Hello users of Hexbear, we wanted to inform you that we are going to be locking the_dunk_tank and dredge_tank communities. We have created two new communities /c/gossip and /c/counterpropaganda to serve a similar but clearly distinct purpose than the dunk/dredge tanks.
Not only is the dunk tank a term that has racist origins, but also many posts there were almost no effort and often times requiring later edits to show how they weren't reactionary, not useful with regard to developing rhetoric and furthering dialectical analysis of that which we dunk upon.
To that end, we wish posts of reactionaries to be placed in !counterpropaganda@hexbear.net along with an accompanying explanation (as simple or complex as desired) with the intent of countering the reactionary propaganda in the post body, as of now comments are not subject to the same rhetorical rigor rule.
For the posts that are not "low-hanging fruit' of notable people we ask that you use !gossip@hexbear.net .
These changes are mainly part of a continued effort to remove the racist and misogynistic elements from our community and grow.
Any moderators of the dunk tank or dredge tank that want to be a mod in the new communities let me know.
Any users with questions or comments please use this post, this change was made at the behest of the entire Hexbear mod and admin team. We will be looking for more moderators in an organized volunteer drive shortly, if you wish to submit an application you may send it to me via hexbear or matrix direct messages.
Use this post as a place for discussion to these changes. We will keep things as they are for 2 weeks and then reflect on the feedback, including this post: https://hexbear.net/post/3858346
As a personal addendum I am sorry if the closing of the tanks these changes removes a beloved space on the site and if you want to suggest a community to replace them you may do so at !commrequest@hexbear.net or submit a mod application to take a more active role in shaping the site.
Sitewide or community changes come from proposals put forth from the mod team, discussed, and voted on by the mod team.
Any users wanting to suggest a community to replace the tanks, may do so at !commrequest@hexbear.net current discussion is here https://hexbear.net/post/3858346 or submit a mod application to take a more active role in shaping the site.
You may also consider using !shitreactionariessay@lemmygrad.ml as a substitute for dunk/dredge tank posts as well
The mod statement can be found here: https://hexbear.net/comment/5613033
Application
What is your Hexbear username? Do you have any preferred pronouns? What are your thoughts on capitalism? What are your thoughts on imperialism? What are your thoughts on trans rights? What are your thoughts on racial justice? What do think about current and previous protests around the world? What are your thoughts on Veganism and Animal Liberation? Do you have any experience with other leftist online communities? What did those experiences teach you? What is your approach to moderation, and how do you work with teams? How do you deal with online drama and people who try to start things for the sake of it? What current comms would you be interested in moderating? Do you have any ideas for community engagement? What is your general time availability? (Time zone, amounts, common browsing times, etc)
Thanks for the input.
On your last point I suppose I just don't really see the dunk tank as people getting mad, perhaps because the content posted there is more likely to make me roll my eyes or have fun basking in the ridiculousness of the takes, than be legitimately angry at something some reactionary spewed out into the online space.
I definitely think there's a reasonable argument as to not focus our efforts on tearing apart mostly anonymous takes that no one would probably otherwise see (even if it can occassionally be fun).
That being said, I think focusing on bad faith arguments or frequent reactionary sentiments or narratives primarily from 'notable figures' (however we define that) doesn't really fit the way these things are often spread online. Increasingly this stuff is spread and reinforced through repetition by both bots and willing volunteers or just uncritical users online. Political think tanks, PR groups, propagandists of all stripes test this stuff online to see what sticks or gets taken up. Waiting for, or having to find a specific instance of, a politician or an Elon Musk or a well known Anglo op-ed writer feels oddly institutional and like putting the cart before the horse.
But perhaps I'm still missing something. Are there concerns about potential friendly fire against others on the left? An attempt to appear more welcoming to outsiders in general? Something else?
Considering the fact that was one of the mods replying to you and he was dismissive and hostile, I doubt there's any concerns about friendly fire or any attempts at being welcoming in general.