There has been a substantial amount of miscommunication over the past few weeks regarding /r/anarchism and the mod team supposedly refusing to remove calls to violence or posts that incite violence. This is patently and demonstrably untrue. The moderator team removes explicit credible calls for violence as per reddit's terms of service, and as acknowledged by the admins themselves in modmail.

If you use ceddit you can see the mod team removing comments in violation of the rules, and this has been the standard for a while. The issue is we receive little to no clarification from the admins on this. While "Bash The Fash" by itself seems fine, the context to which it it considered not ok is vague and unclear. Emma___ and necrodisiac were banned for approving comments they thought were ok based on what the admins have told us. Hamjam5 was removed for approving a 600+ page book through the mod queue that has no recipes for anything like a molotov cocktail, and is indeed easily available in public libraries and bookshops across the world. It's frankly disheartening to hold moderators accountable for failing to uphold rules that are nebulous, badly defined and seem to vary depending on which subreddit one is in.

Compounded on this, /r/anarchism has been under constant brigade since the 15th of April. The traffic stats, which are public, can confirm this. Our report system is constantly flooded with fake reports, and accounts who have never posted before in the subreddit are making really obviously fake calls to violence.Even now, we have fascists and reactionaries lurking this sub and reporting whatever they think even so much as relates to breaking the rule of not inciting violence. We get reports almost daily about how our threads incite violence (usually these reports are inaccurate).

Reddit is not nor has it ever been a place to organize violent actions or to learn how to construct explosives. One disingenuous and disgruntled user, who since being banned for oppressive behavior months ago, has antagonized the subreddit constantly and is now constructing a wholly false and manipulative version of events in order to further personal goals.

This user is not only twisting the truth to portray a false version of events, but is now using this falsehood to petition the admins for control of the /r/Anarchism subreddit to install their own mod team, disregarding any semblance of direct control the users themselves currently have over their space. The /r/Anarchism mod team, while bound by Reddit's inherent hierarchy, works hard to stay accountable to the users and to keep as much direct control in your hands as possible.

The mod team is committed to preserving this space for anarchists all over the world to come together to share ideas and assemble peacefully for exchange and discussion. While we have previously attempted to work alongside the admins behind the scenes, it has become necessary to ask the userbase to adopt a sensible policy towards violent rhetoric to assist us in enforcing reddit's terms of service. The policy is as follows:

Calls to violence are against Reddit's rules. We want to delineate what IS and IS NOT acceptable for future reference.

Acceptable Content:

"Bash the Fash" - Originally used within the contexts of "gay bashing" and "Paki bashing" by violent far-right extremists, the term was appropriated by anarchists to refer to activities countering such actions, and was first used by bands like Oi Polloi. Bashing" can take many forms. Verbal bashing, theoretical bashing, "bashing" a fascist organization by disrupting it or completely taking it down. "Bashing" can be more than violence, and whenever the term is used here we understand you are using it in a way that advocates for non-violent direct action against fascists :)

Reporting On Violent Action - Reporting on violent protest, praxis, and direct action are totally acceptable. Since the Admins are okay with hosting a subreddit called r/watchpeopledie there is nothing against the rules with posting similar content here. It's absolutely 100% okay to post a video of Richard Spencer getting punched. It is absolutely 100% okay to post a video of a protester smashing a window. Remember, we do not condemn violence, BUT WE DO NOT ADVOCATE FOR IT HERE.

Calls for Revolution - Revolution can be non-violent. A general strike is generally not a violent act. When you advocate for revolution here, we understand that you advocate for non-violent revolution.

Advocating for Self Defense/Acquiring Arms - Self defense is completely justifiable. We have to understand self defense within the limits of the law, though. We do not condemn violent action against fascists, as many consider this a form of self defense. The law does not however (Please check your state/province/territory laws though). The law considers initiation of force of any kind to be a crime, and as such, is against reddit's rules to advocate for. Advocating self defense here means you acknowledge that you do not initiate force. Acquiring firearms or other such weapons through legal channels is not against reddit's rules OR the law, nor is advocating for it against those rules/laws either, so it is completely allowed.

Posting About Organizing - This should be pretty self explanatory. As long as in your post about your organization/you wanting to organize you don't say you're going to attack or harass anyone you're perfectly okay.

UNACCEPTABLE CONTENT:

Violent Language - Please watch what you say. Posts/comments with such language will be removed at moderator discretion. No ban will be issued if you aren't recurrently using it.

Explicit Calls to Violence - No, you can not advocate for bombing, shooting, or punching anyone. Remember, inciting violence is against reddit's rules. You can advocate for bashing a fascist, because bashing can include verbally telling off fascists. You can also advocate for self defense against fascists (refer to the point about self defense though). Posts/comments that call for violence will be removed. Posters are liable to be banned.

Proliferating Arms Manufacturing Material - There are many channels through which you can acquire the Anarchist's Cookbook or similar works to learn how to manufacture weapons. r/Anarchism IS NOT ONE SUCH CHANNEL. Do not PM any of the moderators about where to acquire the Cookbook or any other such material.

Proliferating this material, and asking moderators about where to acquire it will result in an immediate ban. You can appeal the ban, but it's 2 strikes and you're out.

Doxxing - Again, this is self explanatory. DOXXING IS 100% AGAINST REDDIT'S RULES. We are a burgeoning sub with an important role to play online. Doxxing in this sub WILL WITHOUT A DOUBT get us shut down. You are not only hurting our movement, you are hurting yourself because it would be one less channel you have to connect with leftists. By fucking us over, you help the fascists. (And fascists, don't get any bright ideas. If you try to use a sock puppet or a troll account to doxx here and get us shut down, it's easy to prove). DOXXING RESULTS IN AN IMMEDIATE AND PERMANENT BAN. NO APPEALS.

If you have questions, please post them below or message the mods.

Solidarity always, Your mod team