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Reddit appears to be ramping up the pressure on moderators to open communities that closed in the blackout protest against recently announced platform changes. A Reddit admin \u2014\u00a0an employee of Reddit \u2014 has told unpaid volunteer moderators of a subreddit that the \u201cexpectation here is that communities reopen,\u201d according to a message shared publicly by a moderator of r\/DIY<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The pressure worked. The community was closed, but it reopened on Thursday, and a mod said that fears of Reddit actions forced the team\u2019s hand: \u201cWe\u2019re re-opening because if we don\u2019t, the mods that Reddit appoint may not care about the subreddit the way we do,\u201d the mod wrote.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The mod\u2019s post also announced a vast number of changes to the subreddit\u2019s rules that hew more closely to Reddit\u2019s general requirements, while also undoing many of the norms and rule tweaks that were in place to improve the quality of content. The changes include no longer requiring users to do basic research and lowering the standard for what the subreddit counts as spam. Reddit has its reopened community, but at what cost?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n We\u2019ve seen messages from other moderators where the admin, ModCodeofConduct, uses similar rhetoric. To the moderators of r\/homeimprovement the admin said that \u201cto be very clear you cannot remain closed so we need to know if any mods here wish to participate in opening the community.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n To the moderators of r\/harrypotter, the admin account wrote that \u201ckeeping the community closed is not an option\u201d \u2014 even though users have voted for the subreddit to be private, according to a post from a r\/harrypotter mod<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n More than 2,600 subreddits remain dark in protest, and users on r\/ModCoord (moderator coordination) are still sharing their stories of receiving messages from Reddit that they view as threatening and intimidating<\/a>. \u201cMy tiny 27-user sub is being threatened for staying blacked out,\u201d one user wrote<\/a>. \u201cReddit is a BULLY,\u201d said another<\/a>, sharing a screenshot of where they told ModCodeofConduct their messages were \u201charassment and intimidation.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Reddit didn\u2019t immediately reply to a request for comment. According to Reddit spokesperson Tim Rathschmidt, \u201cWe\u2019ll no longer comment on hearsay, unsubstantiated claims, or baseless accusations from The Verge<\/em>. We\u2019ll be in touch as corrections are needed.\u201d In the absence of corrections, then, you can assume Reddit believes none are necessary.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n