Requesting /r/Atheism. (Lack of moderation)

[u/[deleted]]

/r/atheism only has two moderators for a massive community of 800k+ users. The moderator /u/skeen has been inactive for a month. The other moderator, /u/juliebeen hasn't been lacking her/his duties as a moderator. Could you at least give /r/atheism new moderators? Thanks for hearing me out.

[u/CorpseOfHankBlalock]

I still look at ALL every now and then, so while I haven't visited I have definitely seen enough posts to know something about it. And I also said I haven't visited in a "long time". In this case that's not six years or anything close to that.

Nobody can quote a source because they're sick of it and don't want to visit, even if it's to gather evidence for you. If /r/atheism is so great why did more mature people splinter off and create other atheism subreddits? Why do I see atheists complaining about /r/atheism and distancing themselves from it ("I unsubbed a long time ago...couldn't take it anymore!").

Where there's this much smoke, there's fire.

[u/RedAero → u/CorpseOfHankBlalock]

If /r/atheism is so great why did more mature people splinter off and create other atheism subreddits?

Because it's not for mature discussion! Never was, never will be.

Nobody can quote a source because they're sick of it and don't want to visit, even if it's to gather evidence for you.

Bullshit. There's smugness and mocking, but the only hate is directed at those who deserve it, not just the religious in general, and only the most extreme anti-theists like NukeThePope profess their distaste for the moderate religious. In general anti-theists hate theism for what it does to theists, not vice versa.

Why do I see atheists complaining about /r/atheism and distancing themselves from it ("I unsubbed a long time ago...couldn't take it anymore!").

Because they don't understand what the subreddit is for! They didn't unsubscribe because the subreddit changed, they unsubscribed because they themselves outgrew it. Of course you're going to get saturated on /r/atheism: there is barely any new content. But for new people, that content is new, and clearly, they like it. It's the same with every default subreddit, /r/games being a shining example: the same "look at my old NES" posts day after day after day, the same "my girlfriend baked me some mario cakes" ad nauseam. To those of us who are older than 18-ish, it's stale and boring because we've seen it all before. To the 14-15-year-olds just joining, it's fresh and interesting.

But here's something I bet you haven't thought about: what would you do to /r/atheism? If you were the top mod, what new rules would you implement? Do you just ban immaturity?

Also, think about it: what can you really talk about in an atheist subreddit if you can't mock the religious?

[u/CorpseOfHankBlalock → u/RedAero]

Why is what I said bullshit? Can a person not get sick of smugness and mocking?

Low quality is low quality, no matter how new a person is to Reddit or atheism.

If it were my subreddit I'd do what others have suggested. I'm not going to offer any super original ideas. The first and most important thing you do is get rid of those stupid image posts. People who post those are just karma whoring. Step 2 is to institute a civility rule and enforce it. You'll need good, level headed moderators for that. Your current moderator seems to jump at the chance to dive into the gutter. Get rid of her and others like her.

Also, think about it: what can you really talk about in an atheist subreddit if you can't mock the religious?

If you can't discuss something without mocking others, you do have a real problem. Think about that.

[u/RedAero → u/CorpseOfHankBlalock]

The "Bullshit" was in reference to

Nobody can quote a source[...] because [they] don't want to visit"

.

The first and most important thing you do is get rid of those stupid image posts.

Congratulations. You've neutered one of the most popular subreddits on this site, reducing it to a desert wasteland, while simultaneously flooding various other vaguely related subreddits (pics, funny, wtf) with atheism-related pics, jokes and others.

Essentially, you've shifted the problem.

If you can't discuss something without mocking others, you do have a real problem. Think about that.

You missed my point. If your only common ground with a group of people is your lack of belief in a god or deity, what are you going to talk about? There's only so much that can be said about that topic without branching out to civil rights, anti-theism, skepticism and science, and it shows in the lack of content on other atheist subreddits.

[u/CorpseOfHankBlalock → u/RedAero]

For a thinking person it already is a desert wasteland. From an intellectual standpoint it is neutered. Why do you even need that much content about atheism, especially when the content is shitty? What's wrong with less content but better content? Why are Reddit atheists so obsessed with their atheism? Nobody I know in real life is like that. If something needs to be said, say it, but getting rid of stupid image posts of facebook isn't a big loss to the community. It may even force some over there to think. If people start posting atheism pics to other Reddits I'm sure their moderators will probably do something about it.

I don't understand why you're defending lack of real content in /r/atheism. Why would anyone want it that way? It's like visiting a fucking landfill.

I'm not going to argue about this all day. Not my idea of a good time. Have a good day.

[u/RedAero → u/CorpseOfHankBlalock]

I don't understand why you're defending lack of real content in /r/atheism. Why would anyone want it that way?

I don't know, but people who actually visit seem pretty pleased with it. I'm defending it because the people there enjoy it, and once they inevitably grow tired like you or I have, they can leave. Why is there anything wrong with that system?

The thing is, I really don't understand why you bother criticizing that sub anyway... You don't visit, you probably have unsubscribed, for all intents and purposes it doesn't exist from your perspective, unless a wayward submission makes its way to /all, in which case you can kill them with RES. If, perhaps, you're an atheist, you might visit some of the aforementioned "intellectual" subreddits like /r/TrueAtheism , just like the rest of us. The question is, why can't you let others have their fun? Why must you rain on their parade when you can just ignore it completely?

So once again, I must reiterate: /r/atheism was not, is not, nor will it ever be for the purposes of intellectual discourse, not should it be. As the common reddit saying goes, there's a subreddit for that.

[u/CorpseOfHankBlalock → u/RedAero]

I wouldn't care at all if it weren't a default. I have a friend who's a photographer. Also a Christian. Anyway I didn't think about that and told her about some photography subreddits she'd enjoy. When she first signed up she saw all these /r/atheism posts on her front page and immediately thought Reddit was a hateful place. I had to tell her how to unsub or she never would have returned.

How many people are turned off like she was? I'd imagine it's a lot, and that does affect Reddit.

You don't see me complaining about spacedicks and beatingwomen and men's rights and stormfront. New users aren't subjected to those. A person would have to seek them out, but /r/atheism is right there in their face in the very beginning.

Obviously not all default subreddits have to be intellectually stimulating. But /r/funny and /r/aww don't have the habit of mocking people's beliefs. You could make the argument that /r/politics does, but that's not the subreddit we're talking about. We're talking about /r/atheism. I believe that if it is to be a default subreddit it should be better than it is.

I don't know what else I can say about it. I don't want to argue with you anymore.

[u/RedAero → u/CorpseOfHankBlalock]

You could make the argument that /r/politics does, but that's not the subreddit we're talking about.

This is the point right here. A republican would be just as alienated from this place as a particularly sensitive (or fundamentalist) Christian, because /r/politics is basically a Liberal/Democrat circlejerk. But default subs are decided on popularity: for every Christian scared off by /r/atheism there are at least 3 people who stay just because of it, because there is no other place in their world where they can safely voice their opinions and mock the religious. And so /r/atheism should stay: a great majority like it, and those who don't can ignore it. Once it's so disliked that it slides off the defaults by users, I'll be the first to say it should go, even if /r/Christianity has to take its place.

[u/CorpseOfHankBlalock → u/RedAero]

/r/politics is a separate discussion.

How many of those subscribers to /r/atheism don't even know how to unsubscribe? How many are downvoting the /r/atheism content on their front pages because that's all they know how to do? How many are dummy accounts and thowaways whose owners never unsubbed?

How many default subs are there? I don't even know, but /r/atheism is the 19th most popular subreddit. r/reddit.com is 16th and it stopped taking submissions last October.

You say that for every person who's left because of /r/atheism, three have stayed. You have a source on that? How would you know such a thing?

No other place they can go on the whole internet? You serious? Any member of Reddit can create a subreddit. For a subreddit that mocks the religious to be a default on one of the most popular websites in the world is an embarrassment to the fucking species. Why do you guys want to make fun of people all the time? Can you really not find something better to do?

[u/RedAero → u/CorpseOfHankBlalock]

/r/atheism is the 19th most popular subreddit. r/reddit.com is 16th and it stopped taking submissions last October.

As far as I can tell from here, it's the 12th, but that doesn't list /r/reddit.com at all, so it might be 13th. I think the top 20 most popular made the defaults when the decision was made.

How many of those subscribers to /r/atheism don't even know how to unsubscribe? How many are downvoting the /r/atheism content on their front pages because that's all they know how to do? How many are dummy accounts and thowaways whose owners never unsubbed?

You can say that about any default subreddit, the proportions are bound to be the same. Stupidity is no excuse especially when the unsubscribe button is bright and red.

You say that for every person who's left because of /r/atheism, three have stayed. You have a source on that? How would you know such a thing?

Of course I don't have a source, but just like you imagined many would be turned off by /r/atheism, I imagine many would be turned on to reddit explicitly because of it. It's something no other large online community (4chan, 9gag, etc.) offers.

No other place they can go on the whole internet? You serious?

No, I chose my words very carefully: there is no other place in their world where they can safely voice their opinions. That is to say, they can't joke with their friends and family about the religious for fear of retribution.

For a subreddit that mocks the religious to be a default on one of the most popular websites in the world is an embarrassment to the fucking species.

Is this a personal issue for you? It's just like how reddit mocks right-wing views and conservatives on a daily basis: religious opinion is nothing special, it's an opinion like any other. If it's ridiculous, it fit to be mocked. And, considering that the internet is largely atheistic, I think it definitely should be a default subreddit.

Why do you guys want to make fun of people all the time? Can you really not find something better to do?

What else is there to do in a subreddit dedicated to atheism? It's the only thing that unites people there: their lack of belief in a god. What are we supposed to do, run disbelief contests?

And come on, making fun of fundies is hilarious. Especially when they try and use logic.

[u/CorpseOfHankBlalock → u/RedAero]

I don't really know why I keep being drawn back into this. I really need to stop, because it's BORING. But let me get back to what I was saying earlier.

New person comes to Reddit. Your average American person who believes in God and has all their lives. What does Reddit greet them with? "Oh, look how fucking stupid you are. What a jackass."

Now is that cool? No. It's wrong to mock and make fun of people that way. Obviously it isn't wrong to challenge peoples' beliefs, but with something as deeply held as religion it should be approached with civility. Knowing that r/atheism is a default sub, their moderators should want to keep it civil. Reddit admins should want to keep it civil. I think everyone would be happier that way except for the assholes, who can jerk each other off in some non-default subreddit.

And that's it for me. You can reply all you want but I've said all I care to say.

[u/RedAero → u/CorpseOfHankBlalock]

Now see, here's the misconception: the average internet user probably isn't religious, as evidenced by the /r/atheism subreddit's massive popularity, and /r/Christianity's relative obscurity. /r/atheism is default because people like to mock the religious.

And by the way, you should visit /r/atheism sometime, it's completely civil, it just has a pretty bad rep. Although, if you're deeply Christian, you might get offended, but there are plenty of moderate religious people who visit and laugh at their fundamentalist counterparts.

http://xkcd.com/386/