Reddit has found itself in hot water with countless moderators who are outraged by its recent move to impose exorbitant API fees, effectively pricing out third-party apps. In response to this controversial decision, thousands of subreddits went dark for a minimum of 48 hours starting on June 12. Instead of addressing the concerns raised by moderators, Reddit retaliated by suspending participants.
In a recent report from The Verge, it was revealed that Reddit had initiated a crackdown on moderator teams that had designated their communities as Not Safe For Work (NSFW). This was the universal tactic during the 'blackout' to make their respective communities private.
This decision to enable the explicit content filter comes with certain consequences, such as imposing age restrictions for desktop users and limiting access on the mobile app exclusively to logged-in users. However, the most significant impact is blocking Reddit's ability to run ads, which hampers monetization.
One of the biggest subreddits that switched on this filter was r/mildlyinteresting, which boasts 22.2 million subscribers. Shortly after, the mod team of the popular subreddit was suspended, and when questioned about this development, Reddit spokesperson Tim Rathschmidt shared the following response: Moderators incorrectly marking a community as NSFW is a violation of both our Content Policy and Moderator Code of Conduct. But here's the twist: the entire mod team of r/mildlyinteresting was eventually reinstated, but not by the same Reddit admin who initially removed them. When Rathschmidt was approached for a comment on the reinstatement, here's what he had to say: I'm not going to set a precedent of confirming with The Verge every action we do or don't take to ensure users can access their communities. Moderators of r/MildlyInteresting changed the sub to NSFW after a user vote.
