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The admin in question, Victoria (/u/chooter), is still posting, and gives every indication that it was not an expected nor voluntary departure: https://www.redd

by btown 11y ago

The admin in question, Victoria (/u/chooter), is still posting, and gives every indication that it was not an expected nor voluntary departure: https://www.reddit.com/user/chooter https://www.reddit.com/user/chooter /u/karmanaut, one of the most prolific moderators, gave some insight into why this is such a big deal: https://www.reddit.com/r/OutOfTheLoop/comments/3bw39q/why_has_riama_been_set_to_private/csq204d https://www.reddit.com/r/OutOfTheLoop/comments/3bw39q/why_ha... > We had a number of AMAs scheduled for today that Victoria was supposed to help with, and they are all left absolutely high and dry (hence taking IAMA private to figure out the situation) She was still willing to help them today (before the sub was shut down, of course) even without being paid or required to do so. Just a sign of how much she is committed to what she does. > The admins didn't realize how much we rely on Victoria. Part of it is proof, of course: we know it's legitimate when she's sitting right there next to the person and can make them provide proof. We've had situations where agents or others have tried to do an AMA as their client, and Victoria shut that [...] down immediately. We can't do that anymore. Part of it is also that Victoria is an essential lifeline of communication. When something goes wrong in an AMA, we can call and get it fixed immediately. Otherwise, we have to resort to desperately try messaging the person via Reddit (and they may not know to check their messages or even to look for these notifications). In fact, it seems that they actually cut off active IAmAs in progress. https://twitter.com/edfrenkel/status/616653911835807745 https://twitter.com/edfrenkel/status/616653911835807745 If there's anything to be learned here for the larger technology crowd, it's this: There are human single-points-of-failure just like there are in hardware. And if you can't avoid having a SPOF, don't kick it in the face out of nowhere and expect the world to continue chugging along like nothing happened.

minimaxir 11y ago
It's not even that: apparently the mods weren't notified of the organizational change because "we were busy handling the day's flow of AMAs and taking care of those AMA guests took priority." https://www.reddit.com/r/SubredditDrama/comments/3bwgjf/riama_set_to_private_over_mod_firing/csqe9a6?context=3 https://www.reddit.com/r/SubredditDrama/comments/3bwgjf/riam...
- caskance 11y ago
  Except they obviously didn't take care of those guests. https://twitter.com/edfrenkel https://twitter.com/edfrenkel
wonderthrowaway 11y ago
> Part of it is proof, of course: we know it's legitimate when she's sitting right there next to the person and can make them provide proof. We've had situations where agents or others have tried to do an AMA as their client, and Victoria shut that [...] down immediately. Righteous firing or not, a lot of this is a lesson in avoiding a SPOF.
- yen223 11y ago
  SPOF = Single Point of Failure, for those wondering.
- plorkyeran 11y ago
  It's also a nice example of how being the single point of failure for something doesn't provide as much job security as some seem to think.
  - markdown 11y ago
    It seems more likely that her employers didn't fully appreciate how much value she provided.
    - theskyislikely 11y ago
      Or how much value the mods provide, working entirely for free.
- mtdono 11y ago
  From a systems dynamics point-of-view, single points of failure are problematic. However, in human dynamics and the foundation of all leadership (and thus creating genuine followership), it requires a single point of accountability. Leaders of any community are accountable to their followers. Leaders have to realize that the community and the purpose are always more important than them. I think the reason why u/chooter was considered a leader (or top-notch liason between admins and mods) was because of her commitment to the quality of the AMA. I think the reason why u/chooter is adored by readers was for the same reason, though typically expressed by her inate ability to capture the AMA guests voices, mannerisms, etc. She was being 100% accountable to the community and the purpose that she was serving. This is a thing to be admired, encouraged, and emulated. Not scorned or spoken of in terms of an acronym. I'm not picking a thread fight, as I think your perspective is very important within hardware networks and/or very relevant in process management, it's quite inaccurate when describing the human dynamics involved with building a community.
mmanfrin 11y ago
Sorry to be pedantic about a little point, but: > In fact, it seems that they actually cut off active IAmAs in progress. https://twitter.com/edfrenkel/status/616653911835807745 https://twitter.com/edfrenkel/status/616653911835807745 This seems to be due to the moderators setting /r/IAmA private, not Victoria being yanked away.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
nickonline 11y ago
Interesting. . . If you click on https://www.reddit.com/user/chooter https://www.reddit.com/user/chooter now the most recent post is from 2 days ago. However I visited this thread 2-3 hours ago and there were many comments from her from as little as 1-2 hours before that.
- jpgvm 11y ago
  That is because the subreddits where those posts were are now private. She was posting in /r/pics, but it too is now private.

by btown 11y ago

minimaxir 11y ago

It's not even that: apparently the mods weren't notified of the organizational change because "we were busy handling the day's flow of AMAs and taking care of those AMA guests took priority." https://www.reddit.com/r/SubredditDrama/comments/3bwgjf/riama_set_to_private_over_mod_firing/csqe9a6?context=3 https://www.reddit.com/r/SubredditDrama/comments/3bwgjf/riam...

caskance 11y ago
Except they obviously didn't take care of those guests. https://twitter.com/edfrenkel https://twitter.com/edfrenkel

wonderthrowaway 11y ago

> Part of it is proof, of course: we know it's legitimate when she's sitting right there next to the person and can make them provide proof. We've had situations where agents or others have tried to do an AMA as their client, and Victoria shut that [...] down immediately. Righteous firing or not, a lot of this is a lesson in avoiding a SPOF.

yen223 11y ago
SPOF = Single Point of Failure, for those wondering.
plorkyeran 11y ago
It's also a nice example of how being the single point of failure for something doesn't provide as much job security as some seem to think.
- markdown 11y ago
  It seems more likely that her employers didn't fully appreciate how much value she provided.
  - theskyislikely 11y ago
    Or how much value the mods provide, working entirely for free.
mtdono 11y ago
From a systems dynamics point-of-view, single points of failure are problematic. However, in human dynamics and the foundation of all leadership (and thus creating genuine followership), it requires a single point of accountability. Leaders of any community are accountable to their followers. Leaders have to realize that the community and the purpose are always more important than them. I think the reason why u/chooter was considered a leader (or top-notch liason between admins and mods) was because of her commitment to the quality of the AMA. I think the reason why u/chooter is adored by readers was for the same reason, though typically expressed by her inate ability to capture the AMA guests voices, mannerisms, etc. She was being 100% accountable to the community and the purpose that she was serving. This is a thing to be admired, encouraged, and emulated. Not scorned or spoken of in terms of an acronym. I'm not picking a thread fight, as I think your perspective is very important within hardware networks and/or very relevant in process management, it's quite inaccurate when describing the human dynamics involved with building a community.

mmanfrin 11y ago

Sorry to be pedantic about a little point, but: > In fact, it seems that they actually cut off active IAmAs in progress. https://twitter.com/edfrenkel/status/616653911835807745 https://twitter.com/edfrenkel/status/616653911835807745 This seems to be due to the moderators setting /r/IAmA private, not Victoria being yanked away.

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]

nickonline 11y ago

Interesting. . . If you click on https://www.reddit.com/user/chooter https://www.reddit.com/user/chooter now the most recent post is from 2 days ago. However I visited this thread 2-3 hours ago and there were many comments from her from as little as 1-2 hours before that.

jpgvm 11y ago
That is because the subreddits where those posts were are now private. She was posting in /r/pics, but it too is now private.