Reddit's IAmA Shut Down in Admin Hissy Fit

Reddit Admin 32bytes Kills IAmA

Reddit's popular IAmA (I am a/ask me anything) subreddit was shut down by administrator 32bites. /r/IAmA had nearly half a million subscribers.

The reason: 32bites though there were too many fake AMAs and trolls in /r/IAmA, and, in the same breath, complained about not wanting to moderate the channel.

In other words, the admin was complaining that there were too many trolls because he wasn't moderating to begin with. If you think that this is nonsense, you're not alone. There is indeed a black hole of rationale in this move.

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32bites could have simply handed control of /r/IAMA to another moderator, rather than simply shut the whole thing down. Indeed, the admin took the least efficient and most difficult course of action, and did so in a manner resembling a hissy fit.

Well, sure, /r/IAMA has more trolls than Lord of the Rings, but it's also really fun. Now the posts will get scattered across Reddit's already-confusing array of channels, so you'll have to check various replacement subreddits if you want to read about fake sex workers, fake celebrities, or ersatz strippers. /r/ama, born around the same time as /r/IAmA, was quick to capitalize.

Moderating is hard. Verifying users' identities online is hard. I get that. If you can't commit to it, hand the job over to someone who can. It's really not that complicated.

Update: users who take Reddit way too seriously have apparently been threatening 32bites, and /r/IAmA is still alive. karmanaut is taking over admin duties for the much-loved, oft-trolled subreddit. For future reference, the workflow is ask for help first, and then, if nobody can or will step in, shut down the subreddit.