Reddit was recently in chaos, but the company's solution is to remove these mods that allowed NSFW content to be known as safe for work subreddits as part of their protests against the new API pricing and policy. At this time, Reddit replaced these mods with new ones that will help organize the platform and maintain order in each subreddit.
However, this is not yet the end for some as reports claimed that some moderators were given their position back to manage communities, confusing users.
Reddit Removes Mods After Allowing NSFW Content in Subreddits
(Photo : Brett Jordan from Unsplash)
Ars Technica reported that a massive protest took place in Reddit in the past few days, and this is in the form of mods allowing NSFW (not safe for work) content in several subreddits that are not meant for it. This led to Reddit taking up arms and removing these mods from their posts, and they believe that this action from the company is a way to silence them.
The once innocent or SFW (safe for work) subreddits were filled with graphic or explicit media, as part of the protest by moderators.
According to Reddit, the mods that took part in this protest violated the platform's Content Policy, one where segregation of content is highly enforced by NSFW labels. The spokesperson also said that some of these mods violated the Moderators' Code of Conduct.
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Some Mods Were Replaced, Reinstated, but Some, Unmoderated
That being said, Reddit also removed the moderators that took part in the protest and changed their subreddits. Reports claimed that some of them already saw replacements, but the Redditors claimed that they do not recognize them as they do not represent their views.
Still, a large number of subreddits remain unmoderated, and oddly, some mods were reinstated by Reddit to keep content in several communities in line.
The Reddit API Policy and Pricing
The famed social news aggregator website, Reddit, is seeing massive controversies in its present operations, and this was because of its API changes that enforce new pricing for those that use it. This led to the shutdown of several third-party apps that rely on Reddit's API to bring their services to the public, initially free access for developers.
Since Reddit asked for payments on the use of its API, many have taken the high road and went on protest against the company's new policies. This led to different subreddits going on a blackout of their respective communities which caused a significant outage for the platform, with some only having it for 48 hours, but others, indefinitely.
Mayhem spread across Reddit since then, and there is still an ongoing one, especially for the recent changes some mods have enforced, one that allowed NSFW content on once innocent communities. Reddit enforced its iron fist against some but showed mercy for others, but it is unknown how this will turn out in the future should it continue.
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