## Reddit’s Updated Community Type Guidelines: A Reaction to User Dissent and Platform Regulation
In a notable change in Reddit’s operations, the platform has unveiled fresh limitations on how subreddit moderators can modify their community settings. Following extensive user dissent last year, which led to thousands of subreddits going private or transitioning to not-safe-for-work (NSFW) content, Reddit has now enacted a mandate requiring moderators to obtain the platform’s approval prior to implementing such alterations. This initiative is part of Reddit’s wider strategy to avert future disturbances and retain authority over the platform’s functionalities.
### The Updated Guidelines: What’s New?
Reddit’s Vice President of Community, known by the username **Go_JasonWaterfalls**, shared the news in a post on [r/modnews](https://www.reddit.com/r/modnews/comments/1fsyzjd/a_change_to_community_type_settings/). The updated guidelines, impacting what Reddit calls “Community Types,” state that subreddit moderators are now required to seek Reddit’s consent before enacting specific changes to their communities. In particular, moderators must acquire approval for:
– Making a subreddit private.
– Transitioning a subreddit from safe-for-work (SFW) to not-safe-for-work (NSFW) or the opposite.
– Limiting a subreddit’s content.
Reddit has committed to addressing these requests within a 24-hour timeframe. However, notable exceptions exist: subreddits with fewer than 5,000 members or those younger than 30 days will have their requests pre-approved. Moreover, moderators can still impose temporary restrictions on posts or comments for a maximum of seven days using Reddit’s [Temporary Events](https://support.reddithelp.com/hc/articles/27018580066708-Temporary-events) feature.
### The Trigger: Protests from Last Year
This policy alteration arrives in the aftermath of last year’s large-scale user protests, which were ignited by Reddit’s decision to [charge for API access](https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/05/reddits-api-pricing-results-in-shocking-20-million-a-year-bill-for-apollo/). This choice resulted in the closure of numerous beloved third-party Reddit applications, triggering fury among both users and moderators. In protest, many subreddit moderators privatized their communities or limited access, while others inundated their subreddits with NSFW material, complicating Reddit’s advertising efforts.
Reddit reacted swiftly and decisively to these protests. The platform [removed several moderators](https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/07/reddit-calls-for-a-few-new-mods-after-axing-polarizing-some-of-its-best/) and restored access to previously privatized subreddits. Although the protests eventually calmed, they underscored the significant influence unpaid moderators hold over the platform and the considerable financial ramifications of large-scale user actions.
### A Proactive Approach to Avert Future Dissent
Reddit has made it clear that the updated guidelines are a direct consequence of the protests. In comments to [The Verge](https://www.theverge.com/2024/9/30/24253727/reddit-communities-subreddits-request-protests), Laura Nestler, also known as Go_JasonWaterfalls, recognized that the protests “accelerated” the rollout of this policy. Nestler indicated that Reddit had been contemplating these modifications since 2021, but the protests acted as a prompt, showing that moderators’ capabilities to privatize subreddits “could be utilized to harm Reddit on a large scale.”
In a post on r/modnews, Reddit elaborated on its rationale:
> “The ability to instantly modify Community Type settings has been exploited to disrupt the platform and breach [our rules](https://www.redditinc.com/policies/content-policy). We bear the responsibility of safeguarding Reddit and ensuring its long-term viability, and we cannot permit actions that intentionally inflict damage.”
This new policy is crafted to prevent a recurrence of last year’s protests, which Reddit has conceded could [affect the platform’s finances](https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/02/reddit-failing-to-support-third-party-apps-could-hurt-business-ipo-filing-says/). By mandating approval for changes to community settings, Reddit is effectively reducing moderators’ power to wield these settings as a protest mechanism.
### Moderators React: “Demotes Us All to Janitors”
It is hardly surprising that the updated policy has not been embraced by numerous moderators, many of whom interpret it as a direct assault on their ability to hold Reddit responsible. In response to the announcement, Reddit user **CouncilOfStrongs** conveyed their discontent, accusing Reddit of attempting to suppress protests:
> “Something that you can disregard because it has no consequence cannot be a protest, and regardless of your assertions, that is evidently the singular objective of this move—to prevent moderators from being
