Some changes to the Redditrequest process

https://www.reddit.com/r/redditrequest/comments/1538xx7/some_changes_to_the_redditrequest_process/

created by TheOpusCroakus on 18/07/2023 at 20:10 UTC

69 upvotes, 58 top-level comments (showing 25)

Greetings!

Just wanted to pop in to let the community know of some changes that we’re making to the Redditrequest process. These changes are now reflected on the sidebar and will be effective starting now.

Previously, your account needed to be at least 90 days old and have 500 combined karma to request a subreddit. The requirement moving forward will be a 28-day old account and 100 comment karma. You will also now need to have a verified email in order for us to process your request. If you do not have a verified email on your account at the time of your request, your request will be denied.

That’s it. That’s the post!

Comments

Comment by TheOpusCroakus at 19/07/2023 at 16:47 UTC

1 upvotes, 1 direct replies

Hi!

To be clear, there is still internal criteria in place that prevents a significant number of the requests from being approved. This is just our public-facing criteria for making a post in redditrequest. We typically do not publicize the exact reasons for denials.

Many newish mods or users without moderator experience often try to make requests for tiny, abandoned communities that have never been active, or have been restricted due to lack of moderation for years, which can enable them to gain moderation experience. The goal here is to make those subreddits easier for people to claim. We have restrictions in place for automatic approvals for larger subreddits.

Comment by acidbase_001 at 18/07/2023 at 20:18 UTC

90 upvotes, 5 direct replies

Seems strange to lower the age and karma requirements when the majority of requests already get rejected and the backlog is longer than ever.

Comment by UrielSVK at 19/07/2023 at 06:36 UTC

30 upvotes, 4 direct replies

My request for a 100 subscriber dead, unmoderated subreddit got denied despite having 3300 days old account, 60k combined karma, and moderating a 140k subscriber subreddit. Got a feeling that there might be some hidden requirements. Like willingness to suck admin dick on demand

Comment by pharlax at 18/07/2023 at 20:41 UTC

41 upvotes, 1 direct replies

That seems an excessively low bar

Comment by LengthyPole at 18/07/2023 at 21:06 UTC

25 upvotes, 3 direct replies

The verified email makes sense but lowering the karma/age sounds like a terrible idea. People with 28 day old accounts probably don’t have that much mod experience :/

Comment by annoyinghamster51 at 18/07/2023 at 21:42 UTC

14 upvotes, 2 direct replies

I think that the email verification is a good idea, but 28 days seems excessively low. Inexperienced Redditors could potentially take over subreddits with a decent amount of activity, which would lead to problems like spam, especially as most of the subreddits being requested have already been banned previously for lack of moderation or spam issues.

Comment by HighHoSilver99 at 19/07/2023 at 01:15 UTC

12 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Seeing the consequences of angering your entirely volunteer moderator workforce I see.

Comment by joeiudi at 19/07/2023 at 07:45 UTC

9 upvotes, 1 direct replies

So repost bot minimum requirements.

Ok...

Comment by smellycoat at 19/07/2023 at 07:33 UTC

5 upvotes, 0 direct replies

That's an incredibly low bar. I wonder if this is about allowing companies to install a sockpuppet account as a moderator for big subreddits...

Comment by Kooriki at 19/07/2023 at 15:11 UTC

5 upvotes, 0 direct replies

LMAO - My last throwaway account qualifies?

Comment by Chinese-Fat-Camp at 19/07/2023 at 01:31 UTC

11 upvotes, 2 direct replies

I got rejected for no mod experience yet a 28 day account will be accepted to make requests? What lol

Comment by YannisALT at 19/07/2023 at 14:02 UTC

5 upvotes, 0 direct replies

*You will also now need to have a verified email in order for us to process your request.*

About time! Better late than never!

Seriously, though, Thank you. Good job.

Comment by maybesaydie at 20/07/2023 at 01:28 UTC

8 upvotes, 0 direct replies

You should crosspost this to r/FreeKarma4u to get those high quality mods.

Unbelievable.

Comment by [deleted] at 19/07/2023 at 19:08 UTC

3 upvotes, 1 direct replies

I made a post 2 weeks to take over an unmodded /r/spotted. No response! This is a popular sub amongst car enthusiasts, why do you take away our nice things? Plz respond, luv u

Comment by IrwinJFinster at 14/08/2023 at 03:01 UTC

3 upvotes, 1 direct replies

I just want to make sure I have the correct subreddit. The owner of a very active subreddit with thousands of unique daily visitors just fired all mods then either deleted the subreddit or set it to private. The site owner is likely protesting the third party app decision. But in any event the site owner has not been involved in the site since 1999. No participation at all other than resetting bots maybe once per year. If the now former mods want to claim the subreddit to keep serving their community, is this the right place to ask? (Copying u/Quackquack48 so he can follow the response and invite the terminated mods)

Comment by QuicklyThisWay at 18/07/2023 at 23:32 UTC*

6 upvotes, 0 direct replies

It seems obvious why this change has occurred. It would be helpful if there are stricter requirements in place for communities that have recently been locked down due to mod removal by u/modcodeofconduct - if these communities are overtaken by anyone, there are going to be major concerns raised. Now, if these communities are taken over by new accounts with little participation on Reddit, that will qualify pretty much anyone who can wait 1 month, this is a very low bar that will increase the risk of abuse.

So while this seems like a way to get passed these recent issues quicker, it will lead to more problems. If these types of changes were accompanied by metric driven rationale, then it would be helpful to be given SOME insight into these decisions.

I’m not happy with recent decisions, but I’m willing to at least hear out the business rationale to understand WHY these unpopular changes are occurring. Assuming this is all in preparation for an IPO, it would be good practice to provide this kind of information so potential investors can make more informed decisions. If I was considering buying Reddit stock, I would not see any of these recent changes as a positive sign.

Comment by whobang3r at 18/07/2023 at 21:59 UTC

14 upvotes, 1 direct replies

Not enough scabs eh?

Comment by Plylyfe at 19/07/2023 at 20:06 UTC

2 upvotes, 0 direct replies

your account needed to be at least 90 days old and have 500 combined karma to request a subreddit. The requirement moving forward will be a 28-day old account and 100 comment karma.

Wow that's crazy! You guys are so desperate you might actually cause more harm than good 'ere. Many requests get rejected regardless and the backlog must be insane.

Anyhow, what does this new requirement apply to? Subs that have inactive mods, sub that had their mod teams revoke by admins, or just in general? Also, isn't needing some form of moderator experience part of the requirement as well? I'm pretty sure lots of requests get rejected for that.

Comment by yknphotoman at 21/07/2023 at 18:01 UTC

2 upvotes, 1 direct replies

Hi there,

If request_bot auto denies a subreddit request, are mods of the requested community still notified? I ask as the rules state mods of a requested community have 5 days to respond - does that timeline apply in these instances?

Comment by Annual_Composer8559 at 02/08/2023 at 12:49 UTC

2 upvotes, 0 direct replies

The system is flawed. I made a request for a subreddit that has been made private in protest of the api changes, and the bot says the moderators are still active when, in fact, they are open about not wanting to open the subreddit again.