this post was submitted on 27 Jul 2021
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Privacy
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You still need to considers the costs of accepting said users though, even if you don't likes it being done in such manners.
Just think of anti-fraud measures which denying VPNs are apart of. If you are a small firm and you need to protect your business aren't you inclined to do the same exact measures and tell your FraudLabsPro to ignore/caution against VPN orders?
Yes. It is important to think about costs. But the problem is that we are not the management team of Reddit. They are the ones who have to think about costs, and they are the ones who have the final say. I don't think, on several grounds, that this request for an end to the depressing restrictions on VPN users is something that can be swept under the rug by cost issues. I will discuss this later.
As you know, Reddit inc. is not a small company, and as Dessalines says, they have the money. And Reddit is a huge platform. As a link aggregation service, it has a huge market share and attracts a lot of information and people. With a huge platform comes responsibility for the public good. It is not good for such a company to stay in a position of devaluing a few users.
I understand that VPN restrictions are effective in preventing spam and attacks. However, isn't there a better way? I don't know. We have no way of knowing. There is an overwhelming difference in the information that companies and users can know. Maybe there is a better solution than VPN restrictions. But there is no way to know that. Neither can I, and neither can you. After all, there's no reason for users to shy away from corporate pocketbooks. We don't know anything about it.
I’ve written a lot about it, but I don't really want Reddit to do anything. I don’t use Reddit, Reddit is not open source, the site is too heavy, and … I don’t think it matters.
My point is that there is no need for users’ complaints (requests) to be silenced by a third party that has nothing to do with the company, for the benefit of the company. It hinders fair reviews, makes companies (whatever their policies are) look like mere money collectors, and hurts the service in the long run.
Precisely I don't think (as of now anyways) there a mean to "filters" VPN users effectively or otherwise general spam and such than to "cut the entire line off".
Take the Wasp and Hornet spray that we had to apply on our porch. It is depressing that a bee had to die? Absolutely but we had to spray or else we would be "spammed" by wasps and hornets that could damage our rental.
Sometimes you have to take the "nuclear option" until more targeted solutions can be developed.
Seriously? That's not the point of my story. I'm not here to discuss "how to protect Reddit from spammers."
But that is WHY they are filtering VPNs to be honest. Because as I been saying it just not worth it to keep VPN users online when the BULK of the spammers are using the same.
Even when you go out and buy something you probably gonna be asked to turn off your VPN or your order won't be processed/requires additional steps. I know majority of hosting providers do at least.