Reddit, freedom of speech and the dark side of community — GigaOm
Unless you spend a lot of time on Reddit, the discussion-forum community that more or less took over after Digg sank beneath the waves, you may have missed the latest storm of controversy over content posted on the site’s various “sub-Reddits” or topic pages. Although Reddit has played host to some fascinating journalistic features recently — including the reporting of a mass shooting in Colorado and an open question-and-answer session with President Barack Obama — it is also well known for its less savory elements, such as a page devoted to creepy (but likely not illegal) photos of women. The way that this modern morality tale has played out over the past few days says some interesting things about free speech and the darker side of the open community that Reddit has become.
