Reddit CEO Resigns Following User Revolt

[Steven Bogos]

Reddit CEO Resigns Following User Revolt

Ellen Pao has stepped down as CEO of reddit following a mass online protest over the firing of a popular moderator.

Most internet users are likely to have visited the massively popular internet discussion board reddit [https://www.reddit.com/] at some stage in their internet travels. If you've been on the site in the last few weeks, you may have noticed a bunch of petitions and protests being thrown around, usually involving the names "Ellen Pao" or "Victoria Taylor". The short and skinny of it is that the site's CEO (Pao) fired a popular moderator (Taylor), and the internet lost its collective shit, starting a protest movement that has culminated in Pao's resignation.

Steve Huffman, one of reddit's original co-founders, will be filling Pao's shoes as the site's new CEO. "First, I'm super excited. Second I am terrified," Huffman said of the promotion.

However, Sam Altman, a board member at reddit, claims that Pao's resignation was not a result of the recent controversy, and rather a "mutual decision over a number of weeks." Pao, who will remain an adviser for the reddit board, said "We had different views in the potential growth rate in users for Reddit this year. We couldn't come to an agreement on that and I decided to step down."

In a blog post [https://www.reddit.com/r/announcements/comments/3cucye/an_old_team_at_reddit/] detailing the change, Altman scolded his users for their "sickening" actions against Pao. "It was sickening to see some of the things redditors wrote about Ellen," he wrote. "The reduction in compassion that happens when we're all behind computer screens is not good for the world."

Looks like big changes are afoot at reddit for the coming year. Are you happy to see Pao go?

Source: Bloomberg [http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-10/ellen-pao-resigns-as-reddit-interim-ceo-after-user-revolt]

Permalink

 

[Porygon-2000]

Is it 'reigns' or 'resigns'? They don't mean the same thing!

Other than that, it's refreshing to see an unpopular leader actually take their head out of their ass and listen to the people for once.

 

[Steven Bogos]

Is it 'reigns' or 'resigns'? They don't mean the same thing!

Other than that, it's refreshing to see an unpopular leader actually take their head out of their ass and listen to the people for once.

My bad! It is resigns

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

Good for Reddit, though the debacle gave Voat a good chunk of notice. Now we have Voat has become the "Hitbox" to Reddit's "Twitch".

 

[Bat Vader]

Before this all happened I was thinking of visiting Reddit more but now since all this bad stuff happened over the past few weeks I wonder if there is even a point anymore.

 

[RicoADF]

Yeah the person that said their disgusted in the revolt is dumb. Regardless of how legit it is (I don't visit reddit and don't know what was said) the last thing you do is attack your consumer.

 

[Alfredo Jones]

Yeah the person that said their disgusted in the revolt is dumb. Regardless of how legit it is (I don't visit reddit and don't know what was said) the last thing you do is attack your consumer.

Considering how far people on the internet go when they pull this kind of shit I think we need more people calling them out. This sort of attitude really isn't healthy for the internet as a whole.

 

[Elijin]

Oh good.

More fuel for the 'if we stamp our feet and act like children we'll get our way!' internet mentality.

Im not going to comment on the validity, because I know nothing about reddit, but everytime the internet chucking a tantrum gets their way, I am further saddened. Dont take this to believe I think leadership is infallible, do what you want, etc etc. I just think collectively acting like a child who just got put in time out, is shameful.

 

[lacktheknack]

Yeah the person that said their disgusted in the revolt is dumb. Regardless of how legit it is (I don't visit reddit and don't know what was said) the last thing you do is attack your consumer.

The Reddit users in question's justification for being cunts is irrelevant, because at the end of the day, they're still cunts.

I don't give a damn if they were "attacked" or not. There's a graceful way to deal with being slighted, and then there's... that.

OT: I have literally no idea whether Pao's presence was good for Reddit or not. So I guess I'm opinionless on that front.

 

[NiPah]

So does anyone in this thread even know what those "sickening actions" were or is everyone here so cued up that you don't even need information before you go calling a group... "children, cunts, disgusting, ect ect".

Good to know that all I need to do to add validity to my argument is say my opposing group was doing something mean to another person and I have total agreement even if they admittedly know nothing about the subject at hand.

(Note I know nothing about what happened, just that a few boards were taken down in protest, but I'm not going to go around saying one side is right or wrong without fucking proper knowledge on the subject).

 

[Elijin]

So does anyone in this thread even know what those "sickening actions" were or is everyone here so cued up that you don't even need information before you go calling a group... "children, cunts, disgusting, ect ect".

Good to know that all I need to do to add validity to my argument is say my opposing group was doing something mean to another person and I have total agreement even if they admittedly know nothing about the subject at hand.

(Note I know nothing about what happened, just that a few boards were taken down in protest, but I'm not going to go around saying one side is right or wrong without fucking proper knowledge on the subject).

How is assuming we're dismissive of the complaints because we dislike the methodology, any different to what you're doing?

They could be as right as rain, I will still always be critical of tantrums. In fact, if someone is right beyond reproach, why the hell are they throwing a tantrum?

 

[totheendofsin]

At least half of the revolt was imo justified as it was mods protesting a complete lack of communication from the admins (hell the whole thing was kicked off when the admins basically crippled one of the most popular subreddits by firing the admin who handled the celebrity AMAs) the other half was an extension of a user protest stemming from the banning of distasteful subreddits that were allegedly breaking reddits rules. Of course I don't doubt some people went way too far in their criticism of Pao, this is the internet afterall, we all know what it's like

 

[NiPah]

So does anyone in this thread even know what those "sickening actions" were or is everyone here so cued up that you don't even need information before you go calling a group... "children, cunts, disgusting, ect ect".

Good to know that all I need to do to add validity to my argument is say my opposing group was doing something mean to another person and I have total agreement even if they admittedly know nothing about the subject at hand.

(Note I know nothing about what happened, just that a few boards were taken down in protest, but I'm not going to go around saying one side is right or wrong without fucking proper knowledge on the subject).

How is assuming we're dismissive of the complaints because we dislike the methodology, any different to what you're doing?

They could be as right as rain, I will still always be critical of tantrums. In fact, if someone is right beyond reproach, why the hell are they throwing a tantrum?

I'm asking if you even know what the methodology was, you're saying they threw a tantrum because of Altman's comment.

Like I said all I know on the subject is some boards were taken offline (this isn't something like DDOS attack, the moderators who created the boards have the option of making it private and did so in protest). While I don't believe this is what Altman was referring to, I'm not going to call some people (and I quote) "cunts" if I don't know what the fuck they did in the first place.

The people in this thread who called the protestors childish, cunts, and disgusting were quick to point out they know little of reddit, which is why I question their knowledge on what even happened, and also why I targeted my comment to those people.

 

[Areloch]

So does anyone in this thread even know what those "sickening actions" were or is everyone here so cued up that you don't even need information before you go calling a group... "children, cunts, disgusting, ect ect".

Good to know that all I need to do to add validity to my argument is say my opposing group was doing something mean to another person and I have total agreement even if they admittedly know nothing about the subject at hand.

(Note I know nothing about what happened, just that a few boards were taken down in protest, but I'm not going to go around saying one side is right or wrong without fucking proper knowledge on the subject).

How is assuming we're dismissive of the complaints because we dislike the methodology, any different to what you're doing?

They could be as right as rain, I will still always be critical of tantrums. In fact, if someone is right beyond reproach, why the hell are they throwing a tantrum?

I'm asking if you even know what the methodology was, you're saying they threw a tantrum because of Altman's comment.

Like I said all I know on the subject is some boards were taken offline (this isn't something like DDOS attack, the moderators who created the boards have the option of making it private and did so in protest). While I don't believe this is what Altman was referring to, I'm not going to call some people (and I quote) "cunts" if I don't know what the fuck they did in the first place.

At least half of the revolt was imo justified as it was mods protesting a complete lack of communication from the admins (hell the whole thing was kicked off when the admins basically crippled one of the most popular subreddits by firing the admin who handled the celebrity AMAs) the other half was an extension of a user protest stemming from the banning of distasteful subreddits that were allegedly breaking reddits rules. Of course I don't doubt some people went way too far in their criticism of Pao, this is the internet afterall, we all know what it's like

totheendofsin is pretty much correct.

This last week saw the firing of a more or less universally loved lead moderator from the Ask Me Anything reddit, without letting anyone else on the board know about it. Because she helped run everything pertaining to the celebrity AMAs, which was the major feature of the board and a big draw of Reddit itself, the moderation put the board into private mode while they attempted to figure out how to manage without their lead organizer.

This drew a lot of attention to the situation with the AMA board, and a TON of other boards, some of them being main boards also went into private in an act of solidarity due to the administration being completely no-signal on the issue.

kn0thing made a snarky comment in a redditdrama thread about it which only exacerbated the issue further.

Eventually, the administration finally spat out a "Sorry we've always been terrible and have emptily promised to get better, but we promise that we'll stop it and get better, so unlock the boards".

There's some debate on if some of the boards were then forced by admins to unlock, or if it was the moderators, but the fact of the matter is, the administration mismanaged, pissed off a gigantic number of moderators across a ton of boards on the site due to their radio silence and snark following the mismanagement, and this in turn pissed off a lot of the end users because their boards were down due to the admin's behavior.

That's the overview of this last week's events, as I've understood them to play out so far.

 

[Elijin]

snip

You're the only person I have seen in here throwing most of those words around. With the exception of children, which yeah, totally. I have said having a tantrum is childish. You know like saying you dont agree with how the game is being played, so you're going to take your ball and go home. Or in this case, close boards.

Also I think these issues are always a hilarious powder keg. If someone is in an employment role, and gets suddenly canned, there's something up. If the person who got canned doesnt step up to the bat for themselves, its usually not the black and white affair the internet wants it to be. And transparency? Are you kidding me. If you got into a situation worthy of being fired over, do you want the whole internet to know about it?


This sort of stuff reminds me of the Bungie/Marty thing. The community cried for ages, but he got his severance cheque and walked away. If it had actually been an unfair dismissal, I imagine he would have fought it.

Because thats the thing. These companies are very public, and it leads people to forget that they're companies. With policies and rules and guidelines for conduct. If someone in a 'public' position is suddenly fired, and doesnt fight it back, its very rarely 'sudden' and definitely not everyones business.

Edit: I just noticed the offensive lanuage. I must have skimmed over it as not worth the time to read fully. Because you're right, thats totally uncalled for.

 

[RicoADF]

The Reddit users in question's justification for being cunts is irrelevant, because at the end of the day, they're still cunts.

I don't give a damn if they were "attacked" or not. There's a graceful way to deal with being slighted, and then there's... that.

OT: I have literally no idea whether Pao's presence was good for Reddit or not. So I guess I'm opinionless on that front.

I think you misunderstood me, I was saying that I don't know what these users apparently said or how legit the "disgusting" comment was, I was saying that his response in attacking all of his customers for the actions of some is stupid.

Considering how far people on the internet go when they pull this kind of shit I think we need more people calling them out. This sort of attitude really isn't healthy for the internet as a whole.

Calling out what someone is said and calling everyone disgusting are 2 different things.

 

[FalloutJack]

Oh good.

More fuel for the 'if we stamp our feet and act like children we'll get our way!' internet mentality.

Im not going to comment on the validity, because I know nothing about reddit, but everytime the internet chucking a tantrum gets their way, I am further saddened. Dont take this to believe I think leadership is infallible, do what you want, etc etc. I just think collectively acting like a child who just got put in time out, is shameful.

Objection! People who don't know anything on the subject matter don't get to comment on the matter!

OT: Ya wouldn't think that stepping down was really the intended goal here. Will it actually quell the masses? I wonder...

 

[NiPah]

snip

You're the only person I have seen in here throwing most of those words around. With the exception of children, which yeah, totally. I have said having a tantrum is childish. You know like saying you dont agree with how the game is being played, so you're going to take your ball and go home. Or in this case, close boards.

Also I think these issues are always a hilarious powder keg. If someone is in an employment role, and gets suddenly canned, there's something up. If the person who got canned doesnt step up to the bat for themselves, its usually not the black and white affair the internet wants it to be. And transparency? Are you kidding me. If you got into a situation worthy of being fired over, do you want the whole internet to know about it?


This sort of stuff reminds me of the Bungie/Marty thing. The community cried for ages, but he got his severance cheque and walked away. If it had actually been an unfair dismissal, I imagine he would have fought it.

Because thats the thing. These companies are very public, and it leads people to forget that they're companies. With policies and rules and guidelines for conduct. If someone in a 'public' position is suddenly fired, and doesnt fight it back, its very rarely 'sudden' and definitely not everyones business.

The Reddit users in question's justification for being cunts is irrelevant, because at the end of the day, they're still cunts.

My apology on the "disgusting", I actually had misread Rico's comment and attributed it towards the other side. (or actually it looks like it was edited? not sure)

But my point still stands, until I mentioned that they had taken boards down I doubt you knew any of the actions taken by the crowd you were so quick to call childish. You can easily defend your arguments after the fact, but that's not my point, gather the pertinent information before you make a snap judgement on the validity of a side.

(Yes I know there is quite a bit of irony in the fact that I'm making a snap judgement on many of the early posters without fully knowing the extent of their knowledge and simply going off their comments on not being familiar with Reddit, but it's more fun this way)

 

[Bat Vader]

Oh good.

More fuel for the 'if we stamp our feet and act like children we'll get our way!' internet mentality.

Im not going to comment on the validity, because I know nothing about reddit, but everytime the internet chucking a tantrum gets their way, I am further saddened. Dont take this to believe I think leadership is infallible, do what you want, etc etc. I just think collectively acting like a child who just got put in time out, is shameful.

Objection! People who don't know anything on the subject matter don't get to comment on the matter!

OT: Ya wouldn't think that stepping down was really the intended goal here. Will it actually quell the masses? I wonder...

If it doesn't it will still be a fun thing to watch. I'll admit I would love to see Reddit be burned down. Not because I dislike the site or anything but purely because I find stuff like that funny.

NSFW video

Spoiler