Statement by TheHat2:

r/TumblrInAction and r/SocialJusticeInAction were always controversial communities. It's natural that they would attract the sort of negative reputations that they did. But we're not here to talk about that, because if you're reading this, you're likely well aware of what these subs were.

We didn't receive any notification that these subs were in danger over the last few months. When the admins did come knocking, we hired new mods, changed up our automoderator, and made sure to keep the report queue as clean as possible. The admins were fine with this, though they refused to answer some questions we had about the lines between hate speech and genuinely-held opinions. We still believe we didn't do anything to warrant these bans, as we enforced the Global Rules as written. It'd be easy to say that a sub like r/AgainstHateSubreddits was responsible for these bans (and I do think they are somewhat responsible, given the penchant for report-bombing), but I instead think these bans—which were simultaneous—were just inevitable based on the direction that Reddit is heading.

Reddit had previously said that controversial communities would be quarantined, but it looks like that's just not happening anymore. Reddit also said they would work with moderators to ensure that communities had an opportunity to change before being banned. Given that a number of other communities have been banned in a similar matter recently, without communication from the admins, we can determine that this is also untrue.

Now here's where I talk about the trend: trans politics. r/TumblrInAction and r/SocialJusticeInAction were cut from a similar cloth, one that also begat r/KotakuInAction, which was not banned. Why? Because they're enforcing a rule where mention of trans people at all is forbidden. This, combined with bans of subs like r/XenogenderCringe, r/XenoAndNeoCringe, and r/AreTheXenosOK, leads me to believe that Reddit is going scorched earth on anything that invalidates or merely questions the current progressive line for trans politics: "A trans person is who they say they are, you do not get to debate that."

With controversies in the public sphere like the participation of trans athletes in sports, trans kids being given puberty blockers, drag shows, "Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria," and so on, I believe it's important for there to be a space to have discussions about these issues, and that might be tough for some people to deal with. But I believe in a marketplace of ideas, and trying to run a marketplace like a monopoly, saying that one idea must be affirmed before any discussion takes place, means that true discourse is dead. Reddit used to posture itself as a site for honest discussions, but in its hasty efforts to protect certain identities, has become an avenue for restrictions, and a place where a controversial opinion doesn't get you downvoted, it gets you banned. And let's be clear—there's a difference between controversial opinions and hate speech. They are not the same thing.

As a result of these bans, and this shift in Reddit enforcement, the continued lack of communication, and the tiptoeing around questions about where exactly the lines are drawn at the nature of "hateful conduct," I worry for the future of Reddit. I created the sub r/CulturalDivide last year as a place where these tough conversations could be had in a neutral space, but now I fear that it's only a matter of time before it goes down, purely because some people there have opinions that others object to. And I understand, it's hard to balance the principles of free speech while ensuring that hatred doesn't have a place to thrive. r/SocialJusticeInAction, in its early days, was nearly taken over by Stormfront before we had to act. So I really do understand having to maintain that balance. The problems start when you don't make an effort to balance the two sides anymore. Maybe this is more about the state of discourse worldwide than on Reddit itself. Or maybe Reddit is doing this out of an abundance of caution before their IPO. I don't know. But I don't like it.

Anyway, RIP TiA, RIP SJiA. You were fun while y'all lasted.

I'll likely have more to say later.