Is Voat the new Reddit?

If you haven’t heard of http://www.reddit.com then you’ve most likely been living in a cave, but I’m assuming not only are you familiar with the front page of the internet, also, you use it daily and spend hours on the site getting your intake of luls and information.

Reddit isn’t the place it used to be, primarily 3 things have happened to Reddit the site and the company, huge changes which are changing the landscape of the internet.

1. The Reddit hive mind is super evolved and trolling is prevalent. It’s been heading this way for a while, let’s just call it a long case study in voting systems. It seems that it’s very difficult to disagree on Reddit without getting trolled. Having a unique opinion on anything is frowned upon and there is often a very good reason for this, point 2…..

2. Corporations are using Reddit as a viral marketing platform. So for example company A wants to sell product B, and they come up with a clever viral campaign on Reddit. This is never direct advertisement. You might have your say in the comments but notice you get downvoted into oblivion. Is this coincidence? Or does Reddit backend have a system for downvoting unwanted comments? Since there is no way to audit it, who knows. How did that post shoot to the front page in the first place? Again no way to audit this, but it seems highly suspicious that for the most part garbage viral marketing is rife on Reddit.

3. Ellen Pao happened, yes that’s right her: http://www.vanityfair.com/style/scandal/2013/03/buddy-fletcher-ellen-pao Incase you don’t want to click that link. Essentially Reddit now has Ellen Pao as their CEO, they say no good deed goes unpunished, but should we really reward Reddit with our loyalty if they’re in bed with this bitch?

The Exodus

More and more people are moving over to Voat and there are some good reasons for this.

1. Voat is less about trolling and more about decent discussions with people who seem to be far politer

2 .Voat doesn’t censor posts, you’re free to post what you want, and create any subreddit you want

3. Voat doesn’t shadowban

4. For the most part Voat’s look and feel is very much the same as Reddit, making the transition easier.

Warning

Voat will be slowish until admins deal with the huge influx of Reddit users. Hopefully by the time you read this the speed issues will be sorted out, if not just be patient, and enjoy the Reddit you always wished you had.