• CoalAndCobalt (edited 8 years ago)
    +8

    The fact that it's the "semi-professional mods" who are throwing a tantrum now strikes me as poetic justice

    Why is it so common for members of the Snapzu community to dismiss dissatisfaction with reddit's administration as a "tantrum"? This is the third time I've seen this rude infantalization in as many days despite the rather small userbase. I'm starting to think that this community is no better than reddit or voat when it comes to self-serving arrogance, no matter how much it pats itself on the back for being all about an enlightened community.

    These people are unpaid volunteers who are vital to reddit's function. They've been denied even basic moderation tools despite the promise of improvement in this area for years. Instead, reddit administration spends all its resources on gimmicks like side-wide cryptocurrency or snoovatars. For Christ's sake, AutoModeratorBot was a user-made hack! Reddit's administration promises transparency and a greater communuty outreach but fires Victoria and doesn't even tell the moderators who are dependent on her.

    These mods are people who manage communities of millions with tools developed for a site of 20,000. The least reddit administration can do is give them a heads up when they're going to throw a wrench into the cobbled together patchwork of systems that keeps the site chugging along day-to-day.

    How can you be so dismissive of these issues? It comes across as so entitled and ignorant. Do you expect them to work as unpaid full-time volunteers and be as obedient and docile as a well paid worker? It's just inane.

    As the saying goes, shit rolls downhill. Why so sneeringly condescending toward volunteers who just want a heads-up when they're about to get shat on?

    • spaceghoti (edited 8 years ago)
      +4

      Why is it so common for members of the Snapzu community to dismiss dissatisfaction with reddit's administration as a "tantrum"?

      I'm not describing reddit's administration as throwing a tantrum. I'm describing the "semi-professional" moderators, the one who seek moderator positions not because they're interested in promoting strong communities but in grinding ideological axes or simply the prestige of being in charge. The power-trippers.

      These mods are people who manage communities of millions with tools developed for a site of 20,000. The least reddit administration can do is give them a heads up when they're going to throw a wrench into the cobbled together patchwork of systems that keeps the site chugging along day-to-day.

      Yes, these are volunteers. If they're doing work that should earn them compensation then they should be held to certain standards. And yes, it would be polite of reddit's administration to give them a heads up on change that will impact what they're doing but I got the impression from this whole affair that the termination came to a head very quickly and there was no opportunity to do so. Either that or it's one of the things that slipped through the cracks. I don't know, I'm not privy to reddit's corporate dialogue. Either way, it could have been handled better and it wasn't. I'm not disputing this.

      How can you be so dismissive of these issues? It comes across as so entitled and ignorant. Do you expect them to work as unpaid full-time volunteers and be as obedient and docile as a well paid worker? It's just inane.

      Because I've been a moderator, there and here. I know who many of these people are and the ones I'm referring to -- not the ones who are genuinely trying to build community but the powermongers -- don't deserve my pity. They lost that long ago when they decided to use reddit as a platform to build empires. Not all of them fall under this category, and those that don't aren't included in my ire.

      • CoalAndCobalt
        +3

        I'm not describing reddit's administration as throwing a tantrum.

        You misread my statement. I was speaking about the infantilization of moderators who are frustrated with the lack of effort on the admin side of things. Waving that away as a "tantrum" is rude and counterproductive to discussion.

        I'm describing the "semi-professional" moderators, the one who seek moderator positions not because they're interested in promoting strong communities but in grinding ideological axes or simply the prestige of being in charge. The power-trippers.

        You were referring to the Blackout, no? Do you mean to imply that AMA is an ideological platform, or that /r/science is full of "power-trippers"? These are the subs who have had the biggest bone to pick because they are the most heavily moderated. We're not talking about awful places like FPH here, although they have ignorantly claimed that this is the same thing as happened to them.

        And yes, it would be polite of reddit's administration to give them a heads up on change that will impact what they're doing but I got the impression from this whole affair that the termination came to a head very quickly and there was no opportunity to do so.

        I'm sorry but this is a little absurd, and IMO not concrete enough to warrant such a rude reaction. It's not as if reddit fired her and then seconds later everything fell apart. What are reddit admins doing that is so critically important that they cannot stop to PM the moderators about a firing which severely impacts the immediate function of the website, such as AMAs to be held that day, or the exchange between Stephen Hawking to organize an AMA?

        Either that or it's one of the things that slipped through the cracks.

        I believe that this is far more likely, but it's precisely because it's something which can so easily slip through the cracks which is the problem. Communication between admins and mods is abysmal and it's far, far too easy for massive changes like this to slide by.

        Either way, it could have been handled better and it wasn't. I'm not disputing this.

        Sorry if I came off as hostile, but by dismissing the Blackout as a "tantrum" it seemed that you were disputing whether their frustration at the way things were handled was valid.

        I know who many of these people are and the ones I'm referring to -- not the ones who are genuinely trying to build community but the powermongers -- don't deserve my pity.

        Look, I really don't like Karmanut either. He's the sort of influential "power user" that I feel causes tremendous harm to communities like this because of the clout he wields and seeks to wield. On that issue I agree with you. That being said, I believe it's of critical importance to be able to admit someone is right even if you don't like them. No matter how much I may personally dislike Karmanut, or how much I may dislike the FPH people who have bandwagoned onto this Blackout, there are legitimate issues here. Dismissing these issues, especially in such a rude way, because you take issue with who is saying things rather than what they are saying is to embrace the sort of unprincipled toxicity that the "power user" mentality perpetuates. When who matters more than what you are creating an environment where people must become "power users" and gain social/political clout in order to have a voice on a discussion forum.