
“Not Safe for Brand” (NSFB) or How Reddit Will Censor Controversial Content - neverminder
https://penetrate.blogspot.com/2018/01/not-safe-for-brand-nsfb-or-how-reddit.html
======
krapp
I don't understand the conspiratorial language here. The premise that
businesses "love leftist dogma" because it's "non-controversial" is farcical,
and an API flag marking something as unsafe for advertisement isn't
"censorship."

The slippery slope arguments being employed by certain people in defense of
"free speech" are starting to devolve into a swamp. I put free speech in
quotes there because I have little doubt, judging from the site's content and
my impression of the author's views, they would have no issue at all with
censorship of "leftists" and their speech.

~~~
CommieBobDole
One the one hand, as someone more or less on the left, I am a little concerned
with the political orthodoxy I see on the left, where there's a package of
"correct" ideas of varying quality, and disagreeing with or having varying
levels of enthusiasm about any of them is seen as almost worse than rejecting
them all entirely.

On the other hand, nearly everyone I see these days who talks about being
really passionate about free speech and preventing groupthink seems to be an
actual goddamned neo-Nazi whose idea of free speech is the right to scream
racial slurs at top volume into the faces of "libtard cucks" until they're
driven out of public spaces and they can resurrect the Third Reich without
interference.

~~~
existencebox
I realize your statement may be slightly hyperbolic, but I want to reassure
you there are many moderate/centrally leaning individuals passionate about
free speech and the power of questioning any status quo as a tool to seek
truth. (obviously not as many as I might desire, but...) This _cannot_ be an
issue that only becomes provenance of the worst kinds, because then it becomes
easy to dismiss. One need only be a student of history to see the importance
of the above for _breaking_ oppression and tyranny.

(Sorry, not to distract from the OP and the primary discussion, I just felt
strongly enough about the above statement to wave a "I promise we're out here"
flag.)

------
CommieBobDole
This is literally a flag for "this thing is uncontroversial enough that we can
display ads on it without the advertiser complaining". I don't see how this is
a problem for a commercial enterprise that makes its money from advertising.

I encourage anyone reading this to browse around the rest of the linked site
and decide for yourself whether the authors are driven by a sincere desire to
protect free speech for everyone on Reddit, or if maybe they have another
agenda in mind.

------
freeone3000
So the insidious actions here are that certain subreddits are going to be
manually reviewed, and marked as safe for large advertisers based on the
absence of objectionable content. And reddit has yet to make a public
announcement on this.

Cool? Seems like a sensical approach to monetization for me.

~~~
paulddraper
Choosing where to have your brand is really basic advertising stuff.

\---

That said, it's a little weird to have a global NSFB tag.

Safe for what brand? NRA? Ben & Jerry's? NFL? Chick-fil-a? Planned Parenthood?
Hooters? Disney? Communist Party USA?

It further coalesces a division between universally "acceptable, popular" and
universally "unacceptable, unpopular" thoughts.

~~~
freeone3000
There is already a global "nsfw" tag (applied per-post) for users to flag
content as potentially objectionable. I don't see this as a huge step beyond
that conceptually, it's the same thing with a different purpose.

~~~
paulddraper
But NSFW has a very well-understood definition: obscenity/gore. Obscenity is
even a matter of legal interest and gets tried in court.

NSFB is really, really mushy. It's a matter of marketing interest.

------
nazihunter1234
Umm ... if it wasn't already obvious, this guy is a nazi. See:

"But if I tell that obvious truth about the ongoing program of genocide
against my race, the white race, Liberals and respectable conservatives agree
that I am a naziwhowantstokillsixmillionjews. They say they are anti-racist.
What they are is anti-white."
[https://penetrate.blogspot.com/2016/02/americas-race-
problem...](https://penetrate.blogspot.com/2016/02/americas-race-problem.html)

See also: [https://penetrate.blogspot.com/2016/02/why-europe-is-
committ...](https://penetrate.blogspot.com/2016/02/why-europe-is-committing-
suicide.html) [https://penetrate.blogspot.com/2010/01/racist-word-
invented-...](https://penetrate.blogspot.com/2010/01/racist-word-invented-by-
ussrs-leon.html) [https://penetrate.blogspot.com/2016/11/an-alt-right-
search-e...](https://penetrate.blogspot.com/2016/11/an-alt-right-search-
engine.html) [https://penetrate.blogspot.com/2016/10/anonymous-email-is-
an...](https://penetrate.blogspot.com/2016/10/anonymous-email-is-anti-
semitism-new.html)

~~~
paulddraper
Where in those blog posts do you see that he is a member, ally, or ideological
proponent of the National Socialist German Workers' Party?

He's a nationalist, but explicitly rejects Nazism/neo-Nazism.

> Why the Future of Nationalism is Far from the Mess that is "White
> Nationalism"

> To my mind, it's a mistake to identify as pro-white or neo-Nazi when what we
> want is much simpler...That means that each nation rules itself, makes its
> own rules, and does so through culture instead of the bureaucratic
> governments that absorb infinite money, make crazy rules, become corrupt,
> and kick down your door in the night because you said something socially
> unpopular on Farcebook or Twitless.

> In my view, those who want to be "pro-white" should shift to this
> generalized nationalist program

[https://penetrate.blogspot.com/2013/11/why-future-of-
nationa...](https://penetrate.blogspot.com/2013/11/why-future-of-nationalism-
is-far-from.html)

EDIT: I definitely don't agree with his views; I'm just don't want HN to
devolve into factless name-calling/labeling. I wouldn't call indiscriminately
call anyone with far-left views "commies". We already have Reddit.

~~~
CommieBobDole
Thank you for your pedantry - You are indeed correct that the author of the
linked site does not appear to be a current member of a political party that
ceased to exist some 70+ years ago.

He or she does, however, appear to be a neo-Nazi, a white nationalist and a
white supremacist.

~~~
paulddraper
CommieBobDole, it's not pedantics; I simply saw his public denouncement of
white nationalism/white supremacy/neo-Nazism (while still supporting general
nationalism/cultural unity) and took it at face value.

If you disagree, you might explain why.

~~~
CommieBobDole
Here's an article from the site calling for less race-baiting because it's
harmful to the public perception of white nationalism, thereby hindering white
nationalists from reaching their goals:

[https://penetrate.blogspot.com/2015/05/you-can-fight-for-
rac...](https://penetrate.blogspot.com/2015/05/you-can-fight-for-racial-
nationalism.html)

Here's an article that suggests it's counterproductive to beat up gay people
because again, it's unpopular, and instead advocates that they be segregated
and their behavior outlawed as an unpleasant nuisance:

[https://penetrate.blogspot.com/2016/03/a-word-on-
homosexuals...](https://penetrate.blogspot.com/2016/03/a-word-on-
homosexuals.html)

Here's a link to a donation campaign being run by the organization "White
Revolution" with the context that if white nationalist groups were more
practical like this, the author would like them more.

[https://penetrate.blogspot.com/2011/04/unbelievable-white-
na...](https://penetrate.blogspot.com/2011/04/unbelievable-white-nationalists-
do.html)

Here is a link to a lighthearted funny meme about Anders Breivik, a neo-nazi
who murdered 77 people.

[https://penetrate.blogspot.com/2014/01/anders-breivik-
king-o...](https://penetrate.blogspot.com/2014/01/anders-breivik-king-of-all-
media.html)

The general tone of the site seems to be that of a white supremacist and neo-
nazi who believes that others who share his or her goals are not effective and
should adopt other tactics in order to achieve their aims.

If you're not able to see this, I have to question whether you've reviewed the
material your commenting on, or if you're incredibly politically naive, or if
perhaps your questioning is not entirely in good faith.

~~~
true_religion
So the author is calling for less violence against minorities, wants to remove
racist language from public discourse, but he must still be racist because he
does not totally condemn racists who happen to want the same goals as he does?

Not criticizing, I just want to know if this is a fair assessment. I do not
know how I feel about this in general, but in specific, his short term goal of
reducing violence makes him a more tollerable enemy.

~~~
krapp
> but he must still be racist because he does not totally condemn racists who
> happen to want the same goals as he does?

Yes, because those goals are racist.

He's racist because of his belief in and support for white nationalism and
racial segregation, and the genetic and cultural superiority of the white
race, and his definition of "western civilization" in purely (pun intended)
racial terms. He's racist because he views the presence of non-white people as
a form of pollution and believes in racist conspiracy theories like white
genocide.

Being racist and civil is still being racist.

~~~
paulddraper
I'm not sure "genetic superiority" is in his list of claims. But in any case,
going back to the original point, there's some real muddling of terminology
here.

Racist != Nazi

My great grandmother was racist. Woodrow Wilson was racist. Neither one was a
Nazi.

~~~
krapp
>My great grandmother was racist. Woodrow Wilson was racist. Neither one was a
Nazi.

Fair enough. Racist but not full Nazi.

------
notatoad
The mix of conspiracy theory and condescension in this article is really
obnoxious.

------
John_KZ
Reddit has already devolved into a forum for 15 year olds to post nonsense
jokes. Those of us who knew how reddit used to be and still occasionally visit
tend to stay away from the main subs and visit for very specific reasons.

We should make another forum-aggregator to replace reddit and it's terrible
moderation system, but it probably just won't get big enough.

~~~
Finch2193
I have been patiently waiting for an alternative to Reddit. In this time, I
have been reading books, and hacker news. Going back to Reddit feels like an
extreme regression.

Should I give up on the hope that one day we'll see another, better Reddit?
Digg died when they redesigned their site, I was hoping we'd see the same
thing with reddit, rinse and repeat...

~~~
elektor
There is an offshoot of Reddit that I frequent and enjoy, it was made by a
former Reddit dev: [https://blog.tildes.net/announcing-
tildes](https://blog.tildes.net/announcing-tildes)

I've got 2 more invites for those are that interested.

