Source
r/redditrequest•
pyrocat_

Requesting control of /r/IAMA

The Admin retired and I'd like to open it back up. :)

It looks like we have some qualified Mods ready to step up and take the reigns. I'm going to defer to Orbixx and karmanaut. Orbixx has voiced his willingness to listen to feedback from the community and is willing to re-instate the old mods.. maybe even 32Bites if he finds his brain. ;)

Source

Edit: I see that a former Mod and another Mod of IAmA is also requesting control. I would happily step aside for someone more experienced.

Orbixx 1 point 25 minutes ago My intention is to reinstate all the original moderators.

Posted Aug 25, 2011, 4:54 PM UTC · edited

157146
karmanaut•

I have been an iama mod since the beginning and would also like control of the subreddit

112
DaTaco•

I believe the mods that have been there since the beginning have first "dibs" so to speak on a community.

I personally second Karmanaut's desire.

20
Zoethor2•

I support karmanaut's desire to take over IAmA - he's a stand up guy. I would trust him to do so.

10
emkat•

Did he remove all of the other mods?

8
karmanaut•

Yes

8
barbarianvillage•

What's funny is that he's deleting any mention that he did this on his post.

4
got_milk4•

Of course he would, it looks terribly awful to do so, so why allow it to gain attention and momentum against him?

3
tomato_paste•

You are back! How is Durham?

3
cookiecutter•

Thank you.

2
MockDeath•

I will have my fingers crossed for you.

1
racin36er•

never having been an IAmA mod (but a Mod on other subreddits), I would love the opportunity to help out, if required.

edit upvote for giving control to the original mods.

1
New_Wav•

Any change you could ad me if we get this back? I've wanted to help for a while on some reddit but never have had the change. I browse a couple of times a day and could take some swipes at the moderation que while I'm on.

1
[deleted]•

Please, please don't let r/IAmA die. The positive content far outweighs the liars and trolls.

22
Patrick5555•

not really. The top questions of good ones are just forced memes.

-10
GreatestWhiteShark•

You're being downvoted. But it's true. The insightful questions are buried under forced memes, one liners, and mocking questions. The subreddit actually has pretty much gone to hell.

2
idefix24•

Many of the problems with IAMA, such as fake or troll AMAs, could be fixed very easily by adding moderators and verifying legit AMAs early on. Just because 32bites doesn't want to do it anymore is no reason to shut the whole thing down. I'll support pyrocat_

14
syuk•

support the new sub reddit that comes up for I am A style submissions?

4
[deleted]•

Only if 32bites removes himself. De-modding a reddit creator would not a good thing.

13
pyrocat_OP•

32Bites has stated that he will not administrate r/IAmA any longer. How would removing him be a bad thing?

This is a community Sub-Reddit not r/32Bites.

20
[deleted]•

This is a community Sub-Reddit

Sorry, but it's not. I realize that's difficult for new users to understand, but that's the way it is.

7
JimmyDuce•

Do you have a precedent?

Here is a request made particularly to stop out of control mods.

If he doesn't want to run it anymore then he doesn't have to run it. It would be one thing if he was moderating the things he doesn't like in it, but he isn't he simply isn't moderating at all.

So again, yes I'm new, but where is your precedent?

11
[deleted]•

Hold on, I'll see if I can get you a response.

9
pyrocat_OP•

I guess this is what I will be bringing to the table if I become moderator of r/IAmA. I see it as Community Property. Not my own toy to do with as I please.

-3
[deleted]•

redditor for 1 month

This sort of behaviour is precisely why he shut it down.

6
pseudolobster•

Subreddits are created by regular users. You can create a subreddit, and it's yours. You decide what content goes there, you decide who to appoint as mods, it's your little niche you can do what you want with.

Mods are appointed, and they do have some power, like they can delete posts and ban people, but they don't own the subreddit. 32bytes created IAMA, so he's allowed to delete it, ban everyone, turn it into a goat porn subreddit if he wants. It's his subreddit, and the actual reddit admins don't intervene unless it's hosting illegal content.

2
tyj•

Why? He's made his stance perfectly clear.

5
GodOfAtheism•

Because it's his subreddit.

He can turn the background bright pink and flash green text across the screen saying "IAMA BAD MOD. AMA". and aside from complaining about it, you can't do anything, because, generally (Barring very particular circumstances, which his recent acts do not meet.), he's not breaking any rules by running his subreddit the way he wants. That includes closing it to new submissions.

I don't like the decision he made either, I certainly would've loved to see him pass the torch. However, he is well within his rights as a subreddit creator to make that call.

12
tyj•

I meant why would de-modding a reddit creator be a bad thing?

2
GodOfAtheism•

It sets a very bad precedent to de-mod a subreddit creator/top mod just because you don't like the way he's running the place. Now, if they obviously aren't running the place, or have just abandoned it? No problems.

9
[deleted]•

Yes, he did.

0
dakkeh•

I don't know why everyone is saying this. I agree that moderators should be able to control their subreddits the way they want to, but r/IAmA is an integral part of Reddit. There are admins (as in a step above moderators) on this site for a reason. They need to step in and prevent this from happening.

1
[deleted]•

sigh Eternal September has arrived. And I was so hoping back-to-school would help...

-1
[deleted]•

I came here to post this and I support this request. I'll gladly help with the moderating as well if r/IAmA is saved.

edit: Admins, I know you don't like to meddle with subreddit drama, but this is one of the sections of reddit that makes it so unique from other websites out there and is truly a gem. It would be a shame to see it go down in flames.

11
pyrocat_OP•

I will most definitely be looking for help, if I get it.

1
LemurLord•

It's probably a lot of work... I would recommend a few people to help with verification. Oh, and if you do get it, make a self post at IAmA and ask for suggestions from the community.

Hope everything works out...

3
[deleted]•

From the sounds of it, it looks like the structure of the community needs to be revamped entirely. Suggestions from the community is definitely the way to go, not just throwing your hands up and saying "I give up."

5
[deleted]•

[deleted]

0
[deleted]•

[deleted]

0
thefinn93•

I could (try) to help out if you'd like.

-1
dakkeh•

You've only been a redditor for a month. Not that I think you'd make a bad moderator, but there isn't really a track record established to determine if you'd make a good one. Do you have any experience in moderating a high volume forum?

10
el_muerte17•

He's willing to do it, which is more than can be said for 32bites.

7
dakkeh•

God damn it, I'll drink to that you correct son of a bitch.

4
[deleted]•

[deleted]

1
pyrocat_OP•

Nothing recent, but I was once an IRCop on the second largest(at the time) IRC Gaming network in the World.

-4
[deleted]•

I was on the routing team of DALnet before the large DoS attack split it. I can safely say that IRC operator experience translates to precisely dick, and I'm frankly amused that you're citing it.

Really, what did you learn there beyond akilling spammers and listening to people whine about services disputes?

5
pyrocat_OP•

Probably the most relevant is that I learned how to wield power responsibly and learned tolerance for users that I did not agree with.

Aside from that, I was an IRCop because I ran a node(leaf) on the Network. I didn't have to deal with complaints from users or work in #help. I could kick or g-line anyone I wanted and believe me, there where many occasions where I wanted to, but I didn't. ;)

1
dakkeh•

Probably the most relevant is that I learned how to wield power responsibly and learned tolerance for users that I did not agree with.

Actually a very good trait that makes for a great moderator.

2
[deleted]•

I could kick or g-line anyone I wanted and believe me, there where many occasions where I wanted to, but I didn't. ;)

Then you were doing it wrong.

-1
No-Shit-Sherlock•

pyrocat_ user 1 month and 3 days

Just sayin'

9
tyj•

An unmaintained read-only subreddit with nearly 500k subscribers, and a spot on the frontpage as one of the most popular subreddits.

Someone needs to take this over, whether it be the OP or a Reddit admin.

6
Jack_McCoy•

What exactly is the benefit of giving a single person unrestricted control over the demise of a sub-reddit?

6
syuk•

he made it? I am sure another similar sub reddit will appear.

5
Jack_McCoy•

I understand that this is how it does work, but I don't think it's how it should work. If, tomorrow, some incredible product comes out and I start a sub-reddit for it that grows through the efforts of the community and becomes an iconic part of the site, I really shouldn't be able to close it down whenever I want on a whim, and force the community to build it up all over again.

5
[deleted]•

[deleted]

1
freebullets•

The main problem here is the half a million people subscribed to the subreddit. How will they know where to go? IMO, the best course of action is for the reddit admins to intervene. They should remove him from the subreddit, make a reddit admin as the founder (so that this won't happen again), and make a few reputable members of the community mods. This way, the subreddit can be rebooted without building another community.

1
IAmAnAnonymousCoward•

he made it

This is not a benefit.

3
beehiveworldcup•

Expand the rules: When user created subreddits gets promoted to the default subreddit list make the admins highest moderators, too in this subreddit.

Fuck those guys with their "i created it, it belongs to me" ego bullshit.

PS: IAMA sucks and I hope it stays dead, nevertheless mods are assholes and take themselves too seriously. Also fuck violentacres.

-8
fco83•

Exactly. I think at some point, once a subreddit has achieved front page status, as IamA is, it becomes a community, not just someone's personal kingdom.

Think of it as a town being founded. If you founded a town 50 years ago, and gradually everyone moved in, that doesnt mean you're mayor forever, after that town has grown to millions of people.

2
Simmerian•

Do you really think the admins will give you, a random user who joined only a month ago, complete control over a subreddit with nearly 500,000 readers?

I think the answer is obvious.

6
[deleted]•

Hey, someone has to step up, or at least try to.

1
pyrocat_OP•

lol, I am not delusional.

-1
LemurLord•

Anyone is better than the current mod, obviously. :) I agree.

5
[deleted]•

Or, the alternate I just made: AskPeopleAnything.

If it goes well I'll add all the old mods and put myself at the bottom.

5
magus424•

There's an r/ama that people could move to, though that place has downvotes hidden :/

3
Retanaru•

Any place with downvotes hidden is either asking for trolls or run by trolls IMO

10
imdwalrus•

...and since IAmA was already one of the biggest troll targets on Reddit, that's not really an option.

2
someone13•

As a corollary to this - I have /r/VerifiedIAmAs, which I originally used as a link-dump. I just changed some stuff around and I'd be happy to have it used as a replacement subreddit.

2
[deleted]•

I support any subreddit, just so long as bites isn't a mod there.

5
IAmAnAnonymousCoward•

If it goes well I'll add all the old mods and put myself at the bottom.

Backup ;)

0
myonkin•

Seconded. Let him take it if he wants it.

2
LemurLord•

By the way sir pyrocat_ , I have directed people here from my post on r/reddit.com seen here

You may want to join discussion there as well. Just thought you'd like to know.

2
pyrocat_OP•

Thanks, Sir LemurLord. It looks like r/IAmA will be saved by the Gods of Reddit after all. :)

Edit: Or maybe not, krispykrackers deleted their post. :(

1
nmulcahey•

I think this will likely fall to the admins, and hueypriest or krispykrackers will assume control of the subreddit and re-add the previous moderators.

2
pyrocat_OP•

That is the best case scenario in my eyes. Barring their willingness or ability, I am prepared to step up and build a team to run the place.

1
hillbillyesq•

The AMA subreddit is sort of a special case in that it is known to attract a very large number of false posts and the only real safeguard against this is an extremely high level of involvement and responsiveness from the moderators. One person cannot be expected to bear sole responsibility for verification. I think a team of mods will be needed, and that they will need to work together to formulate a working list of "best practices" for dealing with verification in a fair and timely manner. Some of reddit's most interesting content comes from this subreddit but there is a lot of chaff that must be filtered to get to the good stuff. I think when it comes to picking mods that seniority among members of the reddit community probably should count for something, but a certain sense of professionalism should also be expected given the unique nature of AMA verification. I too would be happy to help moderate the reconstituted AMA subreddit.

2
AnnArchist•

This would be a good job to delegate to the new reddit employees 5days and kickme.

1
thebluehawk•

Um, what? Redditgifts and reddit.com are seperate entities. So yes, reddit employs 5days and kickme, but they have no say or power on reddit.com. Why make them clean up the shitstorm and have to moderate stuff.

Let them handle gifts exchanges which they are phenomenal at. :)

1
AnnArchist•

I can't imagine that redditgifts takes all their time each day. . . they are not admins, but the admins certainly could make them moderators.

1
bagamuffin•

I currently mod over at r/macgaming, I'd like to help out however I can.

1
thebluehawk•

So say we?

1
damnshoes•

I want the power. I believe I can handle the responsibility.

1