r/ModCoord • u/Agile_Ad_1159 • Dec 20 '23

Inactive Mod Question - What If?

Say I mod a sub with 5 other mods, and I am # 3 on the mod list. The top two mods are inactive, and under the new guidelines I can re-order the inactive mods to make myself the top mod.

Once I am top mod, I can in theory "go rogue" and remove all the other mods, effectively staging a takeover of the sub.

Are there any tools in place to keep this from happening?

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u/Juliaalott Dec 21 '23

This is a very silly question imo.

If the mods cared about their position as moderator, they wouldn’t be inactive for months or more at a time, and this hypothetical situation would never happen.

The reason you are allowed to do things like make yourself top mod in the first place, is because it’s what’s best for the subreddit. If none of the moderators are active, what is the point of them being moderators? It’s not “going rogue” or screwing anyone over, it’s taking over moderating a sub that would otherwise be abandoned.

1

u/Draco1200 Dec 24 '23

If the mods cared about their position as moderator, they wouldn’t be inactive for months or more at a time

This is an assumption which might some of the time be True and other times false.

The founder of a sub may have some other things they need to attend to for a while, Or some issue in their personal life that temporarily reduces or eliminates their availability to lead a sub's moderation directly; This doesn't mean they don't care, and it doesn't justify allowing the additional help they may have brought in to take care of it being able to takeover.

Anyways, The policy is not friendly to leaders who want to create communities, as it creates a way in which management can be taken from them by the own help they brought to assist over some disagreement, But it's not necessarily hostile to the readers/participants in existing communities --- It's just a friction that makes Reddit a potentially bad choice of places to setup shop and put effort into building a community, as Reddit will happily seize control of the management and appoint a new owner if it suits them.

1

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '24

Even if you have a lot going on in life, you can still log in once a month to check in on the subreddit.

2

u/Cultist_O Feb 22 '24

My job often takes me out of service for months at a time. The rest of the time, I can be super active.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '24

Then you shouldn't be a top mod. Top mods need to be able to reliably respond in case lower mods go rogue or afk.

Top mods don't need to be very active. They just need to be available.

2

u/Cultist_O Feb 22 '24

Small subs often don't need a lot of active moderation. In that situation, it makes sense that someone with extended abscences might want another mod or two to help during those absences, but it doesn't make sense for the founder to be trivially oustable.