Introduction and ContextThe cryptocurrency space is vigilant and decentralized. It consists of people from a wide variety of countries, occupations, and political beliefs. This subreddit intends to be an integral component of the cryptocurrency community, allowing for subscribers to learn about a variety of projects and opinions.Recently, many users were upset at our response to a post regarding one user’s complaints regarding r/bitcoin. r/bitcoin is the most widely-visited subreddit for Bitcoin news, memes, and other developments. Another popular subreddit is r/btc.We originally removed the post for several reasons. It was regarding another community. It was inflammatory in nature. It was brigaded from a variety of communities. It was not especially high-quality and was better suited for the daily discussion.After some internal discussion, we decided to rescind the decision to remove and locked the comments instead. The comment section had turned into a cesspool of personal attacks and other unwanted content. This is the current status of the post.The decisions we made as moderators were highly criticized. Some redditors accused the team of being “bought off” by the r/bitcoin team and its supporters. Others were upset at us for allowing drama to continue. There were a variety of other complaints that we frankly don’t have the space to cover here.We want to communicate our side of the story on how we try to allow important discussions to be made without compromising on post quality. It’s part of a wider movement was have been pursuing for many months to improve the subreddit overall.Resources in Place to Discuss DisagreementIn general, r/CryptoCurrency does not allow meta discussion. Instead, we direct all relevant discussion to r/CryptoCurrencyMeta. This allows users to voice concerns (and possibly compliments) without these concerns take up valuable r/CryptoCurrency subreddit space. r/CryptoCurrency is one of the featured news subreddits for many redditors; we may lose this status if the most popular posts are merely related to the subreddit. Furthermore, there would be less room for the content most people care about: news, analysis, and other high-quality content.Many communities need additional support. To help resolve communication errors, disagreements, and misunderstandings, we often communicate with other subreddit moderation teams directly. We have an entire subreddit and Discord channel devoted to this communication. We have found this incredibly valuable at communicating with these communities. We can typically stop user uproar before it becomes significant. We want to minimize conflict as much as possible. We should be focused on the broader goal of advancing cryptocurrency technologies and adoption.We extended an invitation to the disgruntled r/btc moderator, and they did not use any of these communication platforms. Instead of working toward an understanding, a r/btc moderator posted several allegations that drew significant attention.Reducing Bias Through PolicyThe r/CryptoCurrency moderation team is supported by individuals with a wide variety of backgrounds and cryptocurrency interests. Each moderator is held to a high standard and is readily assessed on their performance. This performance review includes tests for potential sources of bias.Even with this performance review, we know that there are opportunities for bias. If, for instance, every moderator was pro-SUPERDUPERCOIN (SDUC), we would have a hard time spotting bias in favor of SDUC. We made it a goal to include moderators from a variety of important projects to make sure that several people can check moderator behavior. We feel this has been highly successful.Furthermore, our subreddit has public mod logs that anyone can view. We give users the ability to raise evidence for their case. If they feel that the moderators have done them wrong, they are able to create a case in their favor. The hundreds of thousands of subscribers can watch far more content than the moderators can do alone, and thus we welcome their concerns in r/CryptoCurrencyMeta and in the modmail.We strongly recommend that anyone with allegations back up their claims with evidence. Since we make everything available, we hope that this can reduce the number of unsubstantiated claims making their way around.General Moderation ApproachesIn r/CryptoCurrency, we have not shied away from moderation. We feel that thoughtful moderation increases free speech. It prevents one group from manipulating content to control the narrative. It prevents a small number of cryptocurrency projects from consuming all subreddit discussion. It allows for respectful disagreement in policy while retaining quality content.You may not agree with our decision to moderate and that is fine. However, we hope that you can at least understand our perspective. Reddit includes a variety of subreddits so that many different communities can flourish.Handling Inter-Community Conflict in r/CryptoCurrencyWe have a clear case of conflict here. r/bitcoin and r/btc disagree on a large number of viewpoints. As a community, we need to find a way to represent the opinions of both groups in our subreddit.Many users have expressed disappointment in r/bitcoin’s moderation policies. In fact, many of us moderators are banned from r/bitcoin. We can understand their perspective of vigilantly removing non-Bitcoin posts from their subreddit even if we do not agree with their policies.Similarly, r/btc has been incredibly hostile towards many members of our community. Its members have made a wide number of unsubstantiated claims. While we encourage people to question the motives of others (especially in the cryptocurrency space), we likewise encourage people to collect substantial evidence. Just because we made a decision you may not agree with doesn’t mean that the moderation team is actively collaborating with the Satan himself.We already have the following text under Rule 1: Obey the Golden Rule & Maintain Decorum:No Trolling. Do not make random unsolicited and/or controversial comments with the intent of baiting or provoking unsuspecting readers to engage in hostile arguments. Trolling, in all its forms, will lead to a suspension or permanent ban. Do not waste people's time. It's the most valuable resource we have.We are still deliberating whether we need to make this rule more clear for posts that target cryptocurrency communities. However, we absolutely feel that the post in question falls under this provision in Rule 1 and should have remained removed. It does not matter that it gathered significant attention. We do not need this drama every time some moderator somewhere removes a post or bans someone. We will consider making the rule more explicit in the future, but expect that we will moderate with this provision applying to all posts, including those that target other cryptocurrency communities with the intent to provoke.We will continue to allow posts that critically look into the nature of different communities. For example, information comparing redditors in different communities are allowed. Be careful since the intent and tone matter here; when in doubt, stick to the facts and avoid making sweeping, aggressive claims. Keep your cool: you may have an important point to convey, but it could by ruined if you approach it with the wrong tone.Wrapping Everything UpWe hope that this post has clarified how the team operates and how seriously we take our responsibilities. No one on the moderation team has been paid for any actions, no one has ties to Blockstream, and no one is able to act as an authoritative dictator.We ask that you keep an open mind. While accusations may seem appealing, it is too easy to believe them without verifying for yourself. We ask for your cooperation in politely using the communication channels discussed earlier to discuss grievances and to understand that we have to balance a variety of views in a way that makes sense for everyone.Of course, if you have any other complaints or recommendations, please see the accompanying post in r/CryptocurrencyMeta.Appendixhttps://np.reddit.com/r/btc/comments/8qqmnv/how_are_rcryptocurrency_mods_circumventing_their/ https://ift.tt/2JMPSXa https://ift.tt/2JFeYeF https://ift.tt/2sTAZf0 https://ift.tt/2JxojF1 https://ift.tt/2ydRgRr https://ift.tt/2JF9L6j https://ift.tt/2ydR5oW https://ift.tt/2JFfB83
Submitted June 15, 2018 at 08:20PM
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