I wouldn’t even call this cowardly because who fears losing an unpaid job? This is just pathetic.
Reddit can’t actually replace all of the mods. They’re bluffing. I’m not saying its impossible given infinite time, but on the timelines they need it is impossible. Imagine trying to replace even 200 top subs worth of mods. If you just take anyone who volunteers you’re going to have months or years of having to intervene and replace the ones that go on power trips. Trying to vet them extensively would also be a pain and take far too long. And then there’s trying to familiarize the new teams with the customized mod tools of a team which was just all fired…
They can’t do it without making the shitshow even worse. Bad for their IPO. The mods backing down right now are idiots.
It’s inevitable that the subs are going to start opening again, one way or another. Best thing to do is just leave Reddit and not worry about whether the protest is still going at this point.
Thanks for bringing this up; it’s an important conversation.
Mods have a right to take a break from moderating, or decide that you don’t want to be a mod anymore. But active communities are relied upon by thousands or even millions of users, and we have a duty to keep these spaces active.
Subreddits belong to the community of users who come to them for support and conversation. Moderators are stewards of these spaces and in a position of trust. Redditors rely on these spaces for information, support, entertainment, and connection.
We regularly enforce our subreddit and moderator-level rules. As you point out, this means that we have policies and processes in place that address inactive moderation (Rule 4), mods vandalizing communities (Rule 2), and subreddit squatters (also Rule 4). When rules like these are broken, we remove the mods in violation of the Moderator Code of Conduct, and add new, active mods to the subreddits. We also step in to rearrange mod teams, so active mods are empowered to make decisions for their community. The Moderator Code of Conduct was launched in September 2022, and you’ll notice via post and comment history that this account has been used extensively to source new mod teams.
Leaving a community you deeply care for and have nurtured for years is a hard choice, but it is a choice some may need to make if they are no longer interested in moderating that community. If a moderator team unanimously decides to stop moderating, we will invite new, active moderators to keep these spaces open and accessible to users. If there is no consensus, but at least one mod who wants to keep the community going, we will respect their decisions and remove those who no longer want to moderate from the mod team.
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Congrats to the mods for having a spine more fragile than my 2 week old tomato plant.
This has become my favorite insult
I really don’t understand how that threat makes someone want to play ball and open it back up. Wasn’t the point to hurt Reddit? Wouldn’t a mod team departure cause a bit of a ruckus? Seems extra silly to protest and then back down when your mod rights are at risk…
I mean, if I were the mods in question I’d do one of two things:
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Riot. See if we can get goatse on the front page in the 30min before the sub gets locked. I’d get purged and replaced, the sub will be reopened without me but whatever - cause the biggest mess possible on the way out.
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Quiet rebellion. Stop removing spam and disable some key automod settings. “Sorry guys, turbulent times, you know?” Allow low effort memes. Delete the occasional important post for BS “rulebreaking”. Over the next couple months you can probably destroy the sub.
AnarchyChess decided to get a picture of a deranged horsey to the top of r/all before closing indefinitely. It was hilarious.
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Mods don’t wanna lose the “power” they have. Makes them feel important. In other words, they’re cowards.
I wouldn’t generalize this much…
It’s an Apple subreddit, what did you expect? Principles? Dignity? lol.
Looks like what we have here is a shades on one bad apple
Happy Fathers Day!
This is the content I’m here for
Honestly Apple seems like one of the more principled companies to me. They’re highly opinionated with their products, and definitely not for everyone (including me), but they do genuinely seem to care a lot more about the actual users than Google does. I have a feeling it’s because Google is really an advertising company, and Apple needs the users to be happy in the ecosystem.
Idk that I’d call them more principled so much as differently principled. Like yeah, they do make good products and are banking on a good reputation with their customers. But they’ve also founded their business on exclusivity, planned obsolescence, and child labor
Oh shut up. Not Apple user in the slightest but this type of talk is just rude. Enjoy your lonely island.
Why don’t we try to get those mod positions once the current mods are removed. Open the subreddit for a day and then close it again. We will probably be removed but then there will be a new team waiting to close it again.
I honestly don’t understand. Reddit hasn’t ever treated their mods well and will never pay them. I only see upside to going down with the ship lol
I’ve never been a mod but I guess people do it because they like it, or they like how it makes them see themselves. They might join a protest for the same reasons. Being demoted and becoming a nobody, on the other hand, doesn’t sound like much fun.
A lot of them are paid by companies they can promote on Reddit. It’s a huge payola astroturfing game there.
I’d rather an actively hostile and potentially subversive mod than whoever would replace them.
They should turn it into a forum exclusively about apples, marijuana enthusiasts style.
Think Different.
Could you imagine being addicted to modding? What a sad life
There’s nothing sad about wanting to create a good community around a topic you’re interested in.
It is if it gets in the way of mental health. Moderating is a thankless grind, especially in Reddit’s case.
True story. I started two gaming related subreddits 12 years ago. Combined, the have about 170,000 subscribers. They are still thriving communities and I have 0 say in either of those subreddits. I picked a mod for each subreddit and let them run with it. One of those subreddits went dark, the other did not. Again, I didn’t interfere.
People sometimes need something in their lives to give it meaning, and as weird as it is, modding these communities provides that.
