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View submission: The NewToReddit Encyclopaedia Redditica v2
KnowYourMeme is surprisingly vague[1] on the origins of this phrase, but anecdotal evidence shows it originated on 4chan, like many memes on Reddit. "Mods Are Asleep, post X" was an expression used to indicate that the website's moderators were currently inactive and unable to enforce the site's rules of conduct. The phrase was often followed by a call to action for other users to post material that is typically not allowed. 4chan being, well, 4chan, you can imagine the reasons why this was popular there[2].
1: https://www.reddit.com/r/OutOfTheLoop/comments/2dte8k/comment/cjt1mcd/
2: https://www.reddit.com/r/OutOfTheLoop/comments/1vmz6o/comment/cetxew8/
Reddit being, well, Reddit, embraced the hilarity of this concept thoroughly and now it’s used as an occasional fun device in many subs, usually with the tacit complicity of the mods, as seen in this example here[3] where they were mocking a spelling / autocarrot mistake, or this which was obviously done with the indulgence of the mods and not as a rule-breaking exercise[4].
3: https://www.reddit.com/r/thanosdidnothingwrong/comments/915adc/mods_are_asleep_post_thermos/
4: https://www.reddit.com/r/HighQualityGifs/comments/csfjfe/comment/exeqspu/
5: https://www.reddit.com/r/NewToReddit/comments/qbb173/comment/hhhipt1/
6: https://www.reddit.com/r/NewToReddit/comments/qbb173/comment/hhi8gd6/
7: https://www.reddit.com/r/NewToReddit/comments/qbb173/comment/hha7aan/
There's nothing here!