Before the post: 229,395 subs according to RedditMetrics

Now: 222,029 subs

The Day Before Yesterday

The subreddit had been declining for a while, many of the moderators had been inactive for months. There would be a post every day or so.

A user is fed up and posts this image.

"This subreddit is trash now.
The mods don't moderate.
You can't even use the word "mod" in your title.
The content has gone downhill,
and people have stopped posting.

Upvote if you agree, it doesn't matter.
This will go to the top because there are no other posts.
Remember to unsubscribe.

A very good copypasta, though from my research, completely original.

It sets in motion the following events.

Remember to Unsubscribe

As predicted in the posted image, the post did remain up. At the #1 spot of the subreddit, though at a steady 0 points.

The comments discussed moderator neglect, unsubscribing immediately, migrating to the newer /r/natureisfuckinglit.

And leave they did. In droves.

As the post sat at the #1 spot with a negative point value, other users began to post gore. Human gore.

As the subreddit filled with human gore, users could not decide which they would rather see, the gore or the shit post. Many simply left.

This continued for at least 6 hours.

The Mod Awakening

At some point, the top moderator of the subreddit, /u/kforrest59, awoke. He saw what had become of his festering subreddit and moved to strike down these posts. And so he did. And so they were stricken.

He then began a purge. Five moderators, wiped clean into nothingness. A wise move? Perhaps. A panicked one? Without doubt.

Hours passed with no new posts, and then, "I Failed You"

The now-deleted rantpology (a mix between rant and apology) contained the personal struggle of /u/kforrest59, and his wishes to reclaim the subreddit as a force of good. For viewing animals be disemboweled.

The comments were supportive, the subreddit banded together in solidarity.

Users began to offer their aid. "Can I be a mod?", "I volunteer!", they begged.

But in all the commotion, the one active moderator was removed. /u/DageParty. He asked for an explanation, any at all.

/u/kforrest59 did not respond, but /u/DageParty was added back. After three new moderators joined...

The Day Yester

A post appeared January 31st. "New Moderators" by /u/DageParty

"Hi all, we've added some new moderators to the team recently and would like to be transparent with the community.

In order of addition, /u/Gumby234, /u/Iamnotburgerking, /u/theobanger, and /u/BlueMerling.

These new additions should help us keep a better watch over the subreddit.

Thanks all, we'll try to do more updates over time."

This confused many. These were not the names that had volunteered the day prior.

Users questioned this move, as it was questionable.

Two of the new moderators had never commented or submitted in the subreddit before.

One had, often, but brought issues of his own.

One, added later than the other three, had some qualification. An undergraduate degree in biology. She was beyond reproach.

As Drama Stirs, it Boils

As the moderator that made the announcement, /u/DageParty also fielded questions. The primary of which being "What the fuck, guys? Who dese new fellas?"

To which /u/DageParty had no answer, as the moderators had been added prior to his reinstatement. /u/kforrest59 had not bothered to ask any of the remaining mod team.

/u/DageParty remarked that because he had lost his position on the mod list, he could do nothing to regulate or restrict the new additions.

The users were furious. It seemed there was no reason the new hires were chosen when so many users were vastly more qualified.

And there wasn't.

For one of the new moderators spoke, for the first time in 4 fortnights.

"I asked."

"I offered /u/kforrest59 to help him out, and told him when I was available to moderate, and he added me. I admit I was a bit surprised when he made me a moderator, but I'll do the best I can without any reddit-drama (I hope!)."

This of course, infuriated users more. I asked? I.. asked? In a subreddit with more than 200,000 users, all one had to do is ask to be a mod?

/u/kforrest59 was again the villain. Users bashed him side to side like the stern of a small sloop in a storm.

He remained silent though.

More users left for safer waters. Some simply ceased living to escape the dread.

That really nice mod I mentioned earlier introduced herself.

Have It Your Way

The one active new addition mentioned prior did not have a clean sheet himself. He was a previously banished from /r/natureismetal, and for good reason.

A user recounted,

"Aren't you the guy that made a post in /r/subredditcancer about /r/natureismetal?

Ninja edit: Yeah,found it.

https://np.reddit.com/r/subredditcancer/comments/5lm30w/got_banned_from_rnatureismetal/

You don't really seem like a good choice."

His name was /u/IAmNotBurgerKing. Clearly a lover of gore, as the community attracts, he had a bad past.

"... you lied directly to me [/u/DageParty] about the repost. That is why you received a ban."

According to the veteran moderator, removed on accident and reinstated, IAmNotBurgerKing had reposted in the subreddit before, lied about it, and when confronted with evidence, received a temporary ban.

Which he promptly went to complain about in /r/subredditcancer.

As one can imagine, a user with a bad history in a subreddit - suddenly modded and given supreme power - immediately went to work abusing it.

As users became critical of him too, he began to report comments criticizing him as "Reveals personal information".

Petty? Absolutely. But not without comeuppance. See as he had never been a moderator, he knew not that moderator reports were not anonymous.

/u/DageParty caught him up to speed.

"/u/iamnotburgerking, did you honestly just report this comment as "Reveals personal information"?

You know we can see the names of moderators that report comments, right?

This is not personal information, it is a post you made publicly.

Ridiculous."

In response, all IAmNotBurgerKing could muster was, "If it was criticism for the right reason I wouldn't report it."

Because as one knows, criticism is not valid if you disagree with it.

He then felt the need to explain his seedy past in the subreddit with his own mod post, (since he could now do that.)

The thread explained his past in detail for all of one minute before it was deleted. /u/DageParty informed him this again was an abuse of power.

For some additional reason, he chose to submit the one comment on his history post to /r/bestof. Perhaps for karma, or simply validation.

This submission was not received well and quickly fizzled.

Epilogue

At the end of this long day of drama, /u/kforrest59 gave in to the userbase and removed all three of the newly added moderators.

No response has been given to the requests for a resignation.

/u/BlueMerling can stay, of course, since she is very nice.

This is where our story comes to a close for now. Please pick up your popcorn and trash on the way to the exit.