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Comment by spindritf | Hacker News Reader

BipolarBear0 is a name I recognize from reddit. He's always there, and on Snoonet (unofficial Reddit IRC network).

Now, he could be a plant but more likely he's just another kid power-tripping on Reddit over some silly policy. If you scan subs like the mentioned /r/subredditdrama, or /r/shitredditsays, you can see how deeply people are invested into what others say in throw-away comments on the Internet. Off-colour jokes can lead to discussions with hundreds of participants across multiple subreddits.

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BipolarBear0 has stated that he's an independent contractor for the DoD: http://reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/1z0zao/reddit_mods_bu...

Well, then. That suggests, at the very least, partisanship - which has no place in news moderation unless you're an overtly partisan outlet. To be clear, I don't mean partisan in the traditional GOP/dem fashion, rather pro-apparatus and anti-apparatus. It also means easy contact with intel types - he may not even realise that he's being influenced, if he is.

No it doesn't. Speaking as someone who was a contractor for many years, I find your presumption annoying.

Sorry - but I can't understand how you would work for an organisation you yourself find ethically objectionable?

If memory serves, Edward Snowden was a government DoD and intelligence contractor.

I wouldn't say it suggests partisanship, though it does raise the flag and wave it around a little bit.

You do realize he's being sarcastic, right?

Given what other mods have to say, power - and ego tripping seem to have a big part to do with it:

"“We are the official news board of the Front Page of the Internet. We have rules.””

Official?

Front Page of the Internet?

Both parts of that statement have merits.

/r/news is one of the default subreddits, and, well, it's about news.

And reddit's official motto is "The Front Page of the Internet".

Despite that, I feel that removing the Greenwald story wasn't warranted.

> he's just another kid power-tripping on Reddit over some silly policy

The primary purpose of the subreddit moderators is to enforce the rules. If the moderator does not enforce this so-called "silly policy" then he is not doing his job.

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