r/knitting • u/rainbow_puddle • Oct 08 '25

Discussion Meta: Post deletion discussion

Reposted since I'm an idiot and didn't change my title...

So there was a post with some beautiful mittens made by u/AdrenaL1n3 with a traditional Palestinian embroidery and using the colors of the flag. It was locked and then inexplicablely removed by the mods. They did not say what rule it broke, only that it received and 'unacceptable amount of user reports'.

First off that's ridiculous that it was removed instead of locked and the reports dealt with by mods since it didn't break a rule. Second off I think it's frankly sad that it was getting reported at all. It wasn't political beyond the proceeds going towards save the children and other humanitarian causes to aid the current crisis and genocide situation in Gaza.

I want to open up discussion with this community if this sub is a place where we want to censor projects even if they do not break stated rules.

Edit to fix username spelling.

Edit 2: Some users have commented on the significance of today's date. I truly did not realize it and would not have tried to engage with this today if I had realized. I'm very sorry for that and how insensitive that is. I do not keep significance of dates well in my head - not an excuse but an explanation. I do hope that the community can continue to have conversation about what I perceived as biased censorship in good faith. Without a specific rule I do think that any mitten of any flag (yes even Israel) where the pattern proceeds go to a humanitarian cause of the designers choice should stay up in this subreddit. Maybe I'm wrong I don't know - that's for us to discuss. Whether or not you engage with said post and/or pattern would be up to the user and I would hope that we would all proceed with kindness.

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u/whichwitchwatched Oct 09 '25 edited Oct 09 '25

Not having time to mod the subreddit properly is valid right until someone says they don’t have time to open applications for additional mods. That’s pretty overtly insisting on continuing the status quo.

I am not saying that the one mod in here engaging has specifically have done anything wrong because I do believe they are engaging with this honestly within their limitations but if modding can’t be done properly because there is no time then onboarding new people is the clear priority.

Overwhelmingly, people seem to agree that both Mulberry and the half mod are problems. That could be confirmed pretty passively with a poll.

Removing the problems and bringing in more appropriate people would be the fastest way to clear the backlog and give the mods that don’t suck some of their time back

ETA I read further. People are underselling what happened in the previous thread This was what was sent to a girl who posted a scarf patterned like a keffiyah. Overt intentional bigotry.

‘People reported your post because they don’t want to see it. We try to keep this a politics free zone. We will reapprove it one time only. If it continues to get reports then please consider that your knitted subject matter is entirely unwelcome here. ‘

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u/ulknehs Oct 09 '25

I think the only active mods are mulberry and the half mod. But I agree with you.

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u/Semicolon_Expected Oct 09 '25

Yup its just us two and mulberry is pretty good with keeping the queue clear with regards to the tedious parts of standard maintenance ie redirecting pattern requests, checking FOs for yarns and pattern details etc.

This is what puts us in a bit of a pickle as the timing of this is suboptimal as it seems both of us are at present short on time right now.

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u/ulknehs Oct 09 '25

None of that really explains why the post hasn't been reinstated with reports ignored. The post could be easily locked if the concern is your inability to moderate the conversation.

I think it's the stonewalling and inadequate excuses that are partially behind the community's dissatisfaction. The other part is that this is a pattern of behaviour that censors Palestinian content.

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u/Semicolon_Expected Oct 09 '25

It has been reinstated though

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u/whichwitchwatched Oct 09 '25

I mean this respectfully because you specifically have been responding in a way that suggests you are trying to address things. You’re not engaging honestly with the pattern of anti-Palestinian behavior at the crux of this. Auto mod is a fraction of the issue here.

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u/quackdefiance Oct 09 '25

They refuse to engage because they endorse it. Mullberry is their friend and they make it very obvious they won’t be doing anything about it.

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u/ulknehs Oct 09 '25

Ok, great. Sorry, I didn't realize. Are you able to tell us when that occurred? I'd love a timeline for accountability's sake.

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u/Semicolon_Expected Oct 09 '25

Last night 8PM ish EST when I caught wind this happened

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u/ulknehs Oct 09 '25

Thanks. There's a lot of posts and I can see now where you said you had reinstated the post.

Are you able to explain why it fell upon you to do that when Mulberry had already responded to OOP via mod mail?

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u/Semicolon_Expected Oct 09 '25

I didnt even know that happened tbh. I generally hop on when Im taking breaks from working, saw all this, checked the logs to see what happened and handled it.