Back in 2018, I was reporting posts just because they made me mad

Honestly, I used to flag comments on a big forum for being 'hate speech' if they just disagreed with me on politics. The moment I knew I was wrong was when my own post about a local protest got removed for 'inciting violence' when it was just a news link. Tbh, it was the same vague rule I'd been hiding behind. Has anyone else had a platform turn their own rules against them like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

angelac632mo ago

My local paper's forum in 2019 had this rule about "civility." I reported a guy for calling the mayor a clown, just because I liked the mayor. Two days later, my comment about potholes got zapped for "uncivil tone" because I said the road crew was taking a long nap. It was the exact same kind of snark I'd reported. Felt like the rulebook just bit me right back.

ryan_clark4020d ago

Shows how these rules just end up being weapons for whoever uses them first. You set a standard by reporting that guy, and then they turned right around and used that same standard on you. It's like giving the mods a cudgel and telling them to swing it at whoever they feel like. The whole thing with online civility rules is they never apply evenly. Someone who agrees with the mods gets away with more, and anyone they don't like gets hammered. You basically helped build the cage they locked you in.

joseph_johnson2mo ago

My town's Facebook group had a similar rule last year. I got a little too happy reporting people who were rude about the new park design. Then I posted that the recycling schedule was made by someone who can't read a calendar. Got a warning within an hour. I basically taught them how to catch me. It's like handing someone the stick they use to whack you with later.