Reddit unveils new 'anti-harassment' rules

Washington: In a bid to curb online harassment, Reddit has reportedly announced new anti-harassment rules. In a blog post entitled "Promote ideas, protect people," the site's administrators said that they will now be prohibiting "attacks and harassment of individuals" through the platform, reported The Verge.

It defined harassment as: "Systematic and/or continued actions to torment or demean someone in a way that would make a reasonable person (1) conclude that reddit is not a safe platform to express their ideas or participate in the conversation, or (2) fear for their safety or the safety of those around them." Citing a survey of 15,000 Reddit members, the admins said that it showed that negative responses to comments had made people uncomfortable contributing or even recommendingReddit to others. Women were particularly likely to report these issues, they said.

Therefore the website's administrators will now probe complaints of online harassment and potentially ban users over them. The blog post added that the cases will be investigated by administrators rather that leaving it to moderators and respond based on the nature of the harassment.

"It is specifically designed to prevent attacks against people, not ideas," the administrators said.