https://www.reddit.com/r/changelog/comments/ok8xzb/safety_update_on_reddits_follow_feature/
created by dmoneyyyyy on 14/07/2021 at 17:15 UTC
383 upvotes, 80 top-level comments (showing 25)
Hi everyone,
I wanted to provide an update on the abuse of our follow feature. We want to first apologize that this system has been misused by bad actors. Our Safety, Security, Product, and Community teams have been working in the background to get in front of and action the people behind this harassment.
As many of you know, around two months ago[1], we shared that we’d be introducing the ability to opt out of being followed. While that work had been in planning, in light of recent events, we’ve decided to begin work right away to address the issue. We’ll provide another update as soon as it’s ready — this will be in the magnitude of weeks, not months.
1: https://www.reddit.com/r/changelog/comments/mz36uf/adding_the_ability_to_view_and_manage_whos/
In the meantime, we wanted to make sure you are all aware of how you can take action to protect yourself immediately:
Blocking a user on the iOS app
Turning off new follower push notifications on the iOS app[3]
2: https://www.reddit.com/settings/notifications
Turning off new follower emails on the iOS app
We’ve also placed new restrictions on username creation, and are looking into other types of restrictions on the backend. The Safety team is also improving the existing block feature which will come to fruition closer to the end of the year. In the meantime, we will continue actioning accounts for this behavior as they are detected. We hope all of these efforts and capabilities combined will help you take more control of your experience on Reddit.
Thank you for your patience.
Comment by ultradip at 14/07/2021 at 17:37 UTC*
174 upvotes, 9 direct replies
I don't think opting out of notifications really helps. If anything, it just hides when new people follow you.
Blindfolds aren't really safety features.
Edit: As some of you make some interesting points, I think I understand a little more about why this is considered a valid method to address the issue. Basically our choices are to inhibit a right to say whatever vs having control over what you read.
I think also that a Reddit version of a restraining order is much more technically challenging to implement, and might be completely impossible since what we're talking about here is the constant creation of troll accounts.
Comment by QueenAnneBoleynTudor at 14/07/2021 at 17:37 UTC
77 upvotes, 7 direct replies
So if we block them, we can't see them but they can still see us?
Shouldn't it be the other way around?
Someone could be trying to doxx me, and I'd never know
Comment by DarlingKnicky at 14/07/2021 at 17:33 UTC
26 upvotes, 4 direct replies
When will it be possible to view (in order to block) followers on desktop?
Comment by pythos1215 at 14/07/2021 at 21:17 UTC
22 upvotes, 2 direct replies
We never wanted a follow feature to begin with.
The fact that no one on the reddit team "foresaw" abuse of a follow feature on an anonymous platform notorious for harrassment and brigading, makes me even more concerned about the safety and security of users than I already was.
A lot of shortcomings are acceptable on reddit and the anon internet as a whole, naivety is not. Reddit is over a decade old, you should know when you are putting your users in harm's way. This was not an unforeseen problem, it was a problem that was ignored for at least 2 or 3 years now. Shame.
Comment by GetOffMyLawn_ at 14/07/2021 at 18:00 UTC
45 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Do you meet with the Safety Team *before* you roll out new features? It seems you're always playing catchup when it comes to realizing jerks can weaponize features.
Comment by Beeb294 at 14/07/2021 at 18:08 UTC
44 upvotes, 2 direct replies
We want to first apologize that this system has been misused by bad actors.
Here's a question- have your Dev and Safety/Security teams gone in to the development processes with the assumption that users *will* use features to harass others? History has shown that users will use this (or any social media platform) to harass others, particularly based on the basis race, gender, and sexual orientation. They will get very creative, they'll use coded language, they'll hide it in any manner that they can to evade detection. This isn't unexpected to people who get harassed.
With that in mind, it would seem that part of the development process for the platform should assume that this harassment will happen, and resources should be spent up front trying to find that. Did anyone ask "if I were a bigoted douche or a kid trying to aggressively troll, how would I use this to attack people" during the process? With the fact of the notification process and the fact that username is a user-generated field, I think it's hard to miss that users would put the message they want to use for harassment in the username field. I'd also argue that any part of the platform that hasn't taken advance steps to prevent harassment from before the first implementation hasn't actually met the standard of "minimum viable product" if you're using Agile to build and deploy.
To me, this whole thing begs the question of "how was this missed in the first place and why wasn't it addressed before implementation?"
Comment by [deleted] at 14/07/2021 at 17:56 UTC
21 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Any updates on when followers list will be available for desktop users?
Comment by beaglemaster at 14/07/2021 at 22:38 UTC
17 upvotes, 1 direct replies
You guys need to stop releasing half made features with "plans" to finish later.
This would have been avoided if you had just allowed us to opt out from the start.
Comment by lolheyaj at 14/07/2021 at 17:52 UTC
43 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Grumpy response here but I really hate the follow feature as it has lead to some personal harassment in real life. This feature never should've been implemented without a means to opt-out of it from the start.
I also wish I had the ability to change my username in light of the previous statement. I don't understand why I can't change my username on a website as popular as Reddit is in 2021.
Comment by TheLateWalderFrey at 14/07/2021 at 18:40 UTC
31 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Here’s a thought…
Quit trying to be Twitter and Facebook and get rid of this “feature” altogether.
Reddit *used* to be unique, now unless one uses old.reddit and RES, the site looks no different than those other shitholes.
Comment by Freak5_5 at 14/07/2021 at 17:41 UTC
14 upvotes, 0 direct replies
ability to opt out of being followed.
Nice.
Also, when can we see follower profiles on PC? Thanks
Comment by amandatoryy at 14/07/2021 at 18:31 UTC
10 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I really hope the "blocking" issue gets a fix. If I block someone, I can't see anything they post after that, but they can still see everything I post. I've been doxxed multiple times and the user will comb through my history after I've blocked them just to find something to harass me about on Instagram or something. Meanwhile, I can't even click on their profile to see if the account has been suspended for harassment after they've told me to die slowly. feelsbadman.jpg
Comment by MvmgUQBd at 14/07/2021 at 20:20 UTC*
11 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Block the abusive users, **which removes them from your follower list completely**
I block pretty much every single person that follows me since I'm just a rando and they're likely all bots anyway, but they don't get removed from my followers list and it just keeps growing
Edit: in fact, I've just gone through and blocked them all again, and they just pop back up in my follower list a few seconds later like nothing happened
Comment by Saucermote at 14/07/2021 at 23:19 UTC
10 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Why not just turn off the feature until it is ready for a relaunch? For safety.
Comment by Traveler3141 at 14/07/2021 at 18:18 UTC
8 upvotes, 1 direct replies
If a sub moderator blocks a user, how can the sub moderator moderate their activity in a sub?
Comment by bleeding-paryl at 14/07/2021 at 17:21 UTC
39 upvotes, 3 direct replies
We’ve also placed new restrictions on username creation, and are looking into other types of restrictions on the backend.
This is good news. Honestly as someone who has seen a lot of users who troll just by creating usernames with slurs in them and posting in the subs, it will hopefully make things easier to moderate.
I also want to point out that reporting accounts should be a thing still. Reporting a user who slipped through the username cracks is impossible as of now, and we can't accurately describe why a "post/comment" is offensive if the reason it's offensive is because of the username.
Comment by TheNewPoetLawyerette at 14/07/2021 at 17:20 UTC
18 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Ok but what did redtaboo do to deserve your block?
Comment by OMGWTFBBQUE at 14/07/2021 at 17:34 UTC
19 upvotes, 1 direct replies
How about making it easier to report users to someone other than mods? Reporting a user to admins requires mobile users to open a web browser. Even on the desktop version, it’s not obvious where to go.
Reports in bad-faith subs just go to bad-faith mods.
Comment by [deleted] at 14/07/2021 at 17:47 UTC
12 upvotes, 1 direct replies
From your first link:
You’ll be able to view and manage who’s following you (coming in May)
Considering y'all blew right past this deadline, why should anyone take this part seriously?
this will be in the magnitude of weeks, not months.
Just pointing this out as there have been these kinds of complaints since the following feature was rolled out. Now that a group has figured out how to exploit the function for harassment it's an issue you're *actually* actually working on now. It's setting a bad precedent when features are not fixed/properly rolled out and this is the only avenue for timely action.
Comment by [deleted] at 14/07/2021 at 17:45 UTC*
12 upvotes, 1 direct replies
edit: Thanks for the upvotes........... but I was wrong per a reply below - you can still see blocked people in subs you mod. Yay. Oops. Sorry for the misinformation. Original post below:
Blocking someone means I won't see them acting badly in my subreddit and therefore can't moderate them.
So I look forward to this feature being completed. Thank you <3
Comment by Texan_Eagle at 14/07/2021 at 17:51 UTC
6 upvotes, 2 direct replies
So when can we see who’s following us?
I know the weather never changes in San Francisco but it is in fact July.
Comment by Bardfinn at 14/07/2021 at 17:31 UTC
18 upvotes, 1 direct replies
The Safety team is also improving the existing block feature which will come to fruition closer to the end of the year.
Comment by [deleted] at 14/07/2021 at 17:26 UTC
10 upvotes, 0 direct replies
This is excellent news. I really hope the product design team learn from this and consider potential abuse when coming up with future features.
Comment by SecureThruObscure at 14/07/2021 at 17:25 UTC
25 upvotes, 3 direct replies
kudos to you guys on the response time to this.
Yes, this was a low level issue and has been for a while. But you guys had it brought to your attention that it's an acute issue and have shifted (or at least claimed to have shifted) to take it on *now* rather than just glad handing it and putting it off for later.
Thanks, guys. This is the sort of responsiveness I'm glad to see.
I know you guys catch a lot of shit (enough of it from me, check your DMs), but there seems to be a culture shift on the admin team about responding to issues lately, and I love it.
Comment by NaivePhilosopher at 14/07/2021 at 18:37 UTC
8 upvotes, 1 direct replies
I’m glad this is being prioritized, but I have to echo concerns that the short term solutions presented are…not great. There’s a coordinated harassment campaign going on against a vulnerable population, and turning off notifications and blocking is both not simple to do (afaik, you can’t even see your follower list on desktop at all, requiring the Reddit mobile app) and doesn’t do anything to prevent the people behind these accounts from stalking profiles at will for further harassment. I hope the timeframe for more permanent solutions is relatively quick.
Thanks for commenting on this, these followers have been consistent and disgusting.
