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I don't understand this reasoning.

For a moment, assume you're a Facebook user.

There's been a rash of reporting on cyber-bullying via Facebook lately - with some tragic cases of youngsters committing suicide from the despicable actions of their online torturers.

Do you intend to renounce your Facebook account also?

What reasonable person would associate you with this type of deplorable behavior because you are also a Facebook user?

If someone who is so ignorant that they would associate you with cyber-bullying simply because you're also a Facebook user, would you really care about the opinion of this person, and would their opinion actually matter?

There will always be a particularly ignorant portion of the population that will conflate membership in a group with the actions of a subgroup. This has been true for rock music, MySpace, Facebook, rap music, goths, homosexuality, and beyond. Why pander to these individuals and let their ignorance dictate your actions?

I can understand the angle of "I find this content disgusting, and I am disappointed that Reddit is not taking a hard stance against it" - if that's your position, I get you 100%. But the whole association thing I don't get.

Facebook does not publicly tolerate the use of their service to harass minors. Does this memo from the Reddit CEO sound like something Zuckerberg would say? It doesn't to me.

My understanding is that the overwhelming majority of "jailbait" images that were posted on Reddit came from Facebook by way of 4chan (or at least that's what violentacrez, the mod of the now closed /r/jailbait subreddit, claims). Yesterday Facebook suggested I Like the "Sexy Teenagers" group (which had 49k Likes). Facebook is hardly a good example of place that isn't allowing the sexualization of minors.

It would come down to whether Facebook had done anything about the problem or not. If Facebook had said "that's free speech and we're leaving it alone" then I would have been upset and wanted to take action (which might have meant deleting my Facebook account).

I do think a lot of the content that's been talked about is disgusting. I'm not disappointed that reddit is not taking a hard stance on the matter. They have decided to uphold a notion of free speech, but given that the site will be associated with this content in the mind of the general public I would rather not be part of it.

> given that the site will be associated with this content in the mind of the general public I would rather not be part of it

This is why pseudonymity is so crucial. Lack of it is a recipe for getting our civilization stuck on popular, noncontroversial ideas. There could be some validity to content you are pressured to publicly shun (though I acknowledge underwear pictures are not a good example).

Yes. And had I chosen to use a pseudonym on reddit rather than my real identity, then I doubt I would have deleted my account because I would not have felt that I was anyway associated with the content.

It looks like you're from the UK. Are you going to renounce your citizenship since your government has done such awful things as attacking countries like Iraq? By your logic, I should forever associate you with that decision and deride you for it.

No, but in the UK I get to vote on what my government does. The closest thing to a 'vote' I have with reddit is whether I have an account or not.

Why are you still online then? The same rational can easily be applied to the Internet in place of reddit. Why are you still using the Internet?

If someone were to compile a list of distasteful websites using Cloudflare would it help you quit working there to prevent you being associated with that content?

Isn't the most famous and distasteful image board using CF?

I feel that CloudFlare is similar to a search engine, DNS provider, hosting company, domain registrar etc. in that we are providing a shared service and inevitably some users of that service will be things that I personally dislike.

As I mentioned above in an EDIT, the problem with reddit is that reddit sees itself as a group of subreddits which are different communities; everyone else sees reddit as a single entity. So, I don't want to be associated with the single entity that's supporting this content that I find distasteful.

I personally find these forms of witch hunts to censor free speech absolutely disgusting.

In my opinion people who support something like this, are in the same category as those who take up the forks and march against Google because of "certain" videos, that they feel offended by.

It is evidence of an absolutely intolerant, self-centered world view, that has in my view no place in a democratic society.

I'll be keeping my account, because there are several small subreddits I enjoy reading and participating in. That's the extent of my association with Reddit. I don't look at or comment on default subs, I don't make Reddit references in real life, I don't know who the current crop of Reddit 'celebrities' are.

There's a much better Reddit underneath all of the garbage that makes up 'default' Reddit. I don't really care what the public image of Reddit is, because nobody in real life knows or cares that I use it.

Were you posting in said distasteful subreddits?

No.

Then what are you worried about? Did you delete your Google account because Google links to distasteful content?

No, because I consider Google to be something closer to a 'common carrier' and it is to be expected that a great deal of material I don't like is accessible.

Does it mean that Google condones the material? I don't think so.

Google isn't a common carrier - the internet is a common carrier.

Having an account on one website linking to content is the same as having an account on another website linking to content.

I'd argue that the content on Reddit is, by percentage, less "distasteful" than what is on Google, but distasteful is a subjective term.

I've deleted my account for precisely the opposite reason.

Reddit sold out. Their latest statement on the /r/creepshots debacle is too little, too late. If they honestly believe in free speech, they should have weathered the /r/jailbait storm rather than giving into popular pressure.

Reddit is too big of a target to continue the free speech advocacy line. Back when it was a niche community that the press didn't care about, it might have worked, but not now.

I also considered this, but concluded it would be counter-productive.

These creepy subreddits have been allowed to exist for so long because users who disagreed decided to remain silent. They're only coming to light now because some Reddit users have decided to break their silence and speak out.

If you want to help clean up Reddit, then a six-year account is a useful asset.

I think it comes down to "what is distasteful?".

Compromising photos of teenagers published without their consent.

(I'd go further, but I feel like that's a bright line we should all be able to agree on).

It shouldn't be limited to minors. They had a field day with that old Gawker editor vs. Jimmy Kimmel video yesterday because she said people should understand that if they step outside of their house, they're subjecting themselves to ridicule. That is the exact same argument that r/creepshots supporters use.

It's illegal and has been removed.

I think you should be more embarrassed by this incredible overreaction than by any association with reddit, which has been responsible for huge fundraising events, record-breaking gift exchanges, AMAs from the POTUS, etc., etc.

If you're worried about your internet reputation, I feel like comments like this aren't helping.

Ditto. Time to fork and move on.