Reddit Users Migrate to Voat in Wake of Firing of Popular AMA Coordinator

Users of the San Francisco-based online community platform Reddit have been migrating to a Swiss site called Voat in the wake of the firing of a popular Reddit executive.

Voat crashed Wednesday under the weight of a surge of traffic, which might be due to a portion of Reddit's 163 million users favoring Voat's policy to not censor or outright ban subgroups, according to a BBC report.

Multiple sections of Reddit were locked down last week in protest of the July 2 firing of Victoria Taylor, Reddit's former director of talent who was responsible for the site's popular AMA (Ask Me Anything) series.

"Our primary concern, and reason for taking the site down temporarily, is that Reddit’s management made critical changes to a very popular website without any apparent care for how those changes might affect their biggest resource: the community and the moderators that help tend the subreddits that constitute the site," Reddit moderators Brian Lynch and Courtnie Swearingen wrote in the New York Times. "Moderators commit their time to the site to foster engaging communities. Ms. Taylor’s sudden termination is just the most recent example of management’s making changes without thinking through what those changes might mean for the people who use the site on a daily basis."

Responding to the continuing tide of disapproval, Reddit's interim CEO Ellen Pao issued an apology on July 6 that promised improved communication and tools for the site.

"We haven’t communicated well, and we have surprised moderators and the community with big changes," Pao wrote in a post titled, "We Screwed Up." "We have apologized and made promises to you, the moderators and the community, over many years, but time and again, we haven’t delivered on them. . . .Today, we acknowledge this long history of mistakes. We are grateful for all you do for Reddit, and the buck stops with me."

Meanwhile, Taylor broke her silence online, Wednesday with a post on Reddit Self section. It marked her first comments since being let go. 

"I’ll never forget my time at reddit. You allowed me to be a part of some of the greatest conversations of our time, and it was an honor to be your ambassador. I just want to take a moment to say thank you to all of you who have reached out. Thank you for everything you’ve given me. From your messages to your artwork, I am deeply moved and grateful beyond words, and your encouragement has meant more than you’ll ever know. I’ve been incredibly humbled and honored to serve this community, and I truly believe all voices matter. Your voices matter. You proved that this weekend. And really, this weekend wasn’t about me. It was about you. And if I know one thing about this community, it’s that you’ll continue making your voices heard. And that's an inspiration. I know many of you may be curious about what’s next for me, and I'm still figuring that out. However, I can assure you, wherever the road leads, I will live up to the faith you’ve had in me. You can take the woman out of reddit, but you can't take the reddit out of the woman. I believe in you. And that's a promise. Thank you."

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