"Those moderators are the content creators that make Reddit run"
I disagree. Most content on Reddit is copied/pasted from elsewhere.
"and Reddit runs only because those people have "the power".
There have been many other successful communities that didn't give so much power to moderators. The moderators at HN, for instance, are paid employees.
"If those moderators get upset enough with the way the site is run and go elsewhere, the rest of Reddit's users will likely follow suit, just like they did when Digg imploded."
Users fled Digg because it made a really bad experience for the average person going to the site. Moderators are a minority and can easily be replaced. As long as the average user experience is un-changed, Reddit will remain popular.
When a large company replaces the management team, most people are un-fazed unless it actually effects them in some way.
The moderators made the mistake of using the nuclear option. A bad strategy in the long-run.
Another simple solution is to make it so the moderators can move a sub-reddit to private, but if the community has over a certain amount of subscribers, it's pushed up to a paid employee before it is activated.
This removes 90% of the mods power with very little effort. Most might not even notice until they try to changing the sub-reddit to private, which for the most popular ones, is rare.
I disagree. Most content on Reddit is copied/pasted from elsewhere.
"and Reddit runs only because those people have "the power".
There have been many other successful communities that didn't give so much power to moderators. The moderators at HN, for instance, are paid employees.
"If those moderators get upset enough with the way the site is run and go elsewhere, the rest of Reddit's users will likely follow suit, just like they did when Digg imploded."
Users fled Digg because it made a really bad experience for the average person going to the site. Moderators are a minority and can easily be replaced. As long as the average user experience is un-changed, Reddit will remain popular.
When a large company replaces the management team, most people are un-fazed unless it actually effects them in some way.
The moderators made the mistake of using the nuclear option. A bad strategy in the long-run.
Another simple solution is to make it so the moderators can move a sub-reddit to private, but if the community has over a certain amount of subscribers, it's pushed up to a paid employee before it is activated.
This removes 90% of the mods power with very little effort. Most might not even notice until they try to changing the sub-reddit to private, which for the most popular ones, is rare.