Is Reddit Ethical?

Kate Knibbs

November 1, 2012

https://www.digitalethics.org/essays/reddit-ethical

 "Reddit and Weep"  

First Impression:

As far as I am concerned when it comes to Reddit nowadays, I don't see as ethical nowadays, especially since I have been seeing and hearing a whole lot of ethical issues with it like racism or discrimination against certain communities.

Quote: 

"Anonymity is not a legal right when someone enters a public arena, and Reddit’s forums are not subject to the same privacy expectations as e-mails."

Reflection Proper: 

Online communities are mostly the same as offline ones these days, especially when it comes to certain "similarities" or topics in mind. Reddit, a massively popular online community, is not much like online communities nowadays, for it's still old-fashioned compared to the new ones, and frankly, it still draws in over 18 million users per month. Unfortunately, as online communities or websites go, Reddit, in this case, is currently way over its head involving a certain controversy: people who use this website technically discusses topics inappropriate online to view such as rape and incest to name a few, and not to mention the fact that Reddit has a framework in which user avatars are not specifically meant to lead clues to personal info or who are the offline identities involved. I do know certain websites like Pinterest and Tumblr banned certain posts and images that are inappropriate nowadays like nudes or even pictures of someone's sex organs, but when it comes to Reddit, it has the opposite. Eventually this become apparent: Reddit's ethics are not being followed due to the fact that many users and moderators abuse the right to discuss and post inappropriate and distasteful but perfectly legal topics under anonymity. This, as I see it, is really problematic: for one, the users are really abusing anonymity, and honestly though, when someone anonymous goes public, it doesn't count as "anonymous" technically; it's just being a major show-off. Free speech or information nowadays should be treated with the utmost respect, and "anonymous" user should be just really "anonymous", and not just being some kind of major league show-off who is carelessly sending clues to who he or she is which is similar to that as painting a bulls-eye on his or her back or a shirt that says something about him or her that is private. Also when it comes to websites to Reddit, my advice is this: take action and responsibility for teaching everyone who uses your services the right way to use your website, and also not to give them open opportunities to use your services in such an inappropriate, rude, unprofessional, discriminate, and unethical manner. 

5 Things Learned From Article: 

1. I learned about Reddit's unethical issues.

2. I learned about the differences between Reddit and modern-day online communities.

3. I learned that people online are not following ethics when it comes to online communities such as discussing topics like rape and incest in a unprofessional manner.

4. I learned about certain terms like "doxing".

5. I learned about the specific issue involving Reddit's ethics which is about abusing the "right to discuss and post distasteful but perfectly legal things with the right to do so under the veil of anonymity".

5 Integrative Questions:

1. Do you use online communities like Reddit? 

2. What's your opinion about online discussions involving certain topics like rape and incest?

3. How do you feel about online community sites banning certain topics?

4. What's your take on Reddit's issue involving discussing tasteful but legal topics under anonymity?

5. How do you tend to solve Reddit's issue?