I should begin by mentioning that I am (was) a moderator of three subreddits: one large subreddit, one NSFW subreddit and a medical-related subreddit. After u/spez's calamitous AMA, I joined Lemmy and haven't looked back. I am really enjoying the Lemmy/KBin vibe. It is very much an alpha (almost beta) product and the ad free, corporate free, decentralized nature of the fediverse has a thrill of its own.
Over the past couple of months, Reddit has done everything it can to show its moderators that they are low-value and easily replaceable. They've done this by removing technical tools, killing off third party applications, crippling API changes and jaw-droppingly bad public relations. Heavily used products like /r/toolbox are no longer being actively developed. When Reddit API implements a breaking, non-backwards compatible change, that tool will also die.
Yet the moderators of Reddit continue to moderate. They stay and help Reddit build Reddit. They continue to work for free; to allow Reddit to make money off of their work despite being abused. When I see things like the comment section on this post, I no longer feel sorry for the Reddit moderators still on the site. I see them as a sad, sorry group who cling to the false hope of a corporate turnaround. They could leave Reddit. They should leave Reddit.
These moderators are in an abusive relationship with Reddit, Inc. I might understand the argument, "we built this community, we can't just abandon it". But would you give the same advice to someone else in an abusive relationship? I get that the analogy between the mods and the corp is an imperfect one, yet it is similar enough to be valid, in my opinion.
Moderating is really hard. It is hard and thankless and never-ending. Finding good moderators who can handle the marathon nature of the gig is incredibly difficult. If Reddit moderators were to delete their moderating bots, downgrade their automod "code" and dial back their modding efforts to 5 min/week or less, it would materially hurt Reddit as a product.
The sunk-cost fallacy is a real thing. If the Reddit mods understood this, they'd take their talents elsewhere. But as long as they continue to help Reddit build Reddit, one shouldn't feel sorry for them.
They could leave. I did and I've never been happier.
Ok I admit there may be some emotion there and might be difficult to leave. I was there for 15 years, I get it.
But really I'm pushing back at the analogy to an abusive relationship.
The mechanism seems similar, sunken cost, ignoring bad treatment, lack of self respect - while the abuse part is definitely not comparable.
I do think there is some element of abuse, (i.e. "landed gentry") but definitely not on par with an intimate relationship. Comparable, but not anywhere near equivalent.
I think the sunk cost can be compared to a gambling addiction. You lose money, you know the casinos are designed to make you lose money on average, yet people chase after losses all the same.
Casinos are an investment of money, and moderation is an investment of time. A gambler could just leave the casino after suffering a loss, and a Reddit mod could leave Reddit after suffering from this blatant abuse from the admins. But with addicts, you'll always have that itch, that voice in the back of your head telling you to stay or go back.
Some people are more prone to these urges and can't resist. Gambling addicts exist. It's a serious problem, and I have a close friend who suffered from this very addiction. I'd consider many of these mods to suffer from a similar, albeit lesser form of this brand of addiction.
Either way, I agree that it's something that should be pitied, and disagree with the idea that "it's not that serious."