Here’s one way to realize why Reddit should not be taken seriously: Suppose that the head moderator position for r/politics was put up for open auction. How much would it sell for? It would be purchased by someone who was interested in controlling what information people see.
Subreddits are moderated on a first-come first-serve basis. If you were the first one to squat a name 10 years ago, you get to be the head moderator, even if someone else might do a better job. This is the “landed gentry” comment Reddit’s CEO was referring to.
The irony that u/spez and others keep using landed gentry in the wrong way is hilarious.
Landed gentry bought their “title” (it’s not really a title, more a socio-political category). The first scenario you described, with someone buying the position of moderator… that’s 100% landed gentry. Commoners with wealth would buy a big house and property and then be considered landed gentry. It’s not something that was given to them like peerage (aka nobility).
The reality is that content producers and moderators are closer to cotters–somewhere in between serfs and husbandmen. They don’t own the land (e.g.: subs), but they work it. The only difference is that serfs and husbandmen could derive a profit from their labour, whereas most mods and content producers don’t (as far as I’m aware).
If we keep going with the middle-age titles, u/spez is much closer to a “lord of the manor” than he would care to realise. He owns the land, can choose who works it and who is able to make a profit and how much. He can withdraw that permission at any time, and he amasses vast amounts of wealth based on the work of the people who, effectively, work for him for free.
The Reddit CEO needs to learn that the people who moderate his website for free and the users who use it are what makes it valuable, not whatever value he thinks he provides. The landed gentry comment was out of pocket because he assumes we owe him anything - makes stupid decisions as a business, get less than ideal outcomes.
Here’s one way to realize why Reddit should not be taken seriously: Suppose that the head moderator position for r/politics was put up for open auction. How much would it sell for? It would be purchased by someone who was interested in controlling what information people see.
Subreddits are moderated on a first-come first-serve basis. If you were the first one to squat a name 10 years ago, you get to be the head moderator, even if someone else might do a better job. This is the “landed gentry” comment Reddit’s CEO was referring to.
The irony that u/spez and others keep using landed gentry in the wrong way is hilarious.
Landed gentry bought their “title” (it’s not really a title, more a socio-political category). The first scenario you described, with someone buying the position of moderator… that’s 100% landed gentry. Commoners with wealth would buy a big house and property and then be considered landed gentry. It’s not something that was given to them like peerage (aka nobility).
The reality is that content producers and moderators are closer to cotters–somewhere in between serfs and husbandmen. They don’t own the land (e.g.: subs), but they work it. The only difference is that serfs and husbandmen could derive a profit from their labour, whereas most mods and content producers don’t (as far as I’m aware).
If we keep going with the middle-age titles, u/spez is much closer to a “lord of the manor” than he would care to realise. He owns the land, can choose who works it and who is able to make a profit and how much. He can withdraw that permission at any time, and he amasses vast amounts of wealth based on the work of the people who, effectively, work for him for free.
The Reddit CEO needs to learn that the people who moderate his website for free and the users who use it are what makes it valuable, not whatever value he thinks he provides. The landed gentry comment was out of pocket because he assumes we owe him anything - makes stupid decisions as a business, get less than ideal outcomes.
“What a bunch of losers investing time into my company”