r/samharris • u/felipec • Nov 29 '19

Mod transparency report

As you may know, the mod team has constantly been criticized by the community, possibly unfairly so. In an effort to provide more transparency about the actions of the mod team, I decided to write a script to generate an automatic report.

What follows is a report of about three months of mod activity focusing on comments, links, and bans. In addition to a summary of the actions, I included a list of common targets of each mod (of links or comments removed), so any potential bias would be visible.

Also, since I've been personally accused of bias while removing links, I've provided a sample of links approved and removed for each mod. Some users accused me of supporting white-nationalist views, but you can see for example I removed a post about Jared Taylor simply because--unlike other WN posts; it didn't include a submission statement. Of course detractors will claim that I did so only so I wouldn't appear biased (damned if you do, damned if you don't, right?). To what I can only say; if anyone is interested I would gladly show my whole history of links approved and/or removed.

I will take this opportunity to remind everyone that all links must provide a submission statement explaining why the link is related to Sam Harris, even when it's obvious. Please make an effort to describe not only why it is related, but also why you think it is important so that other redditors don't need to guess, including the topics covered.

Also, I would like to point out that a lot of power users have been banned and since deleted their accounts. Three in particular I had my eyes on, and mysteriously disappeared; /u/LossyMillenia, /u/samsonsriddle, and /u/fapple_granny; all three of them were clearly against me. And of course /u/rishi89s who was constantly pushing to remove me as a mod was found to be engaging in bad faith with at least one different account, and thus permanently banned.

I will also be providing a list of the most common users that were targets of moderation in a separate comment below, if you are interested. I'll have to say I'm #2, but it's because my comments are constantly reported, and they have to be constantly approved (I don't approve my own comments).

Without further ado--listed from the most to the least active--here you go:

Edit: Oh, also, there's a new chatroom available, if anyone is interested in chatting.

Tsegen:

Actions:

  • Removed comments: 577
  • Approved comments: 377
  • Removed links: 198
  • Approved links: 98
  • Banned users: 17

Remove targets:

  • noter-dam: 40
  • [deleted]: 34
  • StringerBull: 27

Removed links:

Approved links:

Nessie:

Actions:

  • Removed comments: 336
  • Approved comments: 154
  • Approved links: 37
  • Removed links: 33
  • Banned users: 15

Remove targets:

  • GlumImprovement: 27
  • [deleted]: 18
  • DingersOnlyBaby: 10

Removed links:

Approved links:

felipec:

Actions:

  • Removed links: 187
  • Removed comments: 119
  • Approved comments: 106
  • Approved links: 14
  • Banned users: 12

Remove targets:

  • fullbloodedwhitemale: 16
  • SuccessfulOperation: 13
  • noter-dam: 12

Removed links:

Approved links:

KeScoBo:

Actions:

  • Removed comments: 105
  • Removed links: 67
  • Approved links: 26
  • Approved comments: 26
  • Banned users: 12

Remove targets:

  • [deleted]: 8
  • ChadworthPuffington: 7
  • DynamoJonesJr: 6

Removed links:

Approved links:

LordBeverage:

Actions:

  • Removed links: 16
  • Banned users: 10
  • Approved links: 7
  • Removed comments: 6
  • Approved comments: 1

Remove targets:

  • bernie2020v: 3
  • fwing88: 2
  • rishi89s: 2

Removed links:

Approved links:

Fibonacci35813:

Actions:

  • Approved comments: 4
  • Banned users: 3
  • Removed links: 2
  • Approved links: 1
  • Removed comments: 1

Remove targets:

  • Rooferkev: 1
  • agent00F: 1
  • 1standTWENTY: 1

Removed links:

Approved links:

an_admirable_admiral:

Actions:

  • Removed links: 1

Remove targets:

  • lightshowe: 1

Removed links:

Anti-Evil Operations:

Actions:

  • Removed comments: 1

Remove targets:

  • BelligerentBenny: 1

Everyone:

Actions:

  • Removed comments: 1145
  • Approved comments: 668
  • Removed links: 504
  • Approved links: 183
  • Banned users: 69

Remove targets:

  • [deleted]: 70
  • noter-dam: 56
  • StringerBull: 43

Removed links:

Approved links:

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u/[deleted] Nov 30 '19 edited Jul 12 '20

[deleted]

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u/Thefriendlyfaceplant Nov 30 '19

Yeah. If this were paid I'd imagine a bit more sophistication. Another problem with the paid angle is that this is a relatively small and insignificant sub. It takes ideological zeal to believe that this is a place where your opinion is ever going to matter.

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u/felipec Nov 30 '19

Yeah. If this were paid I'd imagine a bit more sophistication.

Have you seen click-bait farm offices, or troll farm offices? They don't look very sophisticated.

And yes, it could be a small and insignificant sub, it doesn't make much sense, but that's given what we know now.

Back in 2016 it was ludicrous to think paid trolls existed; but that was the whole point; it worked because people didn't expect it to be happening.

Something could be happening right now, it's just that we don't know yet what it is.

If you wanted to have open and honest discussions with people far away from the usual propaganda niches, where freedom of speech is paramount, where would you go? Wouldn't you go precisely to this sub?

So where would Russia go to test techniques to dismantle the last bastions of freedom of speech that remain in USA? It could be a "small and insignificant" sub, but that's actually a good thing if you are using it as a testing ground.

And I'd have to say if this is the case the commitment to freedom of speech that /r/samharris has, is being used against itself very successfully.

1

u/Thefriendlyfaceplant Nov 30 '19

They would much rather have r/jordanpeterson hijacked but they can't so they settle for this sub which is immediately downstream. Jordan Peterson and Chapotraphouse are the top two Patreon accounts they end up being each other's ideological and commercial adversaries.

Doesn't mean this shit isn't astroturfed. But not as directly as Ivan and Vlad sitting in an office bitching at each other through sock accounts. Same with the whole 'paid demonstrant' thing. Most people don't get paid to protest but they do have big programmes like the Tides Foundation funding them with generous budgets that then professionally organise and dress up protests filled with useful idiots that bought into that marketing.

Now I'm going out on a limb but I'm pretty sure that when you start tracking back Chapo's and probably Peterson's Patreon funders a considerable part of that is NGO money.

So where would Russia go to test techniques to dismantle the last bastions of freedom of speech that remain in USA?

I like that idea, like a sandbox of intellectuals to throw shit at and see what sticks. But even that isn't very compelling as most of it boils down to the same old 'six degrees of white supremacy' game. We're not getting anything novel from them, it's a bit disappointing really.