Reddit on line ban freedom if speech.

Any comments?

As far as I'm concerned this issue is still open for debate, but silencing those who disagree with you just seems too far.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/reddit-science-s-ban-on-climate-change-denial-posts-rears-its-head-again/

Reply 1

username207685

1

Original post by MatureStudent36

Any comments?

As far as I'm concerned this issue is still open for debate, but silencing those who disagree with you just seems too far.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/reddit-science-s-ban-on-climate-change-denial-posts-rears-its-head-again/

"It's not that we have it out for climate science deniers as much as it is our subreddit reflects the current scientific consensus in the form of only allowing peer-reviewed material from reputable journals, which almost completely excludes climate science denial given the overwhelming agreement in the scientific community on this subject," writes Inri137, a Reddit Science moderator.

Also, there's an important distinction you're missing: Reddit hasn't de facto banned climate change denial by requiring peer reviewed citations, a specific subreddit has. There is another large subreddit specifically dedicated to climate change denial where people can post as many blog posts as they like.

http://www.reddit.com/r/climateskeptics/

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 2

Captain Haddock

18

I wouldn't expect to be able to post astrology or phrenology on /r/science so I don't see why climate change denialism should be allowed.

Reply 3

pjm600

18

If it's only being banned on the grounds that the posters aren't citing sources, then fair enough, sounds like they would still allow properly sourced 'skeptic' posts.

Reply 4

Aj12

18

"The policy has actually been in effect at Reddit Science for about a year. Moderators noticed that many posts denying climate change were not related to peer-reviewed research, which is a requirement of all submissions to the Reddit Science site, Allen told the climate section of the blog ThinkProgress"

Struggling to see an issue here?

Reply 5

Coffinman

8

Peer related material can be equally flawed especially considering the bias in the system.

Reply 6

username1315644

17

Its not exactly a ban on climate change denial its a ban on posting rubbish and writing it off as science. If you can find a peer reviewed piece on climate change denial then you could post it. As said, you won't find many if any of them because they won't make it through a peer review journal because its rubbish.

Its actually a real problem across scientific fields, people using 'science' as a thin veneer of credibility. My personal favourite is to take failed scientist from another field and then use them as some kind of figurehead with the title Dr. giving their points some weight.

Reply 7

anarchism101

17

Reddit hasn't banned anything here, a specific subreddit has. Virtually all subreddits ban posts that aren't about their particular topic, because that's what they're for.

Reply 8

thunder_chunky

19

Original post by MatureStudent36

Any comments?

As far as I'm concerned this issue is still open for debate, but silencing those who disagree with you just seems too far.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/reddit-science-s-ban-on-climate-change-denial-posts-rears-its-head-again/

Perhaps but perhaps they are not obligated to adhere to freedom of speech if it's a privately owned site. Of course it would be wise to in order to maintain popularity.

Reply 9

Quady

20

Original post by MatureStudent36

Any comments?

As far as I'm concerned this issue is still open for debate, but silencing those who disagree with you just seems too far.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/reddit-science-s-ban-on-climate-change-denial-posts-rears-its-head-again/

Private organisation, they can do what they want surely?

Reply 10

MatureStudent36

OP

5

Original post by Quady

Private organisation, they can do what they want surely?

Like the Christian hotel owners who didn't want gays staying at their hotel?

Reply 11

Pastaferian

17

Original post by MatureStudent36

Any comments?
As far as I'm concerned this issue is still open for debate, but silencing those who disagree with you just seems too far.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/reddit-science-s-ban-on-climate-change-denial-posts-rears-its-head-again/

Think of it as a spam filter. Given that the remit of that subreddit is science, it seems reasonable to restrict posts just to science.

Reply 12

username1221160

19

The rationale behind the ban seems entirely reasonable.

Reply 13

RF_PineMarten

18

It's a good idea. This is not a freedom of speech issue, it's scientific discussion and if what you're bringing to the table isn't science, it does not belong in the science section. As far as I can tell, the ban's there to make sure that stuff doesn't get passed off as "science" when it isn't, and to stop misleading cherry picking of data.

Reply 14

InnerTemple

20

Original post by MatureStudent36

Like the Christian hotel owners who didn't want gays staying at their hotel?

Quady may have meant "Private organisation, they can do what they want (within the law) surely?"

In any event - I don't see the issue. It all seems very reasonable to me.

Reddit on line ban freedom if speech.

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