Page 9 | Why aren’t you banning the far-right agitators?

GoldMedallist · 2024-07-29T21:03:21+00:00

Deleting their posts but allowing them to keep inciting racial hatred under the same accounts is making the site unusable. Why should we keep reporting them if you’re not going to do anything meaningful about it?

Original poster

GoldMedallist · 02/08/2024 07:50

They remind me of those random men insisting you pay them attention in a public place. I’ll go with report and ignore.

OP posts:

VerySadCase · 02/08/2024 07:40

There are some awful posts on the Islamophobia thread. I'm amazed that they have been left to stand.

AccountCreateUsername · 02/08/2024 04:19

I like the grey rock idea too. And being very quick to report bad faith posters.

VerySadCase · 02/08/2024 01:10

GoldMedallist · 02/08/2024 01:01

I like the grey rock idea, can we just laugh at them instead of pointing out that they are racist? They love being called that, it launches them right into the next part of the script.

I don’t know.

I'm open to all suggestions.

We could just choose a random word. Something like cabbage.

Original poster

GoldMedallist · 02/08/2024 01:01

I like the grey rock idea, can we just laugh at them instead of pointing out that they are racist? They love being called that, it launches them right into the next part of the script.

I don’t know.

OP posts:

VerySadCase · 02/08/2024 00:56

GoldMedallist · 02/08/2024 00:43

It seems like the lazy way out and that appeals.

Or we could go with the grey rock approach and collectively agree a standard response that we can all post on every racist thread that pops up - calling it out as racist but not enering into any debate or giving them the satisfaction of actually engaging with them.

Something along the lines of This thread contains racist content so I am not willing to engage.

Over and over until they get bored of it?

Original poster

GoldMedallist · 02/08/2024 00:43

It seems like the lazy way out and that appeals.

OP posts:

VerySadCase · 02/08/2024 00:36

Excellent post from @RainbowZebraWarrior by the way.

And I'm interested in the suggestion from @GoldMedallist that they might go away if we stop feeding them. Are they posting to provoke a reaction, I wonder, and might it work to ignore them?

VerySadCase · 02/08/2024 00:32

I don't think I saw the threads that were quickly zapped, but that's really positive.

ThisOldThang · 01/08/2024 23:44

CassieMaddox · 01/08/2024 23:34

What is it with the strategy of strawman false equivalence questions? Just respond to the point at hand

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I'm genuinely interested in whether @RainbowZebraWarrior considers those things to be 'far right'.

This thread is titled 'Why aren’t you banning the far-right agitators?', so it seems entirely reasonable to establish what is considered to be 'far right'.

How is this a 'strategy of strawman false equivalence questions?' (which just seems to be a meaningless random word salad that's designed to shut down opposing views)

Original poster

GoldMedallist · 01/08/2024 23:35

In the meantime they can always just chat among themselves.

OP posts:

CassieMaddox · 01/08/2024 23:34

ThisOldThang · 01/08/2024 23:27

"We've been 'hearing' this far right shit all through the lead up to the Referendum, Brexit, UKIP, The Brexit Party, Reform."

Are you saying that you consider Brexit, ukip, The Brexit Party and Reform to be Far Right?

What is it with the strategy of strawman false equivalence questions? Just respond to the point at hand

Original poster

GoldMedallist · 01/08/2024 23:33

CassieMaddox · 01/08/2024 23:00

Idk. I've tried and it doesn't seem to work.
Increasingly I think we need to find a way to apply the paper based laws developed over millenia to the Internet

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Where there’s a will there’s a way.

OP posts:

ThisOldThang · 01/08/2024 23:27

"We've been 'hearing' this far right shit all through the lead up to the Referendum, Brexit, UKIP, The Brexit Party, Reform."

Are you saying that you consider Brexit, ukip, The Brexit Party and Reform to be Far Right?

PandoraSox · 01/08/2024 23:02

RainbowZebraWarrior · 01/08/2024 21:39

I remember feeling a similar simmering intent in 2016 (around the time Jo Cox was murdered)

I posted on a thread at the time that I felt I was 'swimming in a sea of hatred'

I received many replies (and DM's) that I was 'Over Reacting' as well as posts telling me to get off the Internet / stop watching the news / see a shrink / get help for my 'Anxiety' along with the usual 'You're a left wing loony' rhetoric.

I'm still here. I refuse to fade away. Yes, there have been times I've wanted to leave MN (I left Facebook around the same time. 2016 was a toxic year) but I feel strongly that my voice should be heard. I know I'm not alone. I know that the Far Right will always shout louder. I know that they will tell me that I haven't got a clue, that I don't understand, that the Far Left are just as bad. That they aren't heard. That is absolute bullshit. We've been 'hearing' this far right shit all through the lead up to the Referendum, Brexit, UKIP, The Brexit Party, Reform. The agitators know what they are doing, and they rejoice in it.

It Is Hatred. Pure and Simple.

The thing that pisses me off most is that those who are far right assume that anyone who disagrees with them is far left. It's a lazy argument.

Those people who have rioted in recent days have absolutely taken away from the cause of this atrocity. From the grief the parents have endured. They are selfish and I don't buy for a minute that they care about children. They care about themselves. They are selfish and utterly fueled by hatred.

This is such a good post. Thank you.❤️

CassieMaddox · 01/08/2024 23:00

GoldMedallist · 01/08/2024 22:57

If we stop feeding them will they go away?

Idk. I've tried and it doesn't seem to work.
Increasingly I think we need to find a way to apply the paper based laws developed over millenia to the Internet

Original poster

GoldMedallist · 01/08/2024 22:57

If we stop feeding them will they go away?

OP posts:

DuncinToffee · 01/08/2024 22:01

And it's gone, well done

SwedishEdith · 01/08/2024 22:01

Maybe the warning about social media responsibility has had some effect.

Piggywaspushed · 01/08/2024 21:58

Surely only bots can be that organised and quick?

DuncinToffee · 01/08/2024 21:57

SwedishEdith · 01/08/2024 21:46

They've just zapped a thread now within minutes of it appearing. Quite impressive.

And a new one popped up, assuming you meant a KS thread

SwedishEdith · 01/08/2024 21:46

They've just zapped a thread now within minutes of it appearing. Quite impressive.

RainbowZebraWarrior · 01/08/2024 21:39

I remember feeling a similar simmering intent in 2016 (around the time Jo Cox was murdered)

I posted on a thread at the time that I felt I was 'swimming in a sea of hatred'

I received many replies (and DM's) that I was 'Over Reacting' as well as posts telling me to get off the Internet / stop watching the news / see a shrink / get help for my 'Anxiety' along with the usual 'You're a left wing loony' rhetoric.

I'm still here. I refuse to fade away. Yes, there have been times I've wanted to leave MN (I left Facebook around the same time. 2016 was a toxic year) but I feel strongly that my voice should be heard. I know I'm not alone. I know that the Far Right will always shout louder. I know that they will tell me that I haven't got a clue, that I don't understand, that the Far Left are just as bad. That they aren't heard. That is absolute bullshit. We've been 'hearing' this far right shit all through the lead up to the Referendum, Brexit, UKIP, The Brexit Party, Reform. The agitators know what they are doing, and they rejoice in it.

It Is Hatred. Pure and Simple.

The thing that pisses me off most is that those who are far right assume that anyone who disagrees with them is far left. It's a lazy argument.

Those people who have rioted in recent days have absolutely taken away from the cause of this atrocity. From the grief the parents have endured. They are selfish and I don't buy for a minute that they care about children. They care about themselves. They are selfish and utterly fueled by hatred.

CassieMaddox · 01/08/2024 21:24

VerySadCase · 01/08/2024 19:58

Yes, I think there is an increasing number of posts that are deliberately worded in such a way as to avoid moderation while still making their racist points. They know how to play the game.

I just feel that what they're doing is so incredibly obvious and I really don't understand why MN doesn't just shut them down and ban those posters when they show what they're here for. I'm all in favour of a lively and robust debate - indeed, that is one of the things that I have always loved about MN - but you can't debate with hate because it isn't about evidence or logic.

I have no doubt that moderating these boards is a difficult job and I suppose they may be doing it in the way they think best. I did feel really sorry for them when things really started kicking off the other night as there were so many threads at once. I suppose I just feel constantly disappointed that they don't adopt more of a zero tolerance approach.

Edited

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but you can't debate with hate because it isn't about evidence or logic.

👏

CassieMaddox · 01/08/2024 21:23

PandoraSox · 01/08/2024 19:44

I guess having over 30,000 posts per day can make moderation hard, and there will be a massive uptick when there is a huge, traumatic event.

Recognising what is racist is perhaps a personal bar and I guess it is hard for MNHQ to draw where the line has been crossed?

I might see something as racist, MNHQ might see it as a robust viewpoint or something. The outright in your face racism is easy to spot. It is the insidious racism that can fly under the radar. But even then, there are words and phrases that are used which flag it up for what it really is. There have been a lot of those phrases used over the past few days!

Edited

Thats why I was wondering about an "I believe you" type strategy. We could talk about common racist myths and agree they aren't welcome here.

It would be more work for the mods though and maybe times have changed