What happened on Voat after Reddit banned major communities
5 hours ago
- Deplatforming, the permanent banning of entire communities, is a common moderation tool, and this study analyzes four major Reddit community bans from 2015 to 2020 and their effects on six generalist communities on Voat.
- The research uses network analysis, ToxiGen classifier probabilities, and dynamic reputation modeling to examine how arriving users associated with banned Reddit communities mix with Voat's generalist communities, affecting structural representation, toxicity, and participation.
- Clear breakpoint changes were found during the GreatAwakening period in the E-I index, and mean ToxiGen toxicity rose from about 0.12 in late 2015 to over 0.24 by mid-2018, remaining elevated.
- High-activity arrivals in fixed-cohort results were more likely to become structurally central, and survival analyses showed longer persistence among high early-toxicity users in earlier post-ban cohorts.
- These findings identify changes in receiving platforms that coincided with source-platform moderation, highlighting the impact of deplatforming on community structure and toxicity elsewhere.