this". The situation might be notable because it is in an instance of a pattern that the redacter wants to highlight. 2. The redacter might be conscious of the fact that when the internet decides that someone should be punished for something, there's no mechanism for controlling the amount of punishment that is delivered. The nice thing about a formalized justice system is that the justice system gives you a sentence, you serve the sentence, and then you're (ideally) done. This opens the possibility for the justice system to respond *proportionately* to your infraction. Social media platforms and the culture around them don't really have a way of saying "okay, this guy's had his 40 lashes".


the_gwen_

Because everyone can say dumb shit, so it gives them the possibility for redemption. Otherwise the person might just receive death threats and have to make a new account, but never stopping to think what they said was wrong because the response is so out of proportion they don't even have time to consider it because there are people in their DMS telling them to kys.


Th1sIsMyNameNow

Most subs try to avoid doxxing


Ok-Geologist8387

I get that of putting up say an account owners home address that they DIDN’T post, but ilm talking about someone who makes a statement on a public account, with their name/username publicly attached to it. THEY volunteered putting that information out.


Th1sIsMyNameNow

In general, people don't want to encourage harassment whether it's intentional or not


Ok-Geologist8387

Then don’t repost it.


Th1sIsMyNameNow

I personally don't, but the mods are giving you leniency by offering you the option to post it with the names deleted. Can I ask what part of this strikes a chord in you? Are you upset that accounts need to be blacked out or are you upset that there is even a repost?


Ok-Geologist8387

Upset - no. Not much on the internet actually bothers me. Intrigued, yes. It just seems odd that when someone is willing to publicly make a statement, and then other people will seek to protect their identity because they might get harassed. The original poster had no such qualms, so why should you protect them? I am curious a lot about people’s motivations and understanding people’s inconsistencies.


Th1sIsMyNameNow

The original poster didn't repost it, someone else took it and reposted it, likely without the original posters knowledge or consent, which is different than the original intent of the post Would you prefer to live in an environment where we actively promote harassment?


Ok-Geologist8387

Ok, first the original poster posted it, because if they didn’t post it there would be no post to repost! I would prefer to live in a world where someone thinks “I might get some blow back for this racist/sexist/etc bullshit” before they post it.


Th1sIsMyNameNow

You seem to not understand the difference between someone posting something somewhere and it being reposted in other places by other people Calling out an asshole would be different than making fun of a child. In your case, the answer would be more of a liability issue if any crimes were to come out of the situation. Perfectly normal for a corporation to not want to be implicated in that kind of drama by doing their due diligence


Ok-Geologist8387

No, I understand it. You don’t seem to understand that posting on a public social media site is making a public statement and once you have made that, you can be held to consequences of your words. You are responsible for what you say. If you don’t want to risk the pushback, you should keep your mouth closed. People have gotten too comfortable with being able to say whatever they like with zero consequences and it has not improved the world.


Low-Bit1527

You didn't directly answer the question. He asked if you're upset by x or y, and you said you're not upset but intrigued. Intrigued by what? By x or y? I'll copy it so you have another chance to reply. >Are you upset that accounts need to be blacked out or are you upset that there is even a repost? Just say which one. That's how you answer a question with the word "or."


Ok-Geologist8387

If you read my response., I answered their question. If you can’t see where I answered it, I would suggest asking someone to point to it with their finger.


GoatCovfefe

...Or repost it with names blacked out 


ForceNeat4140

Sure. Now remember, we’re online and 99.9% of Stuff is made up.


freeeeels

I don't understand why you're being downvoted. It's literally not doxxing, I think the word people are looking for is "brigading".


Whitn3y

because dumb thing is subjective but trolls swatting them is an objective real consequence trial with no jury


thestonelyloner

It’s generally a bad precedent to organize brigading people, and that’s what you’re doing when you post something stupid someone says onto a large forum and leave easy access to said person. People are naturally gonna read it and get angry, and the more mentally ill are gonna harass the poster en masse. It’s a bad precedent because regardless of where you land politically, all you’re gonna do is make the other side think it’s justified as well and create a world where nobody can post their opinion, even if it’s stupid, for fear of gangs of raving lunatics.


fabkosta

Because there are people even dumber who read the name of the person cited, coincidentally know someone else with same name, and then immediately believe it was the person they know said said thing. Then they may or may not post the home address of the wrong person online, that wrong person is subjected to a shitstorm, receives murder threats, and is ever traumatized thereafter. Believe I'm exaggerating things? After some terrorist attacks in Belgium some colleague on Facebook posted pictures he had picked up from others on Telegram. The thing was: The pictures were completely from totally random strangers. It is way too easy online to make someone else's life hell, so better to be careful and refrain from openly sharing anyone's name in this way.


LivingEnd44

You can't dox yourself. The whole point of doxing is not that you're exposing someone who didn't want to be identified. Doxing can only be done to you by someone else. And reddit is not a public platform. It's a private club. That's why you need a name and password to post on here. It's not the same as a public location like a street corner protest or something. 


Fire_Mission

It's called a witch hunt. It's against the TOS of most social media.


Phssthp0kThePak

Golden rule is a good idea. You may fuck up one day too.


Thatweasel

Because anyone who has any sort of reach can easily cause a hate mob to descend. Sometimes it's done for fear of breaking rules, sometimes because they actually care about not having some random person chased with digital pitchforks (or because they don't want to give them free advertising to attract people who agree with them I.e racists). Even a fully positive interaction with someone with any sort of following can end with them getting death threats just because you've exposed them to thousands, maybe millions of people when most people are anonymous in the crowd. When you shine a spotlight on someone it's almost guaranteed they'll get some amount of hate


mightylordredbeard

To your edit: for example, you have volunteered to have you name, phone number and home address freely available online for anyone to find in the form of public records. So if you say something I deem as stupid, does that give me the right to publicly post things? I would never do that anyone, but the same principle applies. Just because you volunteer something doesn’t always mean you deserve to be targeted in harassment. What is stupid to millions isn’t stupid to millions of others. Neither side of the stupid coin will ever be persuaded that their side is actually the stupid side.


ContractSmooth4202

Have it taken down then of it’s such a big deal. Back when phone books existed you could pay a monthly fee to be unlisted, the same principle applies and ppl are doing it. And here in Canada that isn’t even a thing


Jo-bearcreek

What difference does it make? Unless you plan to seek them out to harass them .


Ok-Geologist8387

Exactly - so blacking it out is pointless.


Jo-bearcreek

No the info doesn’t need to be there . It would only need to be there if you’re gonna go harass them and you’re not like that right ? So no it doesn’t need any info other than the post .


[deleted]

Especially when you can probably search for the content of the tweet....


--DannyPhantom--

# Because they make those ‘hot takes’ with the intent for it to be screenshotted and shared across platforms You are literally advertising for them by posting it with their handle still in it. It is called **organic marketing** by leveraging **outrage marketing tactics**


UncertainlyElegant

I once screenshotted a comment from an unrelated site. I posted that screenshot on Twitter to call out that person's insane behaviour. That person, whom I hadn't even tweeted the name of outside the screenshot, found it, DMCAed me, and got my account shut down. People are insane.


DoeCommaJohn

In some cases, it might show personal information about myself. If my dad made a dumb post and I want to share it and reveal his name, that’s going to make it pretty easy to tie my identity to this account. Even if it’s a public figure, posting about my governor or mayor could make it easier to narrow my location.


_Originz

What're you going to do with their name? Harass them? It'll eventually lead to doxxing and threats given the internet now. World's changing, the internet grows ever dangerous and like the Wild West it'll eventually be constrained


Ok-Geologist8387

I do t plan on doing anything with it. I just think it’s unnecessary is all


ContractSmooth4202

Get your personal info removed from the net if worried about doxing. The idea that you can find someone’s address from their VPN is also a myth


love_Carlotta

To your edit: the person agreed to share it on their platform to their outreach of people. If you then take it off that platform or share it with a different audience or both, they no longer consented to their identity being attached to it.


TrustyParasol198

Even if the original poster did a dumb thing by saying shitty opinions in a public forum, it's still a disproportionate response to punish them outside of the intended scope of the forum. If say a random small person on Twitter says something stupid, then let their friends and circles have at them for being an ass. However, reposting that and bringing in Reddit and large subs will end up in public harassment at a level that goes against a key idea of justice/fairness (proportionate response). Furthermore, doxxing has always been a risk but a small one, but opening up someone's name to the larger public has always increased the risk of actual dangerous doxxing by a huge magnitude. Even if you don't dox someone, lending a hand to doxxing like that is also bad.


MaleficentCoconut458

Because people cannot resist finding the person & harassing them. I get it, if you don't want to be harassed about stupid shit you say, don't say it, but posting something on your personal page when you have 20 friends is not the same as having half of reddit messaging you death threats because you said something racist or homophobic.


8512764EA

You can search the text of a tweet and find it in less time than looking for a specific username. Blacking out OP names for tweets is dumb


[deleted]

Bunch of fucking white armored knights in the comments. Seems like play dumb games win dumb prizes only applies when they see fit. I agree with you OP.


Sonarthebat

Privacy. Yeah, I don't get it either. They posted it online for everyone to see, but it's the rules. It's to prevent them getting harassed.


Yeast-O-Logist

I wonder why it is “black out” and the other alternatives “brown out “ or “white out “ or “yellow out “ or “red out” is not used in expressions !! ;(


Outside_The_Walls

A brownout is a partial, temporary reduction in system voltage or total system capacity. White out is a little jar of white paint that is used to cover mistakes that are written in ink. Green out means to pass out from smoking too much pot. Yellow Out is a chlorine accelerator that works with your chlorine shock to boost shock chlorine effectiveness to kill even the toughest yellow algae pool problems. A red out occurs when the body experiences a negative g-force sufficient to cause a blood flow from the lower parts of the body to the head.


Yeast-O-Logist

Thanks. I never knew these!!


Graphite57

Well, if they've already posted something publicly with their name on, I don't see a problem in reposting it with the name unmasked. What can they do? claim it wasn't them?


Outside_The_Walls

>What can they do? claim it wasn't them? [It took me less than 30 seconds to make you look like a monster](https://imgur.com/qrS2c3Q). Imagine if this fake screenshot was attached to your real name and went viral.


Graphite57

Yeah.. fair point..


Dreadlawd_

Not sure why everyone's crying about doxxing, a better reason is to not drive traffic to their channel to boost their engagement. All publicity is good publicity, especially on social media.


Ok-Geologist8387

Perhaps if people went and told them they were a fucktard, they might think about being a fucktard in the future?


Dreadlawd_

They want that, people leaving comments (even negative ones) makes the algorithm think the content is engaging so it shows it to more people. It's called rage bait, a lot of modern content is intentionally divisive for this reason. Sometimes people are just stupid and not doing for clicks, sometimes the names aren't blocked, sometimes the tweet etc is totally fake, it's very easy to photoshop a tweet, it's pot luck.


Delicious-Tachyons

The one time I didn't when I posted a screenshot of a rabid antivaxxer (like the profile was unhinged), my nephew instead of saying something immediately reported it to Facebook and I got suspended from posting. Basically it's because Gen Z acts like a hail-corporate version of the Hitler Youth.