Richard Lewis · @RLewisReports
26th May 2015 from TwitLonger
Anyone expecting that statement about moderator demands will have to be disappointed. The mods published the list they sent my editor yesterday and gave it the spin treatment but ultimately it would make no difference anyway. Currently the subreddit is being brigaded heavily during this mod-free week publicity stunt and as such any attempt to put anything out of relevance will most likely be subject to a barrage of downvotes and abuse.
Needless to say the gist of the demands are basically about controlling my Twitter and Youtube and the content therein. For some reason it has been deemed acceptable to use a content ban to leverage what I say outside of Reddit. While this was alluded to in the demands, which were handed over to my editor after three days of talks with him because they still refused to communicate with me directly, a few days ago this was expressly stated by one of the new mods.
In our conversation we discussed the possibility of shortening the ban and it was stated that if I were to apologise this would go some way to mending fences. I agreed to an apology. Then the goalposts moved. I had to make my public apology first, with no guarantee of a shortening of the ban because I should "want to" as "it's the right thing to do." Further discussions led to the mods actually specifying the contents of the apology, some of the team even asking for apologies for individuals in the team by name.
After I'd made it clear I wouldn't apologise while the content ban was still in place as I think it's a deplorable abuse of power and contradictory to Reddit's values, talks continued but were increasingly less productive. I was expressly told that it was OK to use the content ban to "exert pressure" on me and my employer to stop me tweeting things that the moderation team didn't approve of. "your employer might get pressured and pressure you in return" they said "but if that makes you stop, then that's fine."
It was also communicated that it's OK to use these very special measures to control my Twitter feed because it is "to stop what you shouldn't even do anyway." To be clear, as it stands, if I say anything negative about the subreddit, the moderators or any specific Reddit users on Twitter or on Youtube, the ban is likely to be extended. Keep in mind The Daily Dot is separate to any comment I make on Twitter and my Youtube channel and is not likely to feature anything talking about me on a personal basis. Yet, that is where we find ourselves. This is apparently done, so I'm told, to "protect" the users.
The moderators persistently deny that this pressure is about having me fired, although I don't know what else that pressure could equate to. I've yet to hear a logical alternative but apparently one of the things they are most upset about is any inference that they are doing this in an attempt to cost me my job. Since as they are still maintaining that they will unban me at the end of the three months I suppose I should suggest there could be an alternative reasoning but I am at a loss to figure it out.
People might think I'm upset at the content ban. While I think it is disgusting and abuse of power, the same as when it has happened before numerous times on Reddit, I will agree with one thing - moderators can choose to run their sub however they want. What I am increasingly aggravated by is that the content ban is being used to influence, if not control, what I say in mediums other than Reddit. Well, I didn't agree to that and I am not beholden to traffic enough to acquiesce to such a thing.
The words of my young colleague William Turton - that attempting to write any real journalism about League of Legends is a waste of time - are starting to ring increasingly true. To even be in a position where I have to consider jumping through hoops in order to have my content reach the alleged community hub for that game is laughable. That is apparently what everyone has to do - Riot approved, Reddit enabled. It'll get worse before it gets better and I'm not sure it's worth the effort. I doubt I'll address the issue again. It's a waste of energy and there's too many lies to cut away at this point.