Reddit CEO Ellen Pao has posted an apology to users and moderators following the Reddit blackout that took place when moderators revolted against a recent staffing decision.
Moderators had switched subreddits to private in protest after news broke a few days ago that Reddit's director of talent Victoria Taylor had been let go. The moderators' actions effectively left the front page of Reddit blank and users were unable to read posts.
While Reddit doesn't need to announce why or when it lets go of staff, moderators, who worked closely with Taylor, felt they should have been told about the staffing decision and at least how Taylor's workload would be handled.
"We all had the rug ripped out from under us and feel betrayed," a moderator posted about the situation.
Big changes?
In her post this morning, Pao admitted a pattern of mistakes.
"We screwed up," she wrote. "Not just on July 2, but also over the past several years."
"We haven't communicated well, and we have surprised moderators and the community with big changes," she continued.
Pao also acknowledged that moderators and users had lost trust in Reddit's administration, but says that Reddit will now work on improvements for tools, communication and search for moderators.
"I know these are just words, and it may be hard for you to believe us ... I mean it when I say we screwed up, and we want to have a meaningful ongoing discussion," she said.
She invited feedback on the post from both moderators and users, and says the Reddit team is ready to respond to questions or concerns.
