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)
Gonna add my thoughts here on this here.
Yes, it’s true that an online forum isn’t really suitable for organizing a revolutionary vanguard, but this site does serve some very important purposes, two of which in particular relate to this change:
Mental health. Nobody here is a qualified mental health councilor either, but the discussions here can impact mental health in both positive and negative ways. I feel like mental health is a pretty critical roadblock for a lot of people on the left, myself included, so making this a priority is a good thing imo.
Education. I’ve learned a ton reading comments, watching or reading recommendations, and interacting with people here. I’m sure you all have as well, and I don’t think it should take much to convince most of you how important this is.
So with this in mind, I feel like this change aims to help with both of those points outlined. I totally get that a lot of the low-effort dunk posts are an attempt to blow off steam, but is it really the best way to do that? It seems to just lead to people getting more and more angry with no aim or resolution. Also, are these posts informative? Typically they are not. I don’t see steering the comms away from the present state towards something more useful as an attempt to stop people from blowing off steam, but rather an attempt to just make it a little more productive and healthy.
Hopefully that all isn’t just rambling and makes at least some sense. I’m slipping into eepy princess mode and not sure if my brain is functioning at normal capacity.
i keep seeing this sentiment every time this discussion comes up, and i dont get it. im not angry when i see comrades dunking on liberals' posts. im angry when i see those libs posting that shit unopposed. comms like the dunk tank are not for anger, they are for catharsis. it is satisfying to be reminded that these opinions are awful and that there are people out there who see that. it makes it easier to deal with the shit that i see every single day while touching grass. i cant turn that shit off. but when i come here, i can be reminded that there are other people out there who aren't ghouls.
who is getting angry about dunk tank posts? seems to me it's only the people who don't like the dunk tank. which... just block the comm.
Yea I live in a place where I pass people with 3% bumper stickers and several "fuck your feelings" flags on my commute, it's really nice to have a place online where other people agree that's insane.
The only time the dunks made me angry was after they changed the rules to be "famous" people only. It's cathartic to dunk on random libs but aggravating to be constantly reminded how influential people with those terrible ideas are.
My favourite post in the dunk tank was right after federation, when I posted some lemmitor arguing that ukrainians should all die for the motherland. That post got massive and got a bunch of lemmitor libs in, and the other post I cropped from did too. Lots of dunking and it ended with quite a few lemmitors reinvestigating their worldview. It functioned as actual agitprop and developed rhetoric, while fostering a sense of community. I felt like I made friends there. I started recognising names (especially @robinn_@hexbear.net who did a lot to provide great sources and deprogram many libs, while keeping a good tone.) I felt like I learned more effective communication with those opposed to me, and whenever I needed a vent, I could just see the 100's of comments of comrades supporting me in my belief that, yes, I am not crazy for not wanting a senseless war.
Part of my point though was that you can absolutely still have this cathartic release. The new comms imo don’t eliminate that, they just steer it in a better direction.
makes perfect sense, thank you