[Announcement] Update on the removal of /u/illuminatedwax and subsequent mod list kerfuffle
1 2018-09-22 by axolotl_peyotl
The original announcement thread was de-stickied pending an update from the admins, which has now been provided.
To re-summarize: /u/illuminatedwax was a long-standing /r/conspiracy moderator who was also an original reddit "power user" that moderated dozens of very large subs.
IW has had minimal activity on reddit over the last few years, and his last comment on /r/conspiracy was in 2013.
A requirement for inclusion on the /r/conspiracy mod team is to actually engage with the community here, and since inactive mods have been removed in the past, there's no reason why IW should've been treated any differently.
However, as the moderator in the "top" spot, the only way to have him removed was by contacting the admins (reddit employees). In addition, we needed to show that we, as a mod team, made a good faith effort to contact IW.
Approximately 3 months ago, the entirety of the /r/conspiracy mod team reached out to IW on multiple occasions, attempting to establish any form of contact. When he failed to reply, we documented our attempts for the admins (a required step).
This is when things went a bit awry: After we had been given final approval from the admins, I was instructed to submit a redditrequest, which I obliged.
Naturally, the mod team had planned to announce the impending removal of IW when the admins gave us the thumbs up, but instead we were apparently hit by a bug of all things that immediately removed the entire mod team and kept only me.
To say that this was an unexpected development would be an understatement.
When this happened, I immediately checked the modmail to see which of the now ex-mods had any recent activity on reddit and I invited them. By the end of the night, half a dozen or so of the active ex-mods had been reinvited.
Because restoring the mod team to its previous order would be very difficult to coordinate (each mod would need to be online at the same time), we reached out to the admins again for help. The following morning, they stepped in and restored the list.
In addition, we've been provided this explanation for the strangeness that occurred:
Thank you all for your understanding!
Just to follow up on what happened here. We recently automated some of handling on reddit request, and unfortunately your request surfaced a teeny tiny little bug. ;)
It seems the bot thought 'if valid request to remove inactive top mod, then remove all moderators and throw a popcorn party'. We've now righted the bot and took away it's popcorn privileges for the foreseeable future. Sorry again for the chaos, but thanks for helping surface the issue so it won't happen again!
I hope this clears up a lot of the understandable confusion!
117 comments
1 [deleted] 2018-09-22
[removed]
1 axolotl_peyotl 2018-09-22
Hi fam
1 Ok_Philosopher 2018-09-22
Eh, if TMOR hates you I know you must be doing something right around here.
I always appreciate it when they act as a bellwether of what not to buy into.
1 Ok_Philosopher 2018-09-22
Eh, if TMOR hates you I know you must be doing something right around here.
I always appreciate it when they act as a bellwether of what not to buy into.
1 murphy212 2018-09-22
Hahaha look at the top comment on that thread. OP is going batshit crazy into his meaningless conspiracy theory about axolotl.
That's what the socialization of higher education will produce: hordes of cretins educated vastly beyond their intelligence.
1 WarSanchez 2018-09-22
I like the clause about community involvement.
Was Dino removed because of that or just by his unilateral unmodding of another mod?
What about other inactive mods? Is there a time limit, is interaction just mod actions or also commenting and posting?
Only asking on this post for transparency sake.
1 swagmanerer 2018-09-22
Can you put up a mod list before the change so we can compare if all mods are back in place?
1 JamesColesPardon 2018-09-22
Archive.org baby
1 Black_Floyd47 2018-09-22
Ooh, that sounds interesting. Can you tell me more about Operation Pork Chop?
1 JamesColesPardon 2018-09-22
Just a summerlong disinformation campaign to find a mole on the modteam.
And a comment about porkchops for dinner exposed the whole thing.
1 TimDaPlatMan 2018-09-22
Wasn't he originally drunk? Why has the excuse changed since then?
1 JamesColesPardon 2018-09-22
Whynotboth.jpg?
1 TimDaPlatMan 2018-09-22
Well, at least you're telling the truth about the mods participating in a disinformation campaign, that much is obvious.
1 leftistpatriot 2018-09-22
Hey aleister. Some of us know the real story.
1 no_muslim 2018-09-22
Oh, is that the approved narrative now?
Glad to hear it has been cleared up.
1 hashtagYOWOSOSOPOLOS 2018-09-22
JCP and Aleister are the same person and he's been trying to play it off like a modmail leak where he forgot to switch accounts and replied to himself talking about dinner (porkchops) was actually staged to catch someone leaking modmail.
1 NutritionResearch 2018-09-22
https://web.archive.org/web/*/https://www.reddit.com/r/conspiracy/about/moderators
You can go back to 2008 with this link. There’s no way they would lie about it when you can check yourself.
1 TrollsRLifeless 2018-09-22
Hey, your content is awesome
I haven't seen you here in a while. Have you been gone, or have I just missed your posts?
1 Tha_Dude_Abidez 2018-09-22
Looks like he's been pretty active.
1 Tha_Dude_Abidez 2018-09-22
Why would this ever be downvoted? I'm so confused. You answered a question of mod lists all the way back to 2008. Fuck me.
1 tiberius_regulus 2018-09-22
This post is linked in TMOR.
1 Tha_Dude_Abidez 2018-09-22
Ahh. That explains it.
1 ichoosejif 2018-09-22
You would only lie if we couldn't check?
1 Sabremesh 2018-09-22
Or you could use a tiny bit of common sense. If any of the other mods had been demoted or removed, don't you think they would say so?
1 Tha_Dude_Abidez 2018-09-22
Thanks for the update. Thanks for your work here. Modding a sub reaching a million people has to be difficult. Especially with some of the shit you have to deal with from other subs etc. Yours is a job I would never accept. Thanks for doing it!
1 liverpoolwin 2018-09-22
Yep, thank you mods!
1 Zap_Powerz 2018-09-22
you getting a bunch of downvotes for that comment on this subreddit is telling.
1 AngryD09 2018-09-22
Yeah, this post is linked to TMOR.
1 Zap_Powerz 2018-09-22
ive had wild gay sex with so many of those fags youd be amazed.
1 Fusion_not_Fission 2018-09-22
The current top mod is rather new and quite controversial
1 tiberius_regulus 2018-09-22
axolotl_peyotl has been a mod here since 2013/2014.
1 Fusion_not_Fission 2018-09-22
Which got added since 2016?
1 tiberius_regulus 2018-09-22
Here is a pretty good snapshot minus "new" mods.
1 Fusion_not_Fission 2018-09-22
Here is another one from pre 2016:
https://web.archive.org/web/20150703014538/http://www.reddit.com/r/conspiracy/about/moderators
1 asailorssway 2018-09-22
i was here in 2013... he was a mod when i joined.
1 Fusion_not_Fission 2018-09-22
Oh, this thread is unlocked again after beeing arbitrarily locked. I mistook him for somebody else that was added in 2016. My bad.
1 axolotl_peyotl 2018-09-22
yes
1 axolotl_peyotl 2018-09-22
I hope folks are noticing that demonstrably false propaganda is receiving dozens of upvotes.
1 Fusion_not_Fission 2018-09-22
Isn't calling people shills prohibited in this sub?
1 axolotl_peyotl 2018-09-22
I didn't call you a shill, I said you were spreading demonstrably false propaganda.
1 NunesGambit 2018-09-22
Talking about demonstrably false propoganda you should check out the number 2 post on the sub right now
https://www.reddit.com/r/conspiracy/comments/9icti6/reddits_top_moderators_have_identified_more_than
1 Fusion_not_Fission 2018-09-22
Calling an opinion "Propaganda" while questioning the number of upvotes implies exactly that. I have no interest in a semantic discussion though.
1 qualityproduct 2018-09-22
I just don't understand how a conspiracy forum always has such internal drama
/s
1 ichoosejif 2018-09-22
Manufacturing.
1 alanboomy 2018-09-22
What a crock of shit that sounds like.
Hey there was this bug that deleted everyone but me, and then hey, fuck it, let me also just handpick the mods I want back
How fucking stupid do you think people are?
This is a metaconspiracy.
1 JamesColesPardon 2018-09-22
/whoosh
1 axolotl_peyotl 2018-09-22
Who do you think is lying here, me or the reddit admins?
Would a screenshot of the message from the admin alleviate any of your concerns?
1 Pithius 2018-09-22
Based on his comment it sounds like he thinks you are lying.
1 axolotl_peyotl 2018-09-22
It sounds like that yes, I was asking for clarification.
1 murphy212 2018-09-22
Your comment is 3 hours old and downvoted to -11. Also you're being insulted for trying to provide an explanation (an explanation which sounds pretty reasonable to me).
This OP resonates.
I don't think this thread is very organic. And I don't recognize any of the usernames.
1 RemarkableBit 2018-09-22
Can't be rational people that disagree with me, must be shills.
1 murphy212 2018-09-22
That's precisely the point, thanks. Comments here are very irrational.
The assumption this thread is being brigaded is the philantropic position: I refuse to believe humanity is so dumb.
1 alanboomy 2018-09-22
I am definitely not a shill, I'm a real person with real feelings. No agenda, just concerned.
1 axolotl_peyotl 2018-09-22
You mean the /r/subredditdrama and /r/topmindsofreddit threads that are massively brigading us right now?
So rational!
1 JamesColesPardon 2018-09-22
Hi murph!
1 recazt 2018-09-22
Lol you and your conclave buddies?I’ve seen more trustworthy mods on a porn site.
1 alanboomy 2018-09-22
It just sounds felounious that's all.
1 Zygodactyl 2018-09-22
Pics or it didn't happen.
1 axolotl_peyotl 2018-09-22
Why would I lie about something the admins said when anyone can ask them? When they could swoop in any day and discredit? It would literally be reddit suicide.
1 Rockran 2018-09-22
If that were the case then the mod list should be considerably different, with new members.
Yet... It appears to be the same as before this mess - just down illumubatedwax
1 RMFN 2018-09-22
That's seriously their message? Very un professional... Why do they talk to you like as if you were a child?
1 tiberius_regulus 2018-09-22
Maybe children run Reddit?
1 Vagbloodwhitestuff 2018-09-22
Cause they're fucking idiots
1 RocketSurgeon22 2018-09-22
Sounds like an adventure.
1 Vagbloodwhitestuff 2018-09-22
You should have never had him removed in the first place. If it ain't broke don't fix it
1 Tha_Dude_Abidez 2018-09-22
Unless he was the guy that started /r/conspiracy then he probably should have been removed I think. If he hasn't posted on Reddit in 5 years then the guy is probably dead. If he isn't dead he sure as shit isn't coming back to Reddit.
1 AngryD09 2018-09-22
I thought he was the guy who started the conspiracy forum and that somehow his still being top mod was a fail safe of sorts that allowed things to be righted after Sarah Conner messed with the mod list last time around? This is just what I've picked up skimming threads like this and may be completely wrong or misinformed.
1 axolotl_peyotl 2018-09-22
The precise opposite happened, and the reason there still remains so much confusion about that event is because of a deliberate disinfo campaign.
IW failed to help out last time and forced us to reach out to the admins.
They were understandably bothered by the whole thing, and it prompted us to begin the process to remove wax.
1 AngryD09 2018-09-22
Ok well thanks for that clarification. I had read somewhere that the admins used IW's account to access the mod roster but I don't know shit about the technical side of how all this is done so I'm inclined to take your word for it.
On another note, holy shit the brigading in this post. -10 for the answer you just gave my question and not a single explanation as to why anyone took issue with your response. Gee, wonder who could be responsible...
1 axolotl_peyotl 2018-09-22
It was broke.
IW's inactivity led to at least one case of direct admin involvement.
The admins do not want an inactive mod at the top of a 700k-strong subreddit, and neither should this community.
The more we "inconvenience" the admins, the less likely /r/conspiracy has a future.
IW's presence was a direct threat to the future and stability of this sub.
1 Vagbloodwhitestuff 2018-09-22
I would rather have a mod that doesn't do shit than a mod who does shit
1 axolotl_peyotl 2018-09-22
If /r/conspiracy shows the slightest hint of being unmoderated, that will be the day the admins swoop in a remove this sub.
Unfortunately, this is reddit in 2018 and this sub is 700k strong.
We most definitely do need mods.
1 Zap_Powerz 2018-09-22
i am offended i have not been invited to be moderator.
1 RMFN 2018-09-22
Honestly, me too.
1 asailorssway 2018-09-22
you i'd vote for if given the option.
1 RMFN 2018-09-22
Awe!
1 RMFN 2018-09-22
Just think about the squeals from tmor if I was.
1 asailorssway 2018-09-22
that idea makes me giddy.
1 f_k_a_g_n 2018-09-22
Everything is basically the same as it was before. I don't understand all the drama some people are making.
I would ask what's going on with Amos_Quito though. They've been inactive on that account for quite awhile too.
1 AI2222 2018-09-22
u/illumintaedwax's inactivity had 0 effect on your guys' ability to moderate this place.
So the question remains, what really motivated such a drastic move?
1 ummycurrova-9927 2018-09-22
Removing safeguards. Nothing can go wrong with that. Ever.
1 no_muslim 2018-09-22
Wll, we have all seen what happened immediately afterwards.
Q-supporting and Russian-meddling-denying posts get stickied.
1 monicahi 2018-09-22
The Moderator is doing a good job here what is the issue? I don't see it.
Why would he censor something that is Q-related? Or say Gold related? Bank related?
Censorship? Just because you do not agree? Hah..
1 no_muslim 2018-09-22
I am not asking for censorship, why do you claim this?
1 monicahi 2018-09-22
Was pretty sure you were the guy asking for some sort of 'Q' tag to be adapted so you could censor it.
Maybe not.. With that in my mind and the comment you made, I read between the lines and yeah.. You get it.
My bad for mistaking you with somebody else.
1 _TyrellWellick 2018-09-22
WITCH HUNT
1 axolotl_peyotl 2018-09-22
Incorrect. In fact, within the last year we had a rogue moderator unilaterally remove several other mods. For obvious reasons, this is a huge no-no, especially on a sub like /r/conspiracy.
In that moment, IW was the only moderator with the authority to reverse the actions, but couldn't be reached after numerous appeals.
Instead, we were forced to go directly to the admins and they immediately reversed the decisions of the rogue moderator.
The problem is that this is not the type of activity the reddit admins like to engage in, and I don't blame them. Mod drama should be kept within the respective subreddit.
The independence that this policy engenders actually ends up being pretty conducive to the growth of "alternative" communities like /r/conspiracy.
After the admins had to step in last year because of IW's inactivity, the /r/conspiracy mod team began to discuss whether or not his continued position at the top of the sub was really the best thing for the sub.
There really was nothing drastic about it, it's the culmination of events that began in earnest during last year's admin intervention.
The optics of the "bug" are regrettable, but the fact remains that IW is gone (with admin approval) and /r/conspiracy will continue to operate exactly as before.
1 FuckYouFuckMods 2018-09-22
Rogue mod? Sarah was top active mod at the time. Removing both them and IW required admin intervention which was initiated by AATA. You're speaking out of both sides of your mouth.
I really hope you're not that naive. They are coming for you next. Mark my words. Also, democracy is bullshit. Why do you think armies have hierarchy?
Naive fools, the whole lot of you. Sorry. Flytape was right all along.
1 axolotl_peyotl 2018-09-22
With all due respect, that is absolute rubbish.
1 _TyrellWellick 2018-09-22
Russian agents are actively seeking to undermine r/ conspiracy and its message of peace
1 AI2222 2018-09-22
You don't fucking say..?
1 axolotl_peyotl 2018-09-22
Yes, I do.
1 David_St-Hubbins 2018-09-22
He's talking about flytape but aleister is added back and has already stated his "Misson" is to avenge flytape ie he supported the coup
https://www.removeddit.com/r/conspiracy/comments/8e0kvg/countdown_to_midnight_at_midnight_est_i_will_be/
1 ichoosejif 2018-09-22
Exactly. This^ is all we ever asked. How does this make mods more "cohesive?"
1 tiberius_regulus 2018-09-22
It doesn't because two mods abstained from "voting". Don't we give "politicians" the same hell for this? Why the fuck are you in a position where you cannot even give a yay or nay?
1 ichoosejif 2018-09-22
Those are thier words.
1 w122 2018-09-22
I would guess this http://archive.is/WAaiy
1 Mcbadguy 2018-09-22
DONALD TRUMP WILL DIE IN PRISON.
1 Foundmyvape 2018-09-22
Why did you want him removed? What concerns did you have if he eventually returned?
1 axolotl_peyotl 2018-09-22
Did any of you actually read this post?
1 Fooomanchu 2018-09-22
Not sure exactly what's going on, but I trust AP and JCP to protect this sub.
1 FurryPhilosifer 2018-09-22
What's going on with the other half that weren't reinvited? Were they reinvited with the restoring of the queue? Or are they gone for the time being? Will they be replaced?
1 axolotl_peyotl 2018-09-22
Please read my post.
The admins stepped in a restored the mod list as it was. Everyone is back.
1 FurryPhilosifer 2018-09-22
Thank you.
1 axolotl_peyotl 2018-09-22
yw!
1 monicahi 2018-09-22
The reign of popcorn is over. Good job and good luck :-)
1 ShittingOutYourTwats 2018-09-22
damn bitch
1 skygoo7 2018-09-22
/r/oopsdidntmeanto
1 mmp 2018-09-22
For some reason this whole situation really illustrates to me just how long I have been hanging around here.
1 Only-Says-F 2018-09-22
Well done to the mods for their continued effort in transparency and reaching out to the users of this subreddit.
In the face of the vocal minority who create drama for the sake of having drama in their life, makes the task much more difficult. Those who would question anything just because a mod of r/conspiracy said it, good job mods
1 AssuredlyAThrowAway 2018-09-22
Locked as SRD can't keep it in their pants.
1 Rockran 2018-09-22
Threads unlocked peeps, ignore the sticky.
1 Rockran 2018-09-22
Why was my comment telling people about the thread unlocked removed?
1 Rockran 2018-09-22
.
1 Putnum 2018-09-22
I'm fine with everything except for the lack of transparency
1 JamesColesPardon 2018-09-22
/whoosh
1 axolotl_peyotl 2018-09-22
Who do you think is lying here, me or the reddit admins?
Would a screenshot of the message from the admin alleviate any of your concerns?
1 tiberius_regulus 2018-09-22
It doesn't because two mods abstained from "voting". Don't we give "politicians" the same hell for this? Why the fuck are you in a position where you cannot even give a yay or nay?
1 no_muslim 2018-09-22
I am not asking for censorship, why do you claim this?
1 Rockran 2018-09-22
If that were the case then the mod list should be considerably different, with new members.
Yet... It appears to be the same as before this mess - just down illumubatedwax
1 Ok_Philosopher 2018-09-22
Eh, if TMOR hates you I know you must be doing something right around here.
I always appreciate it when they act as a bellwether of what not to buy into.
1 Ok_Philosopher 2018-09-22
Eh, if TMOR hates you I know you must be doing something right around here.
I always appreciate it when they act as a bellwether of what not to buy into.