Reddit changes its policy to prevent more protests from moderators

Reddit I want to avoid new protests subreddit moderators and made changes to their policy make them almost impossible. The platform has confirmed that from today, those responsible for various communities will have to request permission to change their status.

What does it mean? What if a public subreddit wants to become private or restricted or listed as Safe for work (SFW) wants to start supporting content Unsafe for work (NSFW) like porn or nudity should request authorization Reddit staff to get it.

As stated by Reddit in r/modnews, approval of the change will be immediate and automatic for communities with fewer than 5,000 members or created in the last 30 days. However, for larger and older subreddits, the modification must be approved by an admin.

In the latter case, the site indicates that a notification will be sent about approval or disapproval. within 24 hoursand that response staff will be available throughout the week, 365 days a year.

Reddit takes steps to tighten control over protests

Reddit points out that the main goal of this new strategy is Don’t let community moderators break your rules.. “Historically, moderators could change the community type at will. However, the ability to instantly change community type settings has been used to harm the platform and violate our rules. We are responsible for protecting Reddit and ensuring its long-term health. , and we cannot tolerate actions that intentionally cause harm,” they said.

However, Reddit didn’t shy away from the issue of the protests, which they even called the “elephant in the room.” Those responsible for the site explained that protests will still be allowedalthough the reality is that the new policy will make it difficult for them to continue existing in the current format.

In 2023, when Reddit changed its API prices, thousands of communities launched a boycott. Some of the most popular ones have gone private, while others have opened the door to porn so the platform doesn’t monetize them with ads. There was even a resignation of AMA moderators(Ask me anything) with celebrities is one of the most popular uses of the page.

Although Reddit management attempted to minimize the blackout of the subreddits in question, the effect of this measure was clear. Let us remind you that moderators of several communities were removed and attempts were made to encourage Maud lower level so that they would report to their superiors and thus be able to reopen them.

We’ll have to see what happens now but it looks like everything is ready for a new dispute. “Community-type settings have long been used to protest Reddit’s decisions. While we are making this change to ensure that users’ expectations for community access do not suddenly change, protests allowed on Reddit. We want you to let us know when you think Reddit is making decisions that aren’t what’s best for your communities. But if the protest crosses the line and causes harm redditors and Reddit, we will intervene,” the company noted.