Sounds like Violentacrez is the second biggest troll on the web.
So I actually learned about this whole thing in this thread here on Hubski when it was first posted, along with the links to more context. I've been on Reddit for well over three years, and over time as the character of the site changed with the incredibly massive influx of new users, I did some severe editing of the Reddits I subscribe to in an attempt to cut the chaf to a minimum. I feel like it's been relatively successful as I've managed to use Reddit almost daily for years without an awareness of most of the notorious personalities on the site and the dramas that have surrounded them over time. So after clicking around and getting myself acquainted with the situation (No way I could refrain from being curious about a major tech writer publicly doxing somebody), I'm kind of left with the impression that I'm glad I'm not generally aware of this stuff. This whole Gawker thing just feels like I'm watching TMZ for nerds. The Gawker piece was a personality driven take-down complete with justifications of why what he was doing was actually 'ok' every other paragraph. Adrien Chen isn't a journalist so much as a crusader. Another thing that made me stop mid article was the information about Vilentacres' stepdaughter. That is incredibly disturbing stuff, and I sort of find it shocking and disgusting that Chen outed that girl. There is the potential for massive ramifications for her, and she is innocent in all this drama. Yes, she was supposedly 19, but we have no idea how much of that relationship involved coercion or grooming from the step-father authority figure. I suspect quite a bit. I think it's kind of sick that Adrien Chen outed that girl. On the other hand, Violentacres is a fucked up dude, and Reddit is supporting his content. Here is where the usual cries of free speech ring out, but they miss the point. Reddit isn't the government, -it's a private network, and the First Amendment does not apply. The question becomes "Does Reddit want to nurture a community that caters to content like beating women and taking pictures of girls without their knowledge and repackaging them in a sexualized manner, and posting them online for others to see?". Personally I say no, and fuck everybody who thinks that's an assault on free speech. Reddit != the internet, there are plenty of places to find that content online if you want, and Reddit not having it would in no way degrade people's ability to a) post it, and b) consume it. Furthermore, Reddit already censors its content, as we have learned with r/jailbait fiasco (which I'm glad they do). So if Reddit is going to make the choice to ride the 'free speech train' on their private network, they need to play that card to the hilt or not play it at all imo. Ban /r/jailbait? Good. Defend and leave up reddits that collect and celebrate savage beating of females? What the fuck is the matter with you Reddit? Seriously. There is a reason that networks like Facebook and G+ don't allow content like this. It would destroy their communities. If they did, struggling G+ would just be a bunch of nodes streaming porn that would keep legitimate users away. There will be another Vilentacres unless Reddit does something about it. This is sort of the reason why a public takedown of an individual who broke no laws by an alleged journalist seems so odd to me. It seems his problem should be with Reddit. And to out that poor girl in the process was just awful. Violentacres should have been banned from posting what he has been on Reddit a long time ago imho. When you factor in the massive number of subreddits banning Gawker links, you begin to see this whole thing for what it is. A big, personality driven egotistical internet bitch fest, amazing in scope, that does a remarkable job of missing what should be the point, on both sides. Violentacres is a POS and shouldn't be allowed to post what he does, Reddit's administration is inconsistent and asleep at the wheel, and Adrien Chen isn't a journalist, but rather someone who is willing to harm innocent people in order to carry out online feuds using Gawker as a complicit vehicle to do so.
Thank you for clearly articulating how stupid the "free speech" argument is. Reddit is a website, it's a business and as such it can ban, edit and omit whatever it wants, and as you point out it already does. Reddit can hide under the guise of "free speech" while enjoying the traffic that such nefarious subreddits bring, porn and drama are popular things, but eventually won't people get sick of having to do "severe editing" of the subreddits they subscribe to? Eventually the inmates will take the asylum, no?
I don't know if he hates reddit so much as loves page-views. And going after VA is an obvious choice, he is a major figure head and symbol of the creepy parts of reddit. I don't think there is any other user whose name is so intertwined with 'offensive' or 'creepy' content.
I'm not much of a redditor, didn't really know about violentacrez prior to this post and this one one but from what I've gathered it seems like a complete dick move by this "journalist". Not cool.
This is horseshit. If it wasn't about a large site that many of us have been involved in then it wouldn't have even been posted here. Its a shame a better writer didn't out VA, since it actually could make an interesting piece if Chen didn't write like it was an english essay for an edgy professor.
The style of the writing was okay, nothing tremendous. The organization and the "zingers" that Chen used to drive home his whole point about VA being a seedy dude were just awful though. It was just a poorly written article. I wish I had the link on me at the time, but a good contrast of style was in the Journal of American History a while back. The author was writing about the "Origins of the South" and gender roles. Her ending sentence for the paragraph in which she described her motivation? A quote from her colleagues: "You're writing about gender in the New South? That'll be short." Just to talk about writing for a moment, that ending line, the one with a quote, is just an excellent transition in to almost any subject you want to talk about. You can talk about the way history has been written about for ages, talk about continuing issues with gender roles in history, the lack of records or publications at the time, or innumerable other possibilities. Its an effective line because not only does it illustrate to the reader just how deep the problem goes, but leaves room for discussion. Contrast this: "They were mad that their buddy was going to be outed for simply, in their mind, exercising his free speech—his unalienable right to anonymously post stalker shots of women." Its similar - while not exactly a direct quote, it is quoting the general mindset - enough to the other line. Its just not a well written line. Whereas the JAH line is opening up a discussion, even if the general conclusion of the author is obvious (that gender roles were a big deal), this shuts it down. Boom. Dead. Nothing. And yes, in this situation, regardless of how much you disagree with what VA did, there is discussion warranted. Freedom of Speech actually does cover everything he did; he posted pictures that were legal, if dubious. Whether or not this should be consequence free, whether or not shaming is going to be effective in doing anything but compound problems society already faces with exploitation. You can talk about the consequences of taking an approach to public pictures, you can justify your position, talk about how a person posting pictures that were predatory should be ousted because it'll keep it from happening. Something other than just going "here is this ridiculous statement that is clearly ridiculous." Its a method of ending discussion that is very poor form for something that is supposed to be investigative. It contributes very little aside from making people who already agree with Chen or already hate VA feel good about themselves, and detracts from a very important discussion about how society is going to have to handle people who post predatory but legal shots of teenagers, and if change is it all feasible. Chen also writes way too much. Holy god.
Chen also, throughout the article, took massive liberties framing Reddit's defense of VA's postings. While I don't think you argue effectively for allowing that content (imo, at the end of the day) Chen spun the other side's arguments, and did absolutely zero honest exploration of the philosophy from the other side. I went more in depth with my rant above, which was almost nothing at all. It cannot, if we are being honest, be considered journalism at all, nor was it attempting to be. File this one under vendettas, page views, and gossip.
Oh no, the content should still be banned, because it does more harm than good to everyone. A person with pedophilia isn't going to have an easier time if they can see pictures of children everywhere. But yes the article was awful. I've actually read better journalism in SomethingAwful Fashion SWAT. Or the Horror's of Pornography.
I have to agree regarding the writing. It could have been a really interesting piece about the psychology involved. #thehumancondition kind of piece.
Lol I've bees friends with VA on FB for years. I've had so many late night conversations with him. I dunno why everyone hates on him so much. He's a character and one of the most interesting and dynamic people I've talked to.
I think Hubski has been less attractive to "the creeps" because their posts don't get a lot of attention. We've had a couple of trolls swing by the site but people here didn't take the bait. That's the key, if you take the bait then you've fed the troll. But not following someone that posts material you don't like and even more so, "ignoring" them is a good step. So far it's not been an issue but as the site grows it may prove to be something we have to focus on more. So far the only real creep here has been sounds_sound but he's tolerable.
I appreciate that sentiment. I'm trying to give my handle just the right amount of asshole so that people will be annoyed yet still keep me around :) Seriously though. I don't really feel bad for this dude being outed. He clearly didn't want to be discovered because he knew that what he was engaged in was unethical. I mean 'niggerjailbait' is one of the more offensive things I've read in recent memory. That reminds me. I've been wanting to start a #thenewgreenjailbait tag full of pictures from when tng was between 14 and 19. You mind giving that a jump start?
I think there's a difference between feeling bad for him, and whether or not Chen was in the right to do it. IMO Chen's issue is with Reddit. There are, have been, and will be, others posting similar content on Reddit. It's extremely distasteful, but it is tolerated by Reddit (if not supported), and it isn't illegal.Seriously though. I don't really feel bad for this dude being outed.
Chen seems to really dislike the way this guy uses the internet, and he used his own right to free speech to do something about it. No crime there, either. All free speech does is protect you from prosecution for expressing yourself; it doesn't protect jerkoffs from being outed as jerkoffs. Sure there a lot of consumers of r/jailbate, but this guy was the big fish, so of course he is a target. Consequences exist for actions; lesson learned for violentacrez. On a side note, its a shame that r/Hitler was adopted as an anti-semetic forum. It probably could be a really good history forum for WWII enthusiasts. For that alone I support outing this guy.
I just feel like it was a waste of an opportunity to write about the motivations, psychology and dichotomy of being the "Internets biggest troll". He definitely touches on it but it could be explored more deeply. I recall that he specifically named the company the guy works for, not cool imo. That's straight up vindictive and irrelevant to any point being made.On a side note, its a shame that r/Hitler was adopted as an anti-semetic forum. It probably could be a really good history forum for WWII enthusiasts. For that alone I support outing this guy.
-Awesome point.
I think we are in agreement. It's not my intent to suggest that violentacrez was right where Chen was wrong. My point is that Chen is no more in the right, where he (and Gawker) obviously draws a distinction. I wonder if he discussed this with the stepdaughter before asserting that episode as fact. She was doxxed too.
Good point about his stepdaughter and the reset of his family, for that matter. Many of them are innocent bystanders, and I feel bad for those people. Maybe the karma will come back to bite Chen, too (perhaps in the form of a pissed off redditor sneaking around his life), but he, like violentacrez, made a conscious choice to write what he wrote. He has to live with whatever consequences that brings.
You're right and I agree with you. There is a difference. He can post without litigation and I support the reasoning. Still, can't say I'm feelin' for him.
Pretty much what thenewgreen said. We are small, and it's not so easy to get an audience for it. There are some things that I have no interest in hosting, however.
It's worth mentioning that there are far more non-michiganders than michiganders on Hubski. Also worth mentioning that there are far more people that, outside of Hubski, are strangers than people that are familiar. I think this is cool, it brings diversity to the makeup of our community here. I love that.
mk I had to look up dox and mittenfest. "Mittenfest is an annual music festival in Washtenaw County, Michigan, that serves as a fundraiser for 826michigan - a mentoring/tutoring program to encourage kids' creativity. Mittenfest is now in its 7th year, and has taken place in venues such as Corner Brewery, The Blind Pig, The Elbow Room, and Woodruff’s. I didn't have to look up circle jerk.
Mittenfest isn't just a concert reference. It's a way we identify ourselves in proximity to eachother. The unique geomorphology of the state lends itself quite nicely to using ones hand as a literal map in your pocket. For example, I grew up in the lower palm area, but always liked visiting the tip of the pinky in the summer.
Thx for the video. I forgot that I knew that about the mitten - I'm actually just next door in Ontario. I imagine thenewgreen is just being playful when he called you a real creep. Guys tend to insult each other to show their love.
No, he's actually a creep. I kid, I kid. My wife always makes fun of my interactions with my buddies because we are constantly making fun of one another.
I too have enjoyed many a summer in the tip of they pinky. I've had some good times with you up there too pal. Mittenfest, the concert, is actually a pretty cool festival, I've had a number of friends perform for it.
For an article which is supposed to paint him as a monster he comes across as surprisingly human.