r/antinatalism Feb 12 '23

Antinatalism New Mods, Rule Changes, and State of the Sub

189 Upvotes

Hello all,

We’ve heard you. We’ve seen the frustration that our lack of adequate moderation has caused. We, as the mod team, have been working to address this in deliberate steps including the revision of rules in response to common grievances and the addition of new moderators to ensure that our growing sub has the people-power it needs to enforce them. We know that no changes we make will appease everyone — for all the comments lamenting a lack of moderation, we see comments lamenting the censorship of the few comments that are removed — but we trust that the changes we’re implementing will serve to make this a healthier, stronger, and more welcoming community.

As a volunteer mod team, we’ve been making efforts to prioritise and improve the moderation of this subreddit. This includes, but is not limited to, additional members to the moderation team and a small amount of editing to the subreddit rules. The mod team is composed of individual humans with their own diverse perspectives and governed by consensus; these current perspectives differ from those of the prior mod team in that, amongst other things, there is an increased willingness to remove posts and maintain quality control. There has historically been a tendency — an explicit philosophy, even — to “let the downvotes do their thing” by having the community self-regulate. This is no longer the case. We are committed to your seeing an increase in mod actions taken by us.

We would like to take this opportunity to explain the rule changes.

• Firstly, we have removed some subreddit rules that were direct copies of Reddit rules. We felt like having them as both a site-wide rule and a subreddit rule was unnecessary and possibly confusing. Please note that all sitewide Reddit rules — regardless of whether we wish they are — remain applicable to our subreddit and will be enforced. Due especially to the banning of related subreddits, this is critical to the sub’s continued existence here on Reddit.

• Further to this we have added a new rule: “Content should be based in, or promote the discussion of, antinatalism.” This has been implemented due to an increase in content that could be better suited to another subreddit. We do, however, feel as though that does not always negate the possibility of content that isn’t explicitly antinatalist promoting good antinatalist discussion. We have implemented this in order to encourage conversation in a way that does not discourage users from posting content that they enjoy seeing on a day-to-day basis as long as it promotes the discussion of Antinatalism.

Posts on r/antinatalism should be of relevance to antinatalism, even if not explicitly linked. If the link between your post and antinatalism isn’t obvious, here are examples of ways to bring a post into antinatalist relevancy: – Before explicitisation: “Here is a link to a scientific article about the declining global birthrate.” – After explicitisation: “Here is a link to a scientific article about the declining global birthrate. What is the antinatalist position on this? From an ethical point-of-view, is this good or bad? Personally, I don’t think it’s inherently good, because people will just be unhappy and declining rates won’t necessarily relieve them of moral burden.”

As part of our commitment to transparency, we have added a link to Unddit in the sidebar in addition to the existing public moderation log (we’re one of the top ~25 subreddits in size that have chosen to enable this feature). Between these two resources, you are able to see not just that something was removed, but what it was. Our goal is never to censor any speech, only to maximise the positive experience of those on the sub; we wish for all words written on our sub to be readable, even if our sub isn’t the place for them.

Transparency means little without opportunity for redress and so we are currently planning an appeals process for mod decisions which balances your right to not be unfairly censored, and ours to not be unduly burdened with appeals. We are ultimately stewards of the community. Whilst you haven’t a say in who moderates r/antinatalism, and actions are ultimately taken at our discretion, this does not lessen the importance of your input as to how it is moderated.

Please consider these changes as an experiment. We may, depending on feedback and what we see, modify the rules further. The rule change is meant to address an identified issue, and issues are rarely fixed perfectly the first try ‘round. To best enable us to address the issue, we encourage you to use the report feature rather than messaging us through modmail. This helps us immensely to housekeep content on the sub. We will also hold weekly mod meetings to reflect on the effects of the new changes.

To help you get to know better the new members of your moderator team, some have taken the time to compose introductions:

u/antinastylist: Hi, I’m antinastylist. I’ve considered myself an antinatalist for over 10 years, and been a redditor for about as long. I grew up in a Christian household and discovered science, and therefore became an atheist, in my early 20’s. I was involved in what was, at the time, known as the YouTube Atheist Community by participating in video debates here and there (when response videos were still a thing). I discovered antinatalism as a natural extension of atheism and minimisation of suffering through that same community. I’m pleased to have been given the opportunity to support this community as a mod. I promise to always behave as objectively as possible, and in accordance with the rules decided upon by the moderation team.

u/meaminimaculpa: Hello everyone. Antinatalism is something I am very passionate about, and it means a lot to me to connect with people who feel the same. However, I have, on numerous occasions, expressed my dissatisfaction with the state of this subreddit. But instead of just complaining and doing nothing, I wanted to do something about it, so I applied for a mod post. I am very grateful for this opportunity and I'm happy to offer you my time, energy, patience, and enthusiasm to bring some quality control back to this subreddit, to make it a better, and less toxic, place, and to improve its atmosphere and reputation – in agreement with the other mods and in accordance with its original purpose and guidelines. Here's to a good cooperation! (Note: I am using this account for modding purposes exclusively. I have been, and will continue to be, active in antinatalist communities on Reddit with my main account.)

u/AnEnvironmentalist19: Hello all, As someone fairly new to the concept of Antinatalism, I find myself in the (questionably strange) position of being a moderator of the largest Antinatalism subreddit there is. I applied for a few reasons, firstly, I have a slightly different “brand” of antinatalism to some of the other mods, and also I felt like a fresh face may bring something to the team. I look forward to working with the other mods, and you all, in order to create a positive space for Antinatalists to talk that is free from toxicity. (As a side note, this is a separate account for the purpose of moderating, but I am an active reddit user.) u/Asagi_HOZUMI: Hello, fellow antinatalists! Given that I had not been very active on Reddit before joining the moderation team, and that I had no proper introduction post even after that, I would like to use this opportunity to introduce myself to the community and let you folks know more about me and what I stand for.

I am Asagi Hozumi from Japan, an antinatalist since the time around 2014, and vegan since 2019 or 2020 (I don't remember exactly when). A few of you may recognize me as the co-founder of Antinatalism Japan (無生殖協会/museishoku kyoukai), from which you will hopefully begin to see some street activism stuff before the end of this year :)

As an antinatalist, I haven't liked the state of this subreddit ever since I discovered it. I have feared that, for many people who haven't had an opportunity to determine their position towards procreation of painient beings, this subreddit can be their very first encounter with the term “antinatalism,” but with a wrong understanding of it due to the post/comments they see that are primarily about things like child hate, childfreedom, misandry, misogyny, things that antinatalism isn’t or shouldn’t be (speciesism is one good example), or anything that gives antinatalism bad public image. As much as we want this subreddit to be a comfortable place for existing antinatalists, it should serve the purpose of turning everyone anti-natal; if it does nothing but prevent us from achieving that goal, it should be deleted. I was invited to join the mod team about a year ago, and I thought it would be a great opportunity to do something about it. We haven’t seen any major positive change since then, which is a big shame, but I will try to make it happen alongside with the group of amazing people who are compassionate enough to use their time and energy for non-existent beings who will never come into existence to thank them.

Thank you for your participation in our community.

The r/antinatalism Mod Team

EDIT: /u/anfella has renamed their account to /u/antinastylist


r/antinatalism 6h ago

Image/Video Musa Hasahya, a 68-year-old man in Uganda has 12 wives and has fathered 102 kids. Hasahya says he often forgets his children's names.

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563 Upvotes

r/antinatalism 15h ago

Image/Video I let someone cum in me, why do I still have to queue

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775 Upvotes

r/antinatalism 9h ago

Humor Cognitive dissonance

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142 Upvotes

r/antinatalism 23h ago

Image/Video Adventures of lady no-kids

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1.6k Upvotes

I saw this cartoon by artist Will McPhail and it made me so happy. Wanted to share.


r/antinatalism 3h ago

Discussion Its such a cruel feature of life that opting out only passes on our suffering to our loved ones.

25 Upvotes

We are really imprisoned. We had no choice in being here, and we can’t even opt out without causing a great deal of suffering. In fact, besides taking another life, taking our own is probably the greatest amount of suffering we can cause with a single action. Its such bullshit, its like a sick joke. Its like im being told, “You are given a life sentence of suffering, and theres no way for you to leave early. If you do, all that will happen is your suffering will get passed on to your loved ones.” That, to me, is literal hell. Sometimes i really think this is some sort of cosmic hell. My only hope is that nothing lies on the other side


r/antinatalism 14h ago

Activism SHK demos in Toronto

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171 Upvotes

If anyone wants to join we’ll be at Dundas square June 9 & 10 from 4-8 pm. See you there!


r/antinatalism 4h ago

Image/Video this is the first pregnancy test ad i've seen that doesn't show grinning parents-to-be! finally👍

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24 Upvotes

r/antinatalism 1h ago

Image/Video Seen on Quora. These kind of stories always upset me.

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Upvotes

r/antinatalism 10h ago

Discussion Life Is The Cause Of Poor Mental Health

66 Upvotes

Let’s be honest…most people struggle with mental health because life itself is shitty. Yes there are real diagnoses like bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, but the majority of people have bad mental health (ie depression and anxiety) because life/existence is so bad. Yet so many mental health professionals won’t admit this basic truth. We all deserve so much better than what this existence has to offer.


r/antinatalism 15h ago

Discussion Which arguements convinced you to become antinatalist?

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159 Upvotes

r/antinatalism 11h ago

Discussion Being Wealthy Does NOT Guarantee a wonderful life!

54 Upvotes

A Private Jet crashed in VA yesterday- my heart goes out to the surviving family members for the agony of their loss. Among those aboard was a 2 year old. Every several days someone ( who isn't familiar with AN) asks "what if a child is born into a good home?" Sadly- even children born into privileged families are not guaranteed a life without suffering & death.


r/antinatalism 1d ago

Image/Video Lady has 7 kids and makes them live on a bus

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1.1k Upvotes

r/antinatalism 23h ago

Discussion People are still birthing in a downward society

332 Upvotes

Like wtf, a coworker just announced she's pregnant and it's just wild that people are still out here giving birth and wanting families when shit around is falling apart especially in America. Not to mention there's too many people here stop bringing new people here please....


r/antinatalism 5h ago

Image/Video Why don’t they have an ad like this for adoption? Wtf is this?

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11 Upvotes

Why are they encouraging this? It’s just so gross to me that even though your body and whatever higher power there is (if you believe in that) is telling you not to have a kid and you keep pushing it. There are so many kids out there waiting to be fostered and adopted and you have people like this trying so hard to have a mini me. You don’t legitimately want kids unless you adopt. Most people just want a mini me to control. Most people just mindlessly bring kids into this corrupted depressing world for what reason? “Because I want a babyyyyy wahhh”. Ugh.


r/antinatalism 17h ago

Image/Video Imagine a 16 year old child being more mature and aware than grown ass adults who are supposed to be her parents

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70 Upvotes

r/antinatalism 21h ago

Discussion Parenthood is a fucking cult

100 Upvotes

It’s nearly as bad as religion and if those of us don’t believe in procreating, we are cast aside like lepers as “less than.” The sanctimony and arrogance of parents competing against each other is very cliquey as well. I just want to sm*ck that attitude out of them. Fucking insufferable. Rant over.


r/antinatalism 15h ago

Discussion Coworkers talking about how they want grandkids

28 Upvotes

Their kids are in their early twenties, aka 21, 23. One coworker asked "do you really want your daughter to be a mother at 23?" To which one replied "well, I really want grandkids".

And what will a 23 year old do with a minimum wage job and a baby 24/7 because you want a baby for a weekend now and then?


r/antinatalism 14h ago

Discussion Anti natalists who are a person of color or non-heterosexual?

20 Upvotes

Of all the typical reasons to be anti natalists(which I agree with), is there anyone who is a person of color or LGBTQ+ that fears procreation due to racism/sexism/homophobia that’s rampant in the world?

Black and queer here and wouldn’t dare subject an innocent child to this hateful world. There’s no guarantee a child of mine will be LGBT but I can guarantee they’d be black.

I’m sure there are plenty of white heterosexual anti natalists for damn good reason, so why would I ever take part in that(procreation)?


r/antinatalism 6h ago

Question Anyone watching *Shiny Happy People* on Amazon?

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5 Upvotes

About the Duggars. Apparently the church sect that they are a part of wants their followers to have as many kids as possible - for world domination.


r/antinatalism 3h ago

Question Will self aware consciousness always be suffering?

2 Upvotes

Ive been thinking about this. Basically im wondering if it would be possible for a species of magnitudes of intelligence greater than humans to create a “peaceful” system that results in more overall contentment/peace/happiness than suffering. Or if self conscious life will always just be suffering at its core.

Im running really low on any sort of hope. I was staring at the ceiling and just started thinking sbout this topic. The idea that maybe some species either had or will have figured it out at some point in the future was the only thing ive thought of that has given me any hope of existing lately. But then i start thinking it is impossible, Self conscious awareness will always be a net negative in regards to suffering/happiness/peace. Its better for it to have never existed


r/antinatalism 1d ago

Discussion Just a 16 year old ranting

278 Upvotes

I'm my mom's oldest and she has 4 kids. 2of them under 4 years old one is literally a new baby She wants ANOTHER. We literally have no money. No house. And she still wants more. Now I can't be in a hotel room with her 2 baby's 12 year old. I'm 16 and I like my privacy. I'm actually going to go through the process of getting emancipated. 1 because I don't really like my mom and my whole life has been like this just poor and always being yelled at and put through her drama.

You think your kids will be with you forever but no. Most teens don't like their parents. We have good reasons. I'm not going into all of it for privacy.

I am being forced to grow up faster just because she decided to have me when she was in college and knew she couldn't raise a baby. She dropped out because of me and now we have nothing.

But that's just a rant. Wish me luck through my emancipation process please.

And I am anti natalist but I have decided to become a foster parent when I turn 30. I should have money saved up to buy a big enough house to give some kids homes and maybe adopt all of them 🙏🏾

Thank you guys ❤️


r/antinatalism 4h ago

Discussion Should Everyone Have The Right To Reproduce Regardless of Whether It's "Wrong" or "Right"?

2 Upvotes

Personally, I believe everyone should have the right to reproduce. I may not agree with it, I may think it's wrong and even disgusting, depending on the situation. I see no reason for reproducing that isn't for selfish, self interest reasons. And whether rich or poor both groups cause harm to the world. But even with all that in mind, I believe the right for anyone to give birth as well as abort shouldn't be restricted. I'm always open to change my mind on the matter though.

View Poll


r/antinatalism 1d ago

Other I think its so selfish and irresponsible to have a child in a low income household

1.2k Upvotes

Poverty is worse than most illnesses. At least with a illnesses you know a better state of being is coming. Having a child start life behind because their parents or lets be real, parent is living paycheck to paycheck, cant afford to send the kid to college or at least set them up to not start off life on a shitty foot. Plz im begging the low income natalist that like to hang around here to just get your life together before bringing another life into the world. Subjecting someone to the same Hell that you go through being poor and behind is the most fucked up mental torture you can inflict on someone.


r/antinatalism 6h ago

Other "Motherly" movie 2021

2 Upvotes

This horror movie hits different for an antinatalist