Unsplash/RedditReddit’s r/Art subreddit was sent into chaos after artist Hayden Clay received a ban for mentioning prints, with Reddit mods resigning over it. Now, a new team is in place.
Reddit has sub-forums – subreddits – for pretty much every niche you can think of. Some of these have millions of subscribers, while others just have a few hundred or maybe a few thousand users checking in.
The Art subreddit, which has over 22 million subscribers, was plunged into chaos on November 24, after artist Hayden Clay posted a photo of one of his new pieces, entitled Clear Boundaries.
Clay, who posts on Reddit under the username Strawbear, also mentioned prints of his work, prompting one of the subreddit’s moderators – neodiogenes – to message him about it, citing a rule break. He received a permanent ban from the subreddit over it.
Hayden Clay reveals messages with r/Art Reddit mods
The artist revealed that he had been in a fiery back-and-forth with neodiogenes and had apologized for the rule break. He also called them “power hungry” and questioned if there was a “vendetta” against him.
“I don’t even know who the fu*k you are. That is some major main character energy there,” one message sent to him said.
The mod in question also reported him for harassment.
r/Art users protest against ban
The artist was also given a three-day Reddit-wide suspension over his dispute with the r/Art moderator, which sparked backlash from fans and other users.
Many users started posting the word ‘print’ under different posts as a protest towards the decision. As a result, all posts on the r/Art subreddit were locked, meaning that no one could leave comments or give awards to posts.
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“r/Art has quietly gone into lockdown and is no longer accepting submissions after mods began facing severe blowback for banning @haydclay for mentioning the word “print” on the subreddit,” one user posted on X (formerly Twitter).
r/Art mod locks sub and kicks everyone out
On November 26, moderators from the r/Art subreddit were removed from their positions, with a simple post of “we out.”
“You win. We all resign,” the moderators added. That comment has since been downvoted by users, sitting at over 23,000 downvotes.
As per YouTuber Dolan Darkest, the Reddit mod in question, neodiogenes, has deleted all of their posts from Reddit, replacing them with stock text.
Some of the other former mods of the r/Art subreddit have come forward to see that they had no say in the matter, and it was a “power trip” from the former head moderator to remove everyone and lock the subreddit.
r/Art finally unlocked with new mod team
On December 1, the Art subreddit was finally unlocked with a new post and a new moderation team put in charge. However, the subreddit remains “restricted,” which will allow the new mods to overturn bans and figure out any issues.
“There is a lot (A LOT) for the team to discuss and review with regard to the rules and processes that have been in place here, and we assure you that we are all committed to working toward getting r/Art back to a place of positive communication and involvement,” they said.
“In addition, what you all are probably most excited about: u/strawbear is no longer banned and their content is no longer removed, nor should have been in the first place.”
Users have quickly returned to the subreddit, and are still using the comment of ‘print’ to mock the situation that had unfolded previously.
Clay said that it “felt great” to have his ban overturned and is already planning his next post on the subreddit.