Oh no, you're thinking, yet another cookie pop-up. Well, sorry, it's the law. We measure how many people read us, and ensure you see relevant ads, by storing cookies on your device. If you're cool with that, hit “Accept all Cookies”. For more info and to customize your settings, hit “Customize Settings”.

Review and manage your consent

Here's an overview of our use of cookies, similar technologies and how to manage them. You can also change your choices at any time, by hitting the “Your Consent Options” link on the site's footer.

Manage Cookie Preferences
  • These cookies are strictly necessary so that you can navigate the site as normal and use all features. Without these cookies we cannot provide you with the service that you expect.

  • These cookies are used to make advertising messages more relevant to you. They perform functions like preventing the same ad from continuously reappearing, ensuring that ads are properly displayed for advertisers, and in some cases selecting advertisements that are based on your interests.

  • These cookies collect information in aggregate form to help us understand how our websites are being used. They allow us to count visits and traffic sources so that we can measure and improve the performance of our sites. If people say no to these cookies, we do not know how many people have visited and we cannot monitor performance.

See also our Cookie policy and Privacy policy.

This article is more than 1 year old

150,000 angry Redditors demand Chairman Pao's head on a spike

Petitioners want interim CEO to GTFO before she runs site 'into the ground'

Ellen Pao, the increasingly reviled interim CEO of Reddit, is facing more than 150,000 signatures on a petition calling for her to quit.

The gargantuan link aggregation site was home to a user-supported blackout last week, sparked by the apparent sacking of popular staffer Victoria Taylor, but is built upon increasing tensions between the platform's owners and users.

Alexis Ohanian, a co-founder of the site, used a post on Reddit to try and take responsibility for what he suggested was a matter of informing the moderators of Reddit's activities, rather than actually listening to what they had to say.

Despite the popularity of the blackout, he described the underlying problem as being "ultimately between Reddit and the moderators", to the inevitable chagrin of the userbase.

As with any revolution, the Reddit demos has been catalysed by this moment of dissatisfaction to air its larger grievances as it comes to recognise that the site is just another advertising platform. One user wrote that it wasn't "just Ellen Pao, it's the whole direction Reddit seems to be taking and 150,000 Redditors feel strongly enough to make this statement".

He continued:

We dont want a watered down, sanitised, market-friendly Reddit. We want the organic Reddit thats unpredictable and a true reflection of us as a collective.

Even Chris poole (moot) knew he couldn't monetise 4chan, so why do the new admins of Reddit think its a good idea?

According to an interview with the New York Times a couple of days ago, Pao believes her unpopularity is overstated:

Ms. Pao says that the most virulent detractors on the site are a vocal minority, and that the vast majority of Reddit users are uninterested in what unfolded over the past 48 hours.

A petition on Change.org, calling for Pao's dismissal has exceeded 150,000 signatures at the time of writing. Mentions of its successes continue to reach the site's front page.

The petition claims that Reddit users “fear [Pao] will run Reddit into the ground”.

Additionally, every comment made from Pao's user account within recent weeks appears to have received thousands of downvotes.

Users are complaining that Pao "has talked to news sites and even Buzzfeed", but has not made a reasonable effort to engage with the site's userbase. ®

 

Similar topics

TIP US OFF

Send us news


Other stories you might like