Method offers more complete blocking of online abusers.
Reddit, the general interest messaging board with a penchant for cat photos, offers users a platform for voicing opinions, sharing news and posting just about anything.
But according to Chris Slowe, one of the company’s founders, that openness can sometimes lead to spamming, trolling and harassment.
As a result, the San Francisco-based company recently launched a new blocking tool that allows people to crack down on offensive, harassing comments from trolls and other abusers.
Founded in 2005 as a digital forum and a haven for free speech, Reddit has been criticized for allowing personal attacks against users. By adding the blocking feature, Reddit hopes the site will become more mainstream like Facebook and Twitter and, ultimately, attract more advertisers. Currently, more than 240 million visitors go to the site monthly, compared to Facebook’s 1.6 billion.
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This isn’t Reddit’s first blocking tool, but it’s the most comprehensive. Last year, it started prohibiting certain content, including comments inciting violence or provocative posts involving minors. With this new tool, instead of just deleting offensive messages, Redditors can now make all of the blocked user’s posts and comments invisible to them. The blocked user will not know they’ve been blocked, and their posts will still be viewable by other users.
The new tool, which is available to all registered users, could also thwart online abuse beyond Reddit. Negative rhetoric sometimes seeps into other social media sites, as well as favorite troll locales such as 4chan and 8chan.
Not all Redditors are happy with the new tool. Purists supportive of unrestricted dialogue argue the blocking feature suppresses open communication. Five hours after the tool’s launch, the site had more than 2,300 comments about the feature, some praising it but many opposing it.
Reddit officials acknowledged that while shifting the site away from its roots can be difficult, they had to do what is best for the messaging board long term. The number of offensive posts is tiny compared with the tens of thousands that weigh in on everything from celebrities to entertainment to food.
