Some background context:
There are two warring factions on /r/metanarchism. Although it's not really clear cut, as most users fall into a spectrum.
Before anyone comments, yes Anarchists can have the rules, don't confuse anarchism with chaos. The point is that rules are consensual and avoid hierarchy
However for the purposes of this recap, you need to know that there is :
Group A (The Power Users)
Known to themselves: Defenders of Minorities and the oppressed,
Known to others: Over-reacting authoritarian cult
Group A's approach to moderation is to “Ban first and ask questions later” Group A recognise the power or words and idea to be oppressive and thus advocate for extremly strict moderation. Many users on /r/anarchism think this is a good policy because it protects minority users from abusive language and ideas. Group A claims that /r/anarchism is under attack from trolls and thus strong moderation is needed. They are also keen to ban people who disagree with them on moderation policy, citing that those people are trolling the sub
Group A hold most of the power in /r/anarchism, not through a majority support in the main sub, but because they are the most present group in /r/metanarchism, which is where things like voting for new mods and bans happen. The case used to be that all bans were voted on with proposals and had to be shown to be breaking the “Anti Oppression Policy”, although as time wore on this had slipped and moderators now may ban anyone they choose if they feel they are being reactionary.
Notable users include Flaxrabbit, Enkara, Emma, The mermaid (mods), volcanoclosto, boilerpunx, indignatory, Vindalfr,
Group B (The Dissenters)
Known to themselves: Moderation critics
Known to others: Concern trolls
Group B aren't as grouped as Group A, but they often align to critise the moderation policy. Most people in this faction are in favour of more open moderation. Some are opposed to banning and deletion all together, while others say that the moderators have gone beyond their remit of banning trolls and are banning people who have different ideas to them, even if those ideas are not oppressive.
Group B hold very little power, because they are less of a voting bloc, and there opposition to banning means that in the back and forth, they lost out, because Group A would also vote to Ban members of Group B, but Group B were mostly opposed to banning, so never called for group A members to be banned. This meant that over time, users from Group B gradually faded out, until we reached the present day, where they are severly underwhelmed.
Notable users include Hannibal Lecturer, Min_Thamee, Burtzev, Reaganveg, throwtherockback,
Last months recap:
http://www.reddit.com/r/SubredditDrama/comments/2y7h6r/recap_and_ongoingmetanarchism_flares_up_with/
So, onwads with this month's Drama Recap
We ended last week with a ban thread for /u/reaganveg by /u/needstrangersadvice, on the ground of “participating in bad faith. The thread blew up and many stepped in to voice their opinions:
if half of the mods didn't have a grudge against reaganveg themselves the thread would have been already been removed because you can't keep posting ban threads about people you dislike and hope one passes
Fuck off you disingenuous piece of shit
Ultimately the ban fails to reach the 2/3 majority to pass and Reaganveg is saved from expulsion
Round 2:
/u/min_thamee opposes a banof /u/flossdaily, a user who participated in /r/mensrights, but also considered themselves a feminist.
Min_thamee then makes the mistake of taking the issue to the main sub, making a post asking for feminist friendly men's issues subreddits https://np.reddit.com/r/Anarchism/comments/2ys9zr/can_we_talk_about_progressive_mens/
This sets of the members of group A, who make a ban thread for Min_thamee
Min Thamee is accused of being an MRA and also a racist too for posting an article about “white genocide in South africa. They deny both of the charges
“He was banned before for posting a link bemoaning "white genocide." he's had so many warnings and so many attempts at explanation.”
“This is a lie...I said that although white supremacy is the main force of global racism, there also exist other forms of racism/discrimination based on perceived race.”
With 56.4% this proposal does not pass
Round 3
5 days later, Min_thamee makes a post in /r/anarchism, in which he says that some MRAs have fallen in wth a bad crowd' and that anarchists should do more to educate them against misogyny rather than always ban them from spaces.
“there can be different tacticals approaches to smashing MRA culture
This sets of moderator Enkara again, who posts a ban thread in meta for Min Thamee, also noting some of the posts they made in meta about process as grounds for a ban
Now here's where it get's interesting
moderator /u/sync0pate, who is the top mod on /r/anarchism and who normally stays out of these disputes, pulls Enkara's ban thread commenting
This is fucking ridiculous. This is bringing up stuff that has happened over multiple accounts to repeatedly try and hammer through a ban that has been voted against plenty of times.
The small amount of stuff you've referred to that min_thamee has done since the ban is saying that some MRA's have "fallen in with a bad crowd".. I don't see what the problem with that is? It's likely true..
The other things you've brought up are just moderation votes that you disagree with. I'm pulling this, for that reason.
Enkara responds by banning Min Thamee herself, to which
Sync0pate then removes Enkara as mod and reinstates Min_thamee
Moderator the Mermaid, then makes a thread asking for Synopate to stand down.
“don't have anything against you personally, I just think you are being too authoritarian towards the rest of the mods. I”
The irony of an r/anarchism mod using the "you're authoritarian" argument in this situation is hilarious.
Eventuallt Enkara ends up being reinstated as mod, and the grumblings continue. Will the mods succeed in banning the dissenters? Will they ever get around to rebooting the subreddit? Everything's still to play for in the cringe fest that is western anarchists arguing about policy!
Thanks for reading
ここには何もないようです