http://www.canadalandshow.com/podcast/need-talk-reddit/the Canada sub-Reddit has become increasingly infested with white nationalists.
So, clearly the model for these new media - being open source, effectively - comprises a shorter life cycle than nonymous, and tightly controlled old media. Web boards are difficult to keep in the centre without draconian moderators (ie. like me
) to kick out those with unfashionable or unpalatable views that scare the middlecore members away.
Fast, ill-considered and contradictory thoughts from me:
- Screw the middlecore. They aren't really interested in politics for the most part, just getting enough entertainment, swag and junk-food
- We need the middle because our entire nation was built on the model of a robust middle
- Fringe posters, being mostly anonymous, organized groups that deploy sock-puppets and bots, need to be banned
- Banning fringe posters is anti-free speech and gives a distorted view of the opinions in the community
The important thing is that the character of these sites is being discussed publicly. That conversation is vital. It appears that the Federal Government has now given up on its idea of funding newspapers, or at least scaled it back to bare bones.