r/TheoryOfReddit

Almost every time I get some smarmy reply, some dismissive asshole, some holier-than-thou Saint Redditor who thinks they're a god-given gift of "truth bombs" because their IQ test said 101 and they're now "above average"... it's a hidden profile user.

My thoughts on why asshole Redditors love hidden profiles:

• It hides that nearly every interaction they've entered into on this site is toxic, thus baiting some users into giving them the benefit of the doubt and engaging with them when they otherwise wouldn't have if they could see the comment history

• Users who need to be right all the time are protected from being called out for their wrong past predictions/comments by anyone in their communities other than mods

• They're into degenerate shit and love to argue, and got tired of (rightfully) getting shut down every time with "lol you post in furry diaper fetish subs"

Why are users with open and honest histories forced to interact with people using a feature almost universally adored by assholes and bad actors? If they want to hide, let me hide all their content, everywhere on Reddit. I shouldn't ever have to read posts or comments from hidden profile users, and they shouldn't be able to engage with any of my stuff.

I don't follow news on Reddit, but often I come here from Google and I land on deleted posts.

And not on some fringe deleted posts, but posts with a lot of upvotes and an active discussion, deleted without any explanation.

When it comes to political subs like and , I assume such posts get removed because some mods don't want to bring light to that issue, and this is why those subs look very homogenous in views - it's not just because the users have a leaning, but because the mods actively trim the weeds, so the subs are guided towards a very specific shape.

Note that I am not talking here about blatant propaganda from foreign state-sponsored media, but merely an "unpleasant" issue highlighted by a respected outlet such as BBC.

I started to thinking about it more after noticing a deleted post on a House of the Dragon sub, the post has over 2k upvotes with over 600 comments, and seems to have a healthy and active discussion, although with a critical tone (it seems it criticized the writing of some characters). I don't know how valid is the discussion because I haven't watched it yet.

But it got me wondering what could be the reason. Could be something as trivial as mods disagreeing with the OP?

It seems the mods deleted some upvoted (10+, 50+) comments as well, along with some random other comments.

For reference:

(I won't link any political threads to avoid getting political here)

Has anyone noticed any interesting patterns in these or other subs?

Shifted to per suggestion

This post it to ask whether it is reasonable for reddit users to expect rational, fact-based, and honest moderation and what should be done when that is lacking.

While I was banned from a subreddit, I am NOT writing to appeal that ban and I have removed the name of the subreddit from all screenshots--so as to follow the rules of this subreddit.

I'm the father of an 18 year old who's very into soccer (football) and made the post shown in the linked screenshot after the USA v Paraguay game up in Los Angeles. We were wondering where might be a fun place to watch the USA v Australia game--that had a big TV, fun crowd, and allows folks under 21.

See original post and other related screenshots here (since this post doesn't allow direct images):

I was trolled in the original post in a very strange way and then several days later I was permanently banned from that subreddit. I have come to wonder whether the troll and the mod are the same person or friends. I've pasted the conversation with the subreddit mod at the link above (with subreddit name removed). The mod goes through a series of supposed violations that are (a) not in the rules, and (b) seem to be simply made up on the fly and changing throughout the course of the conversation. None of them are backed up by any actual facts or by anything that I've done (on reddit or elsewhere). It's just a bunch of shifting fabrications.

I submitted a Reddit Code of Conduct investigation request one week ago and have received zero response.

I've been recently somewhat active on Reddit and enjoying it, but I do have an expectation that the administration of it be rational, fact-based, and honest. Is that not a shared expectation?