6329 upvotes, 27 direct replies (showing 25)
View submission: Why has R/Iama been set to private?
Today, we learned that Victoria was unexpectedly let go from her position with Reddt. We all had the rug ripped out from under us and feel betrayed.
Before doing that, the admins really should have at least talked to us (and all the other subs that host AMAs, like /r/Books, /r/Science, /r/Music, etc.) (Edit: not to suggest that we expect to know about Reddit's inner workings. Just that there should have been a transition in place or something worked out to ensure that Victoria's duties would be adequately handled, which they are not) We had a number of AMAs scheduled for today that Victoria was supposed to help with, and they are all left absolutely high and dry (hence taking IAMA private to figure out the situation) She was still willing to help them today (before the sub was shut down, of course) even without being paid or required to do so. Just a sign of how much she is committed to what she does.
The admins didn't realize how much we rely on Victoria. Part of it is proof, of course: we know it's legitimate when she's sitting right there next to the person and can make them provide proof. We've had situations where agents or others have tried to do an AMA as their client, and Victoria shut that shit down immediately. We can't do that anymore.
Part of it is also that Victoria is an essential lifeline of communication. When something goes wrong in an AMA, we can call and get it fixed *immediately*. Otherwise, we have to resort to desperately try messaging the person via Reddit (and they may not know to check their messages or even to look for these notifications). Sometimes we have to resort to shit like this[1] (now with a screenshot[2] because I can't link to that anymore for you) where we have to nuke an entire submission just so that the person is aware of the problem.
1: https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1zg3b8/gabe_newell_ama_100_pm_pst/cftfbio
2: http://i.imgur.com/UtV7fvg.png
Part of it is also organization. The vast majority of scheduling requests go through her and she ensures that we have all of the standard information that we need ahead of time (date, time, proof, description, etc.) and makes it easier for the teams that set up AMAs on both ends. She ensures that things will go well and that the person understands what /r/IAMA is and what is expected of them. Without her filling this role, we will be utterly overwhelmed. We might need to scrap the calendar altogether, or somehow limit AMAs from those that would need help with the process.
We have been really blindsided by all of this. As a result, we will need to go through our processes and see what can be done without her.
Comment by chickenmagic at 02/07/2015 at 17:56 UTC
5424 upvotes, 4 direct replies
What the holy shit.
Looks like I asked the right question today.
Comment by nallen at 02/07/2015 at 18:01 UTC*
3743 upvotes, 11 direct replies
I fully support this decision to shut down /r/IAmA, letting Victoria go is a slap.
To back this up, I am the mod in /r/science that organizes all of the science AMAs, and I am going to have meaningful problems in the /r/Science AMAs, Victoria was the only line of communication with the admins. If someone wants to get analytics for an AMA the answer will be "Sorry, I can't help."
Dropping this on all of us in the AMA sphere feels like an enormous slap to those of us who put in massive amounts of time to bring quality content to reddit.
I personally feel like shutting /r/science down as well, that's how much of a bad taste this leaves.
Comment by shwag945 at 02/07/2015 at 17:34 UTC
2845 upvotes, 6 direct replies
Now I really want to know why Victoria was fired....
Also seeing a default sub go private. Never thought I would see the day.
Comment by Chtorrr at 02/07/2015 at 18:13 UTC
2639 upvotes, 2 direct replies
I'm scrambling right now trying to get the AMAs for /r/books figured out :(
Luckily I was already cc'd for some.
I've got to dig up emails for publicists and explain to them that the person they were working with is gone? Will an admin get in touch with them? It's pretty unprofessional.
Comment by [deleted] at 02/07/2015 at 17:40 UTC
1570 upvotes, 2 direct replies
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Comment by [deleted] at 02/07/2015 at 17:29 UTC*
1421 upvotes, 5 direct replies
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Comment by Lobstertrainer at 02/07/2015 at 17:33 UTC*
1063 upvotes, 4 direct replies
The quality of the AMAs when victoria was handling them has been top notch. I'm afraid of what's coming up next. Hopefully we can get Victoria back aboard.
^i'd ^also ^like ^to ^know ^the ^details ^on ^why ^she ^was ^suddenly ^let ^go...
Edit: shit all subs going private in a joint boycott effort. Viva la Victoria viva our freedom!
Comment by K_Lobstah at 02/07/2015 at 17:41 UTC
971 upvotes, 2 direct replies
When the individual teams of volunteer moderators are more reliable than the business they work for, something is wrong.
Not to go all Chicken Little here, but literally what the fuck is happening in that office right now?
Comment by [deleted] at 02/07/2015 at 18:13 UTC
910 upvotes, 2 direct replies
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Comment by [deleted] at 02/07/2015 at 18:14 UTC
805 upvotes, 1 direct replies
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Comment by [deleted] at 02/07/2015 at 18:31 UTC*
755 upvotes, 2 direct replies
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Comment by warwickraid at 02/07/2015 at 17:31 UTC
263 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Holy shit they fired Victoria? Not even a warning just up and gone. Today is a sad day for reddit.
Comment by Bossman1086 at 02/07/2015 at 17:35 UTC
228 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Well that's really shitty. Really didn't see that coming considering how much work she did and how much the community loved her.
Thanks for the transparency, /u/karmanaut. It's appreciated. And I hope you guys are able to figure out a way to keep things running smoothly.
Comment by kyle8998 at 02/07/2015 at 17:28 UTC
202 upvotes, 3 direct replies
Damn, do you guys have any idea why they let Victoria go? It just seems like a mistake. :(
Anyways I wish you guys the best in solving this problem.
Comment by majoroutage at 02/07/2015 at 17:53 UTC
179 upvotes, 1 direct replies
We've had situations where agents or others have tried to do an AMA as their client, and Victoria shut that shit down immediately. We can't do that anymore.
What do you mean "We can't just talk about Rampart?"
Comment by vindecima at 02/07/2015 at 18:40 UTC
170 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Victoria was unexpectedly let go
RIP /r/IAmA
Comment by [deleted] at 02/07/2015 at 17:43 UTC
161 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Wow this sucks.
Good luck you guys. This really sucks for reddit as a whole.
Barely any engineers, no victoria..making everyone move to SF.
Reddit's business decisions have been pretty questionable lately, not to mention what they have been even doing with what few engineers they have.
Comment by budgiebum at 02/07/2015 at 18:01 UTC
141 upvotes, 2 direct replies
I guess it's time to grab the pitchforks again
Comment by FlammableBacon at 02/07/2015 at 17:39 UTC
132 upvotes, 4 direct replies
Stupid question... Who is Victoria?
Comment by cup-o-farts at 02/07/2015 at 18:24 UTC
113 upvotes, 1 direct replies
The only assumption that I can make the way Reddit has been going lately is that Reddit wants to monetize AMAs since most of them are basically advertising anyways. I don't know if Victoria was interested in going with that, turning IAMA into basically a interactive commercial.
Comment by Seraph_Grymm at 02/07/2015 at 17:26 UTC
99 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Without her, we need to figure out a different way for it to work.
Exactly.
Which warranted immediate review of our processes and how to handle things going forward.
We apologize for the inconvenience, but it is necessary.
Comment by jsmooth7 at 02/07/2015 at 18:17 UTC
98 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Well that's an incredibly bad decision by the admins. Why would you put all this effort into building up AMAs, even making an official AMA app, and then do this with no warning at all? This makes past bad decisions look pretty tame.
Comment by [deleted] at 02/07/2015 at 17:34 UTC
92 upvotes, 2 direct replies
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Comment by Highside79 at 02/07/2015 at 19:02 UTC
50 upvotes, 1 direct replies
AMA is like the flagship Reddit product that grabs the most attention for reddit from the non-reddit audience. Failing to have a real transition plan for this is a huge oversight.
Comment by crawlerz2468 at 02/07/2015 at 18:25 UTC
52 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Today, we learned that Victoria was unexpectedly let go from her position with Reddt.
what the fuck, Reddit?
