[commandlinefan]

When I first started on Reddit like 10 years ago, it leaned pretty libertarian (pro Ron Paul, pro free speech, etc.). I noticed over time that it leaned farther and farther left, and I wondered what had happened to all the previous users. Then there came a conspiracy theory that a handful of users had gamed the moderation system to take control of the tone of the site overall - especially the one that's the topic of TFA. There seems to be more and more evidence that the conspiracy theorists were right all along.

[dariusj18]

I think instead you would find that it has only become more partisan. Stratification of subs where people with opposing ideologies don't mix, and if they do they get hella down-voted.

[JoeSmithson]

I think they just got drowned out as it grew. Libertarianism is a very niche political position outside of the "opinionated hacker" crowd. I'd be very surprised if the actual gross metrics for /r/Libertarian have decreased rather than increased.

[mundo]

You don't need a conspiracy theory to explain why the majority won a vote.

[jboog]

I started on Reddit about a decade ago also.

Early reddit was a lot more like current HN. You're right you'd see more pro Ron Paul and libertarian stuff. Then the site went mainstream.

Users on the internet are more liberal than the general pop. Add that to the fact that Reddit up/downvote system does a terrible job of allowing unpopular/controversial views to reach the top.

Those same Ron Paul fans are all in r/conservative or r/The_donald, or other conservative subs now. There are way more now than there ever were.

You don't really need a conspiracy theory when the very nature of the site and the internet explain what happened really effectively.

[Mirioron]

>Those same Ron Paul fans are all in r/conservative or r/The_donald, or other conservative subs now. There are way more now than there ever were.

Is this true? I hold quite a few libertarian beliefs and those conservative subs don't seem any more inviting than their left wing counterparts. It's so much about partisanship that it's off-putting to me.

[camel_Snake]

The conservative subreddits have definitely experienced a tonal shift since Trump's candidacy. I would pop by occasionally for news/discussions and the change is extremely noticeable to even infrequent users like me.

Smaller political subs are probably your best bet. things like /r/moderatepolitics or /r/tuesday

[nl]

I think it's more like a bunch more people from different backgrounds joined the site.