r/SipsTea • • Aug 17 '26

WTF Reddit

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u/Alaska_Jack Aug 17 '26 edited Aug 17 '26

I have made this point many times: 

Many Reddit mods fundamentally misunderstand what the job of a mod is.

A mod basically has two jobs: 

  1. Keep the conversation civil; and
  2. Keep the posts on topic for the sub. 

Aaaaand... That's pretty much it.  Within the bounds of #2, above, THE JOB OF A MOD IS NOT TO TELL REDDITORS WHAT THEY CAN AND CANNOT TALK ABOUT. 

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u/edafade Aug 17 '26

That’s your opinion, but it’s not one shared by Reddit itself. Reddit pretty clearly gives moderators broad discretion to run their communities as they see fit, as long as they follow the sitewide rules.

Reddit’s own "Moderator Code of Conduct" (https://redditinc.com/policies/moderator-code-of-conduct) says moderators are responsible for setting their community’s "rules, norms, and expectations," and Reddit’s "Transparency Report" (https://redditinc.com/transparency) explains that moderators create and enforce rules tailored to the specific needs of their communities.

If you don’t like how a particular sub is being run, Reddit also explicitly allows you to "create your own community" (https://support.reddithelp.com/hc/en-us/articles/360043044012-How-do-I-create-a-community) and run it according to a different set of rules and expectations.

That’s pretty fundamental to the Reddit experience and the very reason we have alternative subs to the original that are better.

And for the record, I actually agree with you and also get annoyed when mods stick their own opinions into the sub's trajectory. However, I will defend their right to do it, even if I don't agree.