Subreddits Go Private In Protest Over Reddit Policy Change

Thousands of Reddit communities will be inaccessible on Monday in protest at how the site is being run, Tom Gerken reported for BBC News.

Photo Insert: In a backlash over Reddit policy changes, moderators of some of the biggest subreddits made their communities private for 48 hours in protest.

Reddit is introducing controversial charges to developers of third-party apps, which are used to browse the social media platform. But this has resulted in a backlash, with moderators of some of the biggest subreddits making their communities private for 48 hours in protest.

Almost 3,500 subreddits will be inaccessible as a result. In a post to the website on Friday, Reddit chief executive Steve Huffman said it "needs to be a self-sustaining business" and addressed the blackout.

"We respect when you and your communities take action to highlight the things you need, including, at times, going private," he said.

A subreddit is the name given to a forum within the Reddit platform - effectively a community of people who gather to discuss a particular interest. Reddit users - or Redditors - will typically join a variety of subreddits, rather than following individual users on other platforms, and see posts from these communities in their feeds.

Reddit, unlike other social media sites, relies heavily on community moderation. As well as a few paid administrators, the website uses tens of thousands of unpaid moderators -known as mods - to keep the website functional.

These mods may spend one or two hours per day ensuring that their subreddit does not get filled with off-topic comments, content that is banned, or even content that is illegal.

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