Three Reddit moderators have just told me that Reddit is sending a message to closed communities asking if they plan to reopen. Here’s the full message, taken from screenshots I’ve seen: The 48-hour timing is notable; Reddit mods had asked the company for a response to an open letter by June 29th (which would be 48 hours from now), and that means that this deadline would be up just a day before many popular Reddit apps are set to shut down on June 30th.
So… They’re going to force reopen the subs before the API turn off and claim the protests had no effect?
I think that it’s their intention. Mods have a few ways to fight back, though. And I hope that they’re organising a mass exodus.
I would assume that means they also plan to replace the real people who left the platform with activity from bot accounts to make it seem like business as usual for the planned IPO.