THERE'S A NEW REDDIT IN TOWN —
Reddit faces content quality concerns after its Great Mod Purge
Concerns of Redditor safety, jeopardized research amid new mods and API rules.
Did you know that improper food canning can lead to death? Botulism—the result of bacteria growing inside improperly treated canned goods—is rare, but people can die from it. In any case, they'll certainly get very ill.
The dangers of food canning were explained to me clearly, succinctly, and with cited sources by Brad Barclay and someone going by Dromio05 on Reddit (who asked to withhold their real name for privacy reasons). Both were recently moderators on the r/canning subreddit and hold science-related master's degrees.
Yet Reddit removed both moderators from their positions this summer because the mods refused to end r/canning's protest against Reddit and its new API fees; the protest had made the entire subreddit "read only." Now, the ousted mods fear that r/canning could become subject to unsafe advice that goes unnoticed by new moderators. "My biggest fear with all this is that someone will follow an unsafe recipe posted on the sub and get badly sick or killed by it," Dromio05 told me.
Reddit's infamous API changes have ushered in a new era for the site, and there are still questions about what this next chapter will look like. Ars Technica spoke with several former mods that Reddit booted—and one who was recently appointed by Reddit—about concerns that relying on replacement mods with limited subject matter expertise could result in the spread of dangerous misinformation.
Questions about replacement mods’ expertise
When Reddit announced it would abruptly start charging significant fees for access to its API, many third-party Reddit apps announced they would close (and many have). Some Reddit users, including mods, also quit Reddit. In addition, Reddit revoked the mod badges from long-time moderators and subsequently sought replacements, though some expelled mods worry that the replacements weren't carefully selected or trained.. . .
Reddit mods are “rarely experts”
Reddit also recently axed r/homeautomation moderators, including Dan (full name withheld because of privacy concerns), who told me that he moderated the subreddit for about seven years. He claims his credentials include networking experience from decades in IT, plus his "extensive smart home" and instruction from a "master electrician." Like the replaced r/canning mods, Dan fears dangerous misinformation taking hold at r/homeautomation, especially when it comes to electricity. . .
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