Reddit CEO Apologizes to Reddit Community: “We Screwed Up”

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  • Ellen Pao, CEO of Reddit, posted an announcement apologizing to the site’s community on Monday. Pao, the interim CEO of the massive social site, wrote, “We screwed up” and promised the buck stopped with her in regards to controversy and tension that has erupted over recent management decisions.

    The site had reacted with an uproar over the recent firing of AMA (AskMeAnything) coordinator Victoria Taylor, as well as the shuttering of the entire massive subreddit.

    “The mods and the community have lost trust in me and in us, the administrators of reddit.” Pao wrote. “We haven’t communicated well, and we have surprised moderators and the community with big changes. We have apologized and made promises to you, the moderators and the community, over many years, but time and again, we haven’t delivered on them. When you’ve had feedback or requests, we haven’t always been responsive.”

    The announcement came after moderators of many of the sites largest communities shut their doors, taking their subreddits private. A petition circulated and collected over 180,000 signatures calling for Pao’s resignation. Posts demonizing the Reddit CEO, calling her Chairman Pao, dominate the front page.

  • Pao had been unpopular among the Reddit community even before Taylor’s dismissal. But to a site so heavily dependent on volunteer moderator involvement to function, the latest rift has forced management’s hand. Pao’s announcement calls for new “Tools” and “Communication” to assuage the moderator community, including a new Moderator Advocate position.

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