Censoring Spotted at Mac

Last week, I noticed a particularly offensive message had been posted to the Spotted at Mac Facebook page. The post was blatantly racist, and the majority of commenters agreed that it was extremely inappropriate. Frustrated and confused as to how this ever made it past the moderators, I commented explaining my issue with the post and questioned who could ever have deemed it appropriate to publish in the first place. Unfortunately, despite many people agreeing with me, it seems Spotted at Mac cares more about its reputation than it does about silencing discriminatory content, as I soon found that not only had all my comments on the page been deleted, but I had been banned from ever commenting again.

Before I get into why this is such a big deal, I want to preface this by saying that I actually did enjoy Spotted at Mac, and was - initially - a fan. Like many McMaster students, when Spotted at Mac was first introduced, I admired the concept of broadcasting anonymous messages to nearly 10,000 students, as this could be a way to give students a voice, helping to build a community among students while boosting the confidence of those involved. This anonymity could be used as a way to break down the intimidating aspects of student life, allowing those who needed advice or help transitioning through the experience that is university life to have a practical resource. Unfortunately, Spotted at Mac proved like so many things before it that anonymity is dangerous in the wrong hands.

While the page did in fact start out the way I had hoped, over time Spotted devolved into something uneducated, and deeply flawed. While the flirty and complimentary messages were there, more frequently I found negative comments that existed only to insult someone, rather than making them feel welcome. Even posts that seemed positive initially were soon filled with sexism, racism, homophobia, and other forms of discrimination that made people feel anything but welcome. All of this brings us back to the issue: why does any of this matter?

Well, the way I see it, there are two models Spotted at Mac could work under. The first is to heavily moderate the content that gets posted. This means making sure that anything offensive doesn’t get published, and if it does, making sure it is quickly taken down. This moderation would have to extend to the comments as well, ensuring that users understand that the page is promoting an inclusive environment for students. Obviously this is flawed for several reasons, but there is one that is especially important. It is clear that the administrators controlling what gets posted on Spotted are likely prejudiced themselves (I can’t imagine any other reason for the discriminatory content I’ve seen getting past moderators besides them simply thinking it was funny themselves) which makes this ideal option unfortunately not an effective one.

So, the only alternative is to let your community regulate itself. Much like Smith’s economic “invisible hand”, this system involves moderators doing little to regulate Spotted’s content, allowing community members to decide via comments what is and isn’t appropriate through self-regulation. This theory has a lot of flaws. In fact, one needs only to browse through Spotted at Mac for a few minutes to see that this theory isn’t an effective one. What’s worse is that even if you like this idea, Spotted at Mac simply isn’t practicing it. By banning those who speak out against negative content they are essentially combining the two methods to create a truly unfortunate hybrid. If you are a lover of free speech, you too are out of luck.

The current system of Spotted at Mac is one where free speech is allowed, but only if it is done with the forum’s own wellbeing in mind. Seemingly borrowing from major dictatorships of the past and present, Spotted picks and chooses what they like and dislike, while removing anything and anyone who disagrees with them. What’s left is a mouthpiece for hate speech and discriminatory content, so long as Spotted supports that message, which unfortunately is far too often.

My message to Spotted at Mac is simple: start working to make your page an inclusive one, choosing to censor discriminatory content and promote a positive environment, because McMaster is not a school that opposes diversity. We embrace it. If you cannot do this, it’s time for you to go.