/r/Technology mod(s) nuking anything dealing with Tesla. User gets banned for trying to find out why. (self.SubredditDrama)
SubredditDrama
274 ups - 51 downs = 223 votes
https://np.reddit.com/r/teslamotors/comments/21lurz/teslaisbannedfromrtechnologyandsoami_for/
(adding this edit to assuage the notion i'm involved in the drama)
edit2 @16:34: below is a copy of the self post from the link above for posterity and to activate the archive bots. (but evidently they were asleep).
Stories about Tesla have been banned from /r/technology. And now that I've found out about it, I've been banned from r/technology, too.
I discovered this by posting a story about Tesla to r/technology. It was blocked, but that sort of thing happens, often inadvertently, so I asked the mods if they would unblock it. /u/agentlame responded that "That's better suited for /r/teslamotors."
Well, that's true, just as Google stories are best suited for r/google, Apple stories for r/apple, etc. But I replied by pointing out that Tesla stories are very popular on /r/technology, getting thousands of upvotes and being among the subreddit's top-rated stories of all time. Agentlame replied:
>Battery cars aren't 'technolgy' any more than normal cars are. Brand favoritism isn't a good reason to allow something that doesn't belong.
But the idea that the electric (and robotic) future of vehicle tech isn't a technology story is something that multiple tech sites that cover Tesla seem to disagree with.
I was curious if this was just the whim of a single moderator, or a larger r/technology policy, so I looked for recent Tesla stories on r/technology.
Tesla stories were frequent until three months ago, at which point all Tesla submissions suddenly stopped, save for a single post that slipped through the filter by using the plural "Teslas" in the title. I asked Agentlame if Tesla had indeed been banned from r/technology.
His response:
>Car stories should be submitted to car-related subreddits.
>Please inform your supervisors in the Tesla Motors Marketing department.
And then, from the main /r/technology account:
>you've been banned
>you have been banned from posting to /r/technology: Technology .
Not only is Tesla banned from r/technology, but so am I for finding out about it.
For better or worse, all subreddits, even the main subreddits visible to everyone by default, are the private playgrounds of whoever started them first. So it's up to them what to allow and not allow. But subreddits tend to be very clear about their rules. Not only was this ban not transparent, but the anti-transparency theme extended so far as to actually ban someone for noticing what happened. That just seems impulsively vindictive. I hope that Agentlame or someone else at r/technology will reconsider. The largest share of my karma, over 25,000 of these made-up Reddit points we play with, has come from contributions I've made to r/technology. I'd like to continue the conversation.
And in case anyone thinks there must be more to this story, that I must privately be some insufferable internet troll and that I surely couldn't have been banned just for asking if Tesla was banned, here's a screenshot of my full conversation with Agentlame.
ninja edit: oh yeah, i guess i need to np the links from the self post copy too. a duh.
244 comments submitted at 18:37:05 on Mar 28, 2014 by tresser
He was banned for spamming more Tesla stories, after the fact. And instead of replying to the ban and explaining he was 'testing', he posted that thread.
Dude clearly did not want to be unbanned.
So you guys don't actually have Tesla threads set to be auto-removed?
They are car stories. We wouldn't allow Prius stories either.
I get that. Now I'm wondering why is it apparently a secret rule?
I don't see anything in the rules of the /r/technology banning car related posts, and it seems like keeping it a secret is just trying to avoid the community backlash by being deceptive.
You realize Formula 1 has gone partial electric this year? "Battery cars", as you so dismissively put it, is an important technology.
That means they are even less of a technological news story. The more common place battery cars are, the more they just belong in /r/cars... that's the point here.
Battery cars are just becoming cars. We wouldn't allow a story about a Ford F150, why would we allow one about another run-of-the-mill car? Just because you can plug it in? That's not technology, that's a different gas station
And this is the kind of moderators we have in /r/technology.
Oh my. I seriously can't stop laughing.
Are you actually disagreeing that as battery cars become more common place they are less of a technology story?
How do you figure that?
Your front page currently has an article about Microsoft Office for iPad.
Does technology need to be obscure for it to be technology? I must have missed that part of the definition.
> Your front page currently has an article about Microsoft Office for iPad.
Sorry, that article should be posted to either /r/applesoft or /r/micropple :)
You have now been banned from /r/technology, have a nice day!
Smartphones and computers are common. Let's ban computing stories from /r/technology.
The Internet is too common, can't discuss that anymore. Only darknet discussion allowed on /r/technology now.
All the submissions to /r/technology are about darknet. It's too common; darknet is banned. Only modjerking allowed on /r/technology.
Just because a technology is "more common" doesn't mean that it is common in general.
Also, it currently says on the /r/technology sidebar that "Posts should be on technology (news, updates, political policy, etc)." That implies that new features or applications are allowed, even for old or "common" technology.
Are you actually disagreeing that as battery cars become more technologically advanced they are less of a technology story? How do you figure that?
Yes, is the printing press still a technology story?
No, but 3d printing is. Which is where the printing press came from. Tracking technology as it evolves is why we have a subreddit for technology.
You strike me as the type who would delete a story about a 3d printer printing 3d printers because who cares if 3d printers are just becoming more common place.
So Smartphones, PCs, browsers, etc. aren't a technology story, right? Because they're commonplace.
> Are you actually disagreeing that as battery cars become more common place they are less of a technology story?
But I think you have a different interpretation of the mandate of /r/technology than the subscribers, in this case.
Do you realize you're turning r/technology into a mod approved echo chamber?
Me? I didn't even make this rule or remove the post. I simply answered the mod mail.
You're joking, right?
The top post on /r/technology right this minute is about ripping CDs for heaven's sake. That's some serious cutting-edge shit right there! Even Formula 1 doesn't do that yet.
I don't see which post you mean, but as I've said elsewhere in this thread, we're short on moderators.
If you see a submission that doesn't belong, please message us in mod mail.
Maybe if you didn't have some agenda leading to you being a mod on 350+ subs, you'd have the time to do the job properly.
Given the popularity of Tesla articles on /r/technology , your subreddit wholeheartedly disagrees with you.
Also, by that definition of technology, you should probably take down just about every article on the front page.
/r/technology wholehartedly thinks we should allow images, petitions, editorialized titles, and kickstarter projects. ;)
It's called tyranny of the masses.
There is huge difference between an article about Tesla and an image macro/meme.
People rarely consider themselves evil.
You didn't answer his question. What if someone want to post something about Nikola Tesla, do they also get banned?
Your name should be banned too.
He wasn't banned for posting about Tesla. He was banned for continuing to spam after the fact.
Stop conflating the two.
"spam" Right.
When you see someone submit another Tesla story right after being told that they belong in another subreddit, it looks like intentional spamming, yes.
Is this the "Spam" you're referring to? http://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/21lyuv/metaitseemsanrtechnologymodisdeletingall/
Seems like a reasonable way to start a discussion among the community. Shame something had to "happen" to it.
Unban him, and get your sub's act together. Tesla posts shouldn't be banned, obviously.
Why do you act like you own Reddit? Get off your high horse, man.
Because he mods over 350 subreddits. That's why he acts that way.
Citation?
http://gyazo.com/c52fe967ff904ce5c52d1aa6b049647f
gg on all those downvotes in under 10 minutes. Looks like you have a fan club. You should start posting anti-SRS rhetoric so when it gets downvoted you can talk about the SRS shills infesting SRD, pointing to that as evidence. It'll be fun.
Answer the question:
Do you auto remove Tesla stories from r/technology?
So they are or aren't auto removed? I just saw an Elon Musk story get past your filter. Quick, to the pitchforks!
And stories about Microsoft/Google are software stories, should you ban them too and relegate them to /r/software? My 8 year old could pick apart that logic.
So why not just unban him and get on with your life?
You have been banned from /r/technology
Unban me or I will write a VB GUI and track your IP. Srsly.
VB GUIs are not technology. Post them to /r/VBGUI.
Whatever you say Mr. 192.168.0.1. Am I freakin' you out yet?
/r/technology is the new /r/pyongyang.
Because his life is probably banning people and feeling powerful.
He can be unbanned at anytime, if he requests so in mod mail. I'm not going to unban him just because he starts a personal witch hunt.
You should. It's good to help out your community in a proactive way, even if your feelings are hurt. If you aren't able to do that, maybe you shouldn't be moderating.
He can send a mod mail at anytime. He has yet to do so.
What are you? 12 years old? You're going to insist he say "uncle"?
I have done so.
I made a test post without the word "Tesla" in it and deleted it. I already explained to you before that this was to test my hypothesis that the word "Tesla" was banned before I actually claimed that that was the case. But here I find you continuing to call me a spammer. I think testing a hypothesis so that I don't make false accusations against anyone is perfectly reasonable.
No, I said you were banned for spamming. That's what it looked like. You didn't message us, you posted that thread.
Now you've messaged us after causing a shit storm. So I highly doubt the other mods are going to unban you. I'm abstaining from the final call, personally. So if you don't get unbanned, it wasn't my call.
I did message you. You responded. You banned me. That seemed like a final judgment to me. While I understand you didn't want to be in the spotlight, I think it's naive to believe that you can go about banning popular subjects and the people who post them and not have anyone say anything.
Oh, no, we can't have dissenting opinions regarding mod actions being spouted off in public willy-nilly -- why, that could be (comically) misinterpreted as a "witch hunt," and lo shalt the banhammer fly forth to strike in mighty retribution!
You got it wrong. Cars are like video games where there is new technology with new products. More video game posts in /r/technology please. Also, would like to read more about Sharp^tm LED uberscreen 2014 fall lineup. Smarten up brah ;)
Why do you think he's a shill?
I was being sarcastic... I don't think anyone on reddit is a shill.
But, I can see how that pissed people off more.
Seriously...
You just now realized people don't like being accused of dishonest acts?
Go back to your fucking Big Oil Marketing Department. Could you tell I'm being sarcastic?
Maturity is knowing when you're wrong and owning up to it. The downvote brigade is justified. Grow up.