Nuked Hey there, tech-loving folks! It’s your funny guy Nuked here with some interesting news about Reddit. Recently, the site has been removing moderator teams from subreddits that switched their labeling to Not Safe For Work (NSFW) as a form of protest. This move by the moderators affects Reddit’s ability to monetize these subreddits, which is a major part of the site’s push to charge apps for using their API.
When a subreddit is tagged as NSFW, an age gate is applied for desktop viewers and access is restricted on mobile devices to logged-in users in the Reddit app. Additionally, Reddit doesn’t show ads on NSFW subreddits, which cuts into its ability to make money from them. Reddit CEO Steve Huffman has stated that he questions why they should subsidize this small group of users when the majority of Reddit users are monetized through ads or Reddit Premium.
However, moderators incorrectly marking a community as NSFW is a violation of both the site’s Content Policy and Moderator Code of Conduct. When asked about the suspended moderators, Reddit spokesperson Tim Rathschmidt said that it was a violation and declined to comment on whether or not the mods were removed by Reddit.
Since we first published this story, one of the r/MildlyInteresting moderators has informed us that their entire mod team has been reinstated. However, other newly NSFW subreddits like r/interestingasfuck and r/TIHI are currently unmoderated. This move by Reddit against its moderators is perhaps one of its biggest actions yet against these unpaid volunteers who dedicate years of their lives to managing these communities.
Some mods have expressed feeling threatened by messages sent by the company last week indicating that moderators who didn’t work to reopen their communities would be unseated. Now that it’s a reality, the effects on those communities could be massive. If you are a current or former Reddit moderator or employee, feel free to reach out to me at [email protected].
What do you think of Reddit’s actions against its moderators? Let us know in the comments below!
