July 21, 2023
Reddit is trying to make amends with its moderators after a series of controversial decisions, but the mods are not buying it.
In a post, Reddit’s VP of Community announced that the company would be hosting twice-weekly feedback sessions with moderators to discuss the needs of users, mods, admins, and communities. However, many moderators are skeptical of Reddit’s intentions, given that CEO Steve Huffman recently likened them to “landed gentry.”
Huffman’s comments came in the wake of widespread moderator-led protests against Reddit’s decision to start charging developers for access to its API. The decision led to the end of popular third-party apps such as Apollo and BaconReader.
In addition to the feedback sessions, Reddit also announced that it would be starting a monthly Accessibility Feedback Group and resuming Mod Roadshows in August. Mod Roadshows are events held by Reddit staff wherein moderators are invited to a hang out and enjoy free food, drinks, and entertainment.
Many moderators are not convinced that these new initiatives are anything more than an empty gesture. They point to Reddit’s history of making decisions that have been unpopular with moderators, such as sunsetting Reddit Gold and deleting users’ chat logs.
“What good is our feedback when reddit seems perfectly happy to ignore all of it?” asked r/northernireland mod u/Ketomatic. “What’s the point?”
The sources for this piece include an article in Mashable.
