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Mods weren't ever supposed to anybody but janitors. That isn't in a derogatory tone. The anonymous userbase was the original value proposition of reddit. The expertise came from random nobodies. Usernames didn't matter on reddit because nobody looked at it. It seems this is long forgotten history from a time when the internet was primarily IT nerds.
By the time mods were becoming somebodies, reddit was past its prime. Once the power structures started forming it was over. As we're seeing now reddit is hinges on single point of failure. The expertise among the userbase has gradually left the platform long before this API stuff. A long slow process years in the making.
Internet janitors are a dirty but necessary job not unlike the real world. Somebody has to scrub toilets and pick produce. People are a-holes on the internet who need to be put in their place. Reddit has long since become too hoity-toity for that. Now mods are supposed to be experts in their field. Too high to be digital toilet scrubbers. Too scared of "muh free speech" to janitor the Greater Fuckwads anymore. So reddit is an asylum run by the inmates. Expertise can't be assed to contribute to a dumpster.
On another note. The imgur purge has also contributed to the barren wasteland of reddit content history. So many dead posts.
But you can't be a 'janitor' on a sub like r/canning without understanding canning. You can't know who is posting unsafe information unless you know what is unsafe. That's the problem.
Thank you for using canning as an example. This is a excellent choice because it is a situation where people think they know what they're doing and they are just basically posting recipes for botulism. On Facebook there are the rebel canner groups and in those groups you're not even allowed to mention the word of botulism or the mods will ban you. Because even warning somebody that something is unsafe goes against those communities standards. Canning is a prime example of where the admins have to have actual knowledge to pull off the job.
You should really read the article. At least the first bit
What a relevant username
To be fair, the linked article used r/canning as an example, not me.
I run a cryptography subreddit and we have the same problem. You don't necessarily need to be an expert in everything, but you absolutely MUST be able to tell who knows what they're talking about and who doesn't
This is, unironically, the perfect job for librarians.
Not libertarians though
Isn't that similar in real life? Taking care of the elderly and sick, firefighting etc. are or have very specialised 'janitor'-like tasks that need specific knowledge.
The user base was supposed to be the main arbiter of such things.
Doesn't work for certain topics
Because reddit is largely devoid of expertise by now. This is talking in circles. The point is that the user base well stocked with a healthy breadth of knowledge is able to call out bad posts. We both agree subreddits aren't working. It is for these reasons. Relying on sole expert moderators doesn't work.
It is more that Reddit wanted its moderators to not be anyone important, especially under the current CEO. Ditching the default subs, firing Victoria, heavily maiming r/all, and other actions were geared to prevent mods from gaining power over Reddit. On the flipside, Reddit maintained the mod ranking based on when a mod joined specifically to keep communities from forming more legitimate methods of mod selection.
Mods were supposed to be weak while being scapegoats for Reddit in case something went wrong.
They became the equivalent to automated customer service lines. Nothing but bots with no humans available to address concerns. Any attempt to contact a mod generally resulted in an arrogant reply.
the free speech argument doesnt really make sense as reddit was founded on being "the last bastion of free speech"
Free speech versus civility. Say what you want but don't think you won't get punched in the face for being an asshole. On the internet you should absolutely be able to get punched in the face. The virtual version of that is being modded. Which is apparently tantamount to human rights violations these days so mods have had to walk on eggshells. It's no wonder the old guard have been leaving in droves.
There was never a time in the past when you wouldn't receive a digital face punching for being an ass. As time went on people started giving up on reddit. Especially mods who cared to foster communities people wanted to use. Mods became glorified bot operators. "Automated customer service lines" as someone else said. And so the trolls have completely run amok on that platform. Usually there is no getting hold of a real human moderator. Other times they're so checked out they themselves get trolled into banning anyone but the griefers.
really? seems to me reddit started banning more and more not even for trolling, but for posting in the "wrong" subreddits, or for using slurs whereas back then reddit had slurs all over the place highly upvoted and anyone complaining was downvoted and spammed
Waiting for the Patrick Swayze and Sam Elliot of mods to show up...
Hi there!
I want to believe!
Being a mod is pretty fun sometimes!
Have you checked out [email protected] yet?