A Note on Subreddits Going Private Today

https://www.reddit.com/r/NewToReddit/comments/pbvs20/a_note_on_subreddits_going_private_today/

created by llamageddon01 on 26/08/2021 at 09:11 UTC*

41 upvotes, 8 top-level comments (showing 8)

Hello lovely Redditors!

You might notice some disruption in your Redditing in the next day or so. We don’t normally need to address real-world controversy or political issues in our little help subreddit, but something is going on in Reddit right now that you should know about as it will probably affect you eventually.

Many Reddit Moderators have decided to take their Subreddits to a Private mode. That basically means that when you try to access it, you will be faced with an error message: *The moderators of this subreddit have set this community as private. Only approved members can view and take part in its discussions.*

PLEASE DON’T THINK THIS IS BECAUSE YOU PERSONALLY ARE BARRED FROM THAT COMMUNITY. You haven’t done anything wrong. Everyone except their mods will get that message right now.

This is all because many Moderators are protesting about the Subreddits which exist solely to spread medical disinformation and undermine efforts to combat the current global pandemic. By temporarily closing their large and active subreddits (and therefore removing adverts and other revenue opportunities), they are putting pressure on the admins to remove these subs from Reddit.

I want to assure you that the moderating team of this sub are not going to take us private. Regardless of our opinions on the subject, we feel it would be inappropriate to take us offline. In fact, we have made the decision to stay open because we believe our services are going to be required more than ever while this protest is happening.

There is an excellent summary of what and why this is happening here: https://www.reddit.com/r/OutOfTheLoop/comments/pbf3rn/megathread_why_have_so_many_subs_gone_private_or/

The protest post itself is here: https://www.reddit.com/r/vaxxhappened/comments/pbe8nj/we_call_upon_reddit_to_take_action_against_the/

The Reddit CEO has made a statement here: https://www.reddit.com/r/announcements/comments/pbmy5y/debate_dissent_and_protest_on_reddit/

We respectfully ask that any opinions and discussion on this action and the reasons for this action are kept out of our subreddit. Two of the three links above have many and varied debates on the issues here and I believe your karma count won’t preclude you from being able to contribute to them if that’s your wish. There are probably many other politically-minded subreddits that are discussing this matter right now, and there is an active post at r/SubredditDrama that you might also be able to contribute to if you want to make your feelings known: https://www.reddit.com/r/SubredditDrama/comments/pbo00b/admins_respond_to_todays_nonewnormal_protest/

Unlike other social media outlets, It doesn’t happen too often that Reddit makes the news, but today is a rare exception.

Comments

Comment by [deleted] at 26/08/2021 at 10:27 UTC

13 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Thank you for explaining!

Comment by [deleted] at 26/08/2021 at 14:53 UTC

7 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Thank you for this information

Comment by MightyMitos19 at 26/08/2021 at 12:02 UTC

6 upvotes, 1 direct replies

Thank you for the clearest explanation of what's going on that I've seen, u/llamageddon01. If a subreddit that I want to join is private, how do I gain permission into the community? Would I need to message a mod? And would joining one of these private be a show of solidarity with their views on this issue?

Comment by Ok-Mathematician__ at 26/08/2021 at 20:05 UTC

5 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Thanks for this!

Comment by DorShow at 26/08/2021 at 12:02 UTC

3 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Thanks for the information. Very helpful to all, new and old and everyone in between.

Comment by [deleted] at 26/08/2021 at 15:24 UTC

3 upvotes, 1 direct replies

[removed]

Comment by MasterYoshi5 at 26/08/2021 at 20:11 UTC

3 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Thank you for the wonderful explanation! I have been a little confused on it over the past day so I appreciate it!

I can't imagine the amount of people with questions on this already posting on this subreddit already but thank you for all you wonderful people do!

Comment by the_triangler_orange at 26/08/2021 at 09:48 UTC

0 upvotes, 0 direct replies

God I hate it when Reddit does this stupid stuff