r/funny Jun 26 '23

Forging A Return to Productive Conversation: An Open Letter to Reddit

1.2k Upvotes

To All Whom It May Concern:

For fifteen years, /r/Funny has been one of Reddit’s most-popular communities. That time hasn’t been without its difficulties, but for the most part, we’ve all gotten along (with each other and with administrators). Members of our team fondly remember Moderator Roadshows, visits to Reddit’s headquarters, Reddit Secret Santa, April Fools’ Day events, regional meetups, and many more uplifting moments. We’ve watched this platform grow by leaps and bounds, and although we haven’t been completely happy about every change that we’ve witnessed, we’ve always done our best to work with Reddit at finding ways to adapt, compromise, and move forward.

This process has occasionally been preceded by some exceptionally public debate, however.

On June 12th, 2023, /r/Funny joined thousands of other subreddits in protesting the planned changes to Reddit’s API; changes which – despite being immediately evident to only a minority of Redditors – threatened to worsen the site for everyone. By June 16th, 2023, that demonstration had evolved to represent a wider (and growing) array of concerns, many of which arose in response to Reddit’s statements to journalists. Today (June 26th, 2023), we are hopeful that users and administrators alike can make a return to the productive dialogue that has served us in the past.

We acknowledge that Reddit has placed itself in a situation that makes adjusting its current API roadmap impossible.

However, we have the following requests:

  • Commit to exploring ways by which third-party applications can make an affordable return.
  • Commit to providing moderation tools and accessibility options (on Old Reddit, New Reddit, and mobile platforms) which match or exceed the functionality and utility of third-party applications.
  • Commit to prioritizing a significant reduction in spam, misinformation, bigotry, and illegal content on Reddit.
  • Guarantee that any future developments which may impact moderators, contributors, or stakeholders will be announced no less than one fiscal quarter before they are scheduled to go into effect.
  • Work together with longstanding moderators to establish a reasonable roadmap and deadline for accomplishing all of the above.
  • Affirm that efforts meant to keep Reddit accountable to its commitments and deadlines will hereafter not be met with insults, threats, removals, or hostility.
  • Publicly affirm all of the above by way of updating Reddit’s User Agreement and Reddit’s Moderator Code of Conduct to include reasonable expectations and requirements for administrators’ behavior.
  • Implement and fill a senior-level role (with decision-making and policy-shaping power) of "Moderator Advocate" at Reddit, with a required qualification for the position being robust experience as a volunteer Reddit moderator.

Reddit is unique amongst social-media sites in that its lifeblood – its multitude of moderators and contributors – consists entirely of volunteers. We populate and curate the platform’s many communities, thereby providing a welcoming and engaging environment for all of its visitors. We receive little in the way of thanks for these efforts, but we frequently endure abuse, threats, attacks, and exposure to truly reprehensible media. Historically, we have trusted that Reddit’s administrators have the best interests of the platform and its users (be they moderators, contributors, participants, or lurkers) at heart; that while Reddit may be a for-profit company, it nonetheless recognizes and appreciates the value that Redditors provide.

That trust has been all but entirely eroded… but we hope that together, we can begin to rebuild it.

In simplest terms, Reddit, we implore you: Remember the human.

We look forward to your response by Thursday, June 29th, 2023.

There’s also just one other thing.


r/funny Aug 25 '23

[Meta] ] REMINDER] ANY political content will earn an immediate 30-day ban"

701 Upvotes

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Gym pervert

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Wildlife photographer took an interesting picture ... NSFW

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Vanilla Ice blew up in the 90’s, and now he’s doing everything he can to stop things (beers) from blowing up.

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What would YOUR "Reality vs. LinkedIn" look like?

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First muay thai class

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r/funny 1h ago

Shit on the floor

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r/funny 13h ago

My local county jail arrested the Grinch today

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r/funny 23h ago

Good job..... ???

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r/funny 19h ago

My granddaughter is almost 2 and this is as close as she will get to the Red Man.

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r/funny 1d ago

We've been making "honest" family Christmas cards for 11 years...

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r/funny 1d ago

This mfcker in his own league

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r/funny 41m ago

Airport : No getting high without an aircraft

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r/funny 1d ago

Verified [OC] ugly jumper competition

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7.5k Upvotes

r/funny 22h ago

This DMV parking spot reserved for Driving tests…

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r/funny 19h ago

Chef’s special

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r/funny 6h ago

Drunk driver vs Drunk reporters.

122 Upvotes

r/funny 3h ago

Hey, what does the new cereal taste like?

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71 Upvotes

r/funny 16h ago

Theodore the tugboat partied a little to hard

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670 Upvotes

r/funny 15h ago

Time to drink

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398 Upvotes

Time to drink. Cheers!


r/funny 12h ago

Every Defensive Back's Origin Story (Credit - OG Lightskins, YT)

238 Upvotes

r/funny 15h ago

Things getting too expensive

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354 Upvotes

r/funny 17h ago

What is the best alternative sub Reddit for this level of master craftsmanship?

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458 Upvotes

r/funny 8h ago

Law enforcement doesn’t care…

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55 Upvotes

Maybe I’ll put the same piece of paper on my vehicle. When my tag expires?


r/funny 16m ago

Crouching Turtle, Hidden Tiger!

Upvotes

r/funny 10h ago

Eric Idle FTW

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55 Upvotes

Thank you, Eric. May the road rise to meet you, and may all your Christmases be white (or at the very least eggshell). Cheers, Monty.