There is a thread on the top of the subreddit /r/btc that is asking the Bitcoin-core group to denounce the censorship that the moderator Theymos has been accused of. In fact, a pull request on Github is also asking for these same measures. The discussion about the moderator has continuously heated up this year because it seems — Theymos still removes conversation he doesn’t like and bans people who disagree with his point of view.
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Theymos has been the moderator of /r/bitcoin for quite some time and also helps maintain Bitcoin Wiki, Bitcointalk.org, Bitcoin.org, and Bitcoin.it. People have felt for a long time that the moderator has become somewhat of a dictator and has tried to control certain topics taking place on these forums. For instance, if a discussion about BitcoinXT took place on /r/bitcoin it would then be censored or removed entirely nearly every time.
Just recently a person named Cobra another leader of Bitcoin.org had removed Coinbase from the organizations wallet recommendation list because the company chose to test BitcoinXT. Theymos had backed Cobras decision on this maneuver but changed his mind after some time. Users everywhere are sore at the fact this person has so much control over the conversation. Threads can be found dating back to the early days of Bitcoin of the significant power wielded by one individual moderator. With the latest attempt by community members to have core address the Theymos matter and attacks, a person on Github writes:
“Since these things reflect very badly on the Core team, it would be good to have a public announcement, distancing the team from such attacks and discouraging those attacks since they are not helping anyone.”
This past week Bitcoin Core has started its own Slack team in order to show its own opinions rather than the reflection of other channels. In a proposed request called “#58 Proposed blog post clarifying communication channels,” it shows a clear intention to disassociate from tactics done by bitcoin.org and /r/bitcoin. The request states:
“The “r/bitcoin” subreddit is not under the control of the Bitcoin Core project and their policies are their own. We recognise that large public forums do require some moderation policies but they have been too heavy handed.”
Censorship has been burdening the crypto-community for some time, and people are not pleased with the behavior. People feel that Theymos has unfairly used his role to persuade certain elements of the conversation. The person who has started the thread on /r/btc and one of the Github requests believes so as well. Censorship and threats in certain realms of the Bitcoin community have gone on for far too long, and people are pretty fed up with it. The latest attempt to convince core to denounce the actions of Theymos is something certain members feel pretty strong about and have no problem vocalizing their opinions.
You can join the Bitcoin Core Slack Team here and follow them via Twitter here.
Do you think Bitcoin Core should denounce Theymos publicly for this behavior? Let us know in the comments below.
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