What is Reddit account scrubbing/washing? - eviltoast

I keep reading that former users of reddit are scrubbing their old accounts out of spite. So I wanted to know- What is it? Why are people doing it? Does it actually hurt reddit? What are some good bots that will do it for you?

  • Wolf Link 🐺@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I can’t speak for everyone else, but to me personally, it’s because I’m not okay with u/spez making cash with my years of unpaid volunteer work while simultaneously spitting in the face of every content creator and half the userbase. NGL, It sucks that this action hurts the community the most, as redditors now no longer have access to the removed content, but “just leaving” while the content remains intact and public means that u/spez can just shrug it off and continue the shitshow undisturbed. He didn’t get the hint during the blackout - maybe he’ll get the hint once the site is exclusively filled with trolls, bots and scammers and devoid of actually interesting stuff.

    Long story short, a website is only as interesting as the content it offers, and if you take the content away, you remove the incentive for people to visit said site.

    • lagomorphlecture@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      He (and everyone else involved in these decisions) don’t care if anything interesting remains on the site. They only care if they make $$$ but scrubbing should help with that…

      • Wolf Link 🐺@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Oh I’m well aware that he doesn’t care aboutt he content or its creators - he made that clear with his reaction to the protests. But redditors care whether or not the site they’re visiting has answers to their questions, funny memes, guides, advice, interesting stories, stunning art etc. and if that goes away, redditors don’t have a reason to visit reddit, and that in turn hurts the ad revenue. Less content, less clicks, less cash for u/spez, fewer investors interested in the “dumpster fire formerly known as reddit”.