DOS_patos
Unverified Legion of Trill member
omewhere out there, a man wants to rape Emily. She knows this because he was painfully clear in typing out his threat. In fact, he's just one of a group of people who wish her harm.
For the past four years, Emily has volunteered to moderate the content on several sizable subreddits -- large online discussion forums -- including r/news, with 16.3 million subscribers, and r/london, with 114,000 subscribers. But Reddit users don't like to be moderated.
In a joint investigation, Engadget and Point spoke to 10 Reddit moderators, and all of them complained that Reddit is systematically failing to tackle the abuse they suffer. Keeping the front page of the internet clean has become a thankless and abusive task, and yet Reddit's administration has repeatedly neglected to respond to moderators who report offenses.
"I've had a few death threats," said Emily, who asked to be referred to by her first name and her Reddit username, lolihull, to prevent the online harassment from spilling over into her real life. "And when people find out you're a woman, you get rape threats." That's why Emily tries not to mention she's a woman on Reddit: The torrent of abuse is far less likely to turn sexual.
"People are willing to dedicate their time to make you feel threatened for the hell of it," she said.
Some messages are direct and succinct. One sent to Emily reads, "I hope you get shot in the face with a bullet."
But others are profoundly disturbing and more creative. In one rambling attack, a Redditor told Emily, "I want you to get cancer because I wanna see your own body killing you. I want you to get cancer, your mother, sister, brother, father, grandparents I want them all to get cancer and when they open their mouths I wanna piss in them. I fucking hate you. You nasty disgusting slut fuckmeat."
Further down in the diatribe he adds, "I want you to come across a mean STD nigger and he tears your shit hole up so bad you'll never ever have to push your shit out."
Emily, a moderator for several popular subreddits
Emily's experience is far from unique.
"I had three death threats this past month," said abrownn, who moderates r/Futurology, with more than 13 million subscribers, and r/technology, with more than 6 million subscribers. abrownn asked only to be known by their username.
All the moderators interviewed confirmed they had received death threats, which they said can take a toll.
"Even if you're having the best day, reading a message like 'I'm going to kill you' or 'walk in front of a bus,' is shitty," said Robert Allam, Chief Marketing Officer at Supload, an online sharing platform. Known by his username, GallowBoob, Allam moderates r/tifu ("today I fucked up"), where more than 13 million subscribers share their schadenfreude anecdotes, and r/oddlysatisfying, where 1.8 million subscribers post content that is inexplicably satisfying to watch.
Reddit overtook Facebook this year to become the third most popular website in the US, behind Google and YouTube. At its best, Reddit is a place where people discuss topics with other like-minded individuals; there are subreddits devoted to just about any topic imaginable -- there's even one for people who like to Photoshop human arms onto pictures of birds.
At its worst, Reddit is awash with sexist threads, spam and threats. It's down to an army of dedicated volunteer moderators to keep Reddit clean -- and they too often get caught in the crossfire.
For the past four years, Emily has volunteered to moderate the content on several sizable subreddits -- large online discussion forums -- including r/news, with 16.3 million subscribers, and r/london, with 114,000 subscribers. But Reddit users don't like to be moderated.
In a joint investigation, Engadget and Point spoke to 10 Reddit moderators, and all of them complained that Reddit is systematically failing to tackle the abuse they suffer. Keeping the front page of the internet clean has become a thankless and abusive task, and yet Reddit's administration has repeatedly neglected to respond to moderators who report offenses.
"I've had a few death threats," said Emily, who asked to be referred to by her first name and her Reddit username, lolihull, to prevent the online harassment from spilling over into her real life. "And when people find out you're a woman, you get rape threats." That's why Emily tries not to mention she's a woman on Reddit: The torrent of abuse is far less likely to turn sexual.
"People are willing to dedicate their time to make you feel threatened for the hell of it," she said.
Some messages are direct and succinct. One sent to Emily reads, "I hope you get shot in the face with a bullet."
But others are profoundly disturbing and more creative. In one rambling attack, a Redditor told Emily, "I want you to get cancer because I wanna see your own body killing you. I want you to get cancer, your mother, sister, brother, father, grandparents I want them all to get cancer and when they open their mouths I wanna piss in them. I fucking hate you. You nasty disgusting slut fuckmeat."
Further down in the diatribe he adds, "I want you to come across a mean STD nigger and he tears your shit hole up so bad you'll never ever have to push your shit out."
Emily, a moderator for several popular subreddits
Emily's experience is far from unique.
"I had three death threats this past month," said abrownn, who moderates r/Futurology, with more than 13 million subscribers, and r/technology, with more than 6 million subscribers. abrownn asked only to be known by their username.
All the moderators interviewed confirmed they had received death threats, which they said can take a toll.
"Even if you're having the best day, reading a message like 'I'm going to kill you' or 'walk in front of a bus,' is shitty," said Robert Allam, Chief Marketing Officer at Supload, an online sharing platform. Known by his username, GallowBoob, Allam moderates r/tifu ("today I fucked up"), where more than 13 million subscribers share their schadenfreude anecdotes, and r/oddlysatisfying, where 1.8 million subscribers post content that is inexplicably satisfying to watch.
Reddit overtook Facebook this year to become the third most popular website in the US, behind Google and YouTube. At its best, Reddit is a place where people discuss topics with other like-minded individuals; there are subreddits devoted to just about any topic imaginable -- there's even one for people who like to Photoshop human arms onto pictures of birds.
At its worst, Reddit is awash with sexist threads, spam and threats. It's down to an army of dedicated volunteer moderators to keep Reddit clean -- and they too often get caught in the crossfire.
