I really didn’t think it was possible, but as a long time lurker who just created an account I have to ask…why is the Fediverse even more Draconian with bans and moderation than Reddit?
Even slightly right of center will get you banned and ostracized. Why is it so hard to find a non left leaning place on the Internet? ANY challenge to prevailing orthodoxy to the dogmatic views of leftism will have you cast to the Hinterlands.
Why is it like this?
Some examples might be…if someone were to say (not me of course great overlords!)
“You know I am not sure socially or transitioning children via pharmaceuticals is that great”
Or
“You know I kind of feel Israel has a right to defend itself ya know?”
BAN! BAN YOU F****! Say the mods.
If those topics are off limits why does the opposing view get spammed non stop? As long as I am Anti Trump, anti Religion, Anti Israel, Ani Biology…I’m good ya know?
But the MOMENT I say something that even SMELLS like an opposing view from the leftist religion?
BAN!
Even posting a Fox News article in the News areas will get your post removed…with a ban of course.
What kind of stupid s*** is this? Is the Fediverse just a safe space for leftists because of what happened to Twitter?
No central oversight. Reddit can theoretically remove the worst of the worst, but the same doesn’t apply on the fediverse. Not across instances at least. Theoretically that lack of control is why we have defederation, but no one is going to defederate over some mods being extra draconian.
As for why it’s even at a similar level to Reddit in the first place, it’s because despite the fediverse’s superiority complex, moderation on Reddit is organic, and so it is here. It’s not like Reddit tells them to be the way they are, moderators choose to be that way. And there’s no reason why they would choose to be different on the fediverse.
I think it’s worth remembering that people who seek the power of authority aren’t usually the best people. I’m not saying this applies to all moderators, but those that become moderators for the power it gives them aren’t going to be friends, no matter which platform they’re on. It’s not like the platform makes them bad, it just enables them by giving them the power.
There ARE right wing Lemmy instances. They’re just usually defederated by the ones leaning left. There’s also /r/conservative on Reddit.
This one is definitely a big problem imo. Like, I’m not in the pro-Israel camp, but I think it’s clear this side of the fediverse is currently an echo chamber that isn’t welcoming to opposing voices, especially on that topic. But also in regards to others like AI.
Reddit is a lot better in that regard. I think there is a point to fighting disinformation and bad faith actors, but that’s not reasoning if you then allow one side’s disinformation (like the whole “AI is completely useless” narrative which is just factually false, it’s being abused for tasks it’s wildly unsuited for, but that doesn’t make it useless for what it’s designed to do) or tolerate complete faith into your side’s propaganda.
Imo this is a big barrier to the fediverse currently. I can’t in good faith recommend the fediverse to people whom I know to be right-leaning, because I know they’re going to have a bad time here.
I do think a ban is excessive unless you’re a repeat offender, but… it makes sense to ban articles from a self-proclaimed entertainment network which only idiots would take as news (Fox News’s official position as argued in court, not my opinion) from a News community.