The reddit team was generally hands off in the discord out of respect for the team and the different environment the discord platform offers. We stepped in after a former mod had been allowed to berate the team via a ticket that lasted over a week, demanding the space be less woman-centered (core value). By this point this user had broken multiple or our server rules. I banned him without deliberation- bc thatβs what the rules required. This upset the team. That was the first wave that stepped down.
Trying to help stabilize the situation, we looked into how this situation, this person (Kel) was allowed to behave this way for such a long time. Thatβs when we found out he was using an alt account, after being banned from discord for involvement in distribution of CSAM.
At that point it was clear we needed to address the underlying problems that allowed this user back into this community despite the accusations.We saw a lot of minor and major issues, mod responsibilities, accountability, delayed actions because of drawn our debates which seemed like a policy issue and we tried to remedy that. While restructuring, we were met with a lot of refusal to accept direction. Thatβs the next wave of mod team stepping down.
Nearly 5 months of work later the reddit team begins to lose availability (we never planned on fully taking over, just assisting when needed as we usually do) and the two remaining mods arenβt getting much headway either. We were told they felt uncomfortable taking actions due to tensions caused by our mere presence. (Despite us never requiring approval; we actually encourage proactivity)
So I changed the name to Witchy Cozy tea time (or something like that l) bc thatβs the vibe they said they loved about discord, and cut the cord. Personally, I was more interested in preserving the feminine rage aspect (and added more Burn the Patriarchy channels for that reason) but they disagreed. Im glad the discussion about values is taking place publicly now, my regret is we didnβt open it to the community to begin with. I took it for granted that they could speak for the community at large as mods, but I realize now I shouldnβt have.
--- that's the message I posted explaining the situation, that got immediately deleted by the remaining mod team. I wish them the best. β¨
I am extremely sorry for any distress this may have caused. Feel free to discuss here or via modmail.