r/Predators is back, but we’ll be in “Restricted” mode for a while

(most of this has been shamelessly stolen from [this post](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/1495wpj/askhistorians_is_back_up_but_currently_restricted/))

We’re back! Well, almost. As many are aware, as part of the site-wide protests we closed the sub for the past few days. While we have taken the subreddit off of ‘Private’, it is now going ‘Restricted’. This means that no new submissions can be made except by mods, and comments are limited. We know people still have questions, so we’ll be addressing some of them here:

**How long will AskHistorians be Restricted?**

We don’t have a specific end-date, and reopening is intertwined with several factors which we are continually weighing. These include: what response, if any, we see from reddit; internal discussions by the mod team about how we, as individuals, are feeling about things; and evaluation of the changes that are happening, how they will impact our modding, and how we can adapt to deal with them in a way which allows us to continue to moderate the sub.

**Why are you Restricted? Why not just stay private?**

While we went entirely private for two days as part of the reddit-wide blackout, many participants are in favor of a longer period of protest, and so are we. But we want to find a balance to ensure it is as effective as possible, and we believe that reopening in ‘Restricted’ mode does so. It still puts pressure on the Admins by signaling our position, but also allows us to reach a much bigger audience by having this and our previous statements more easily accessible, amplifying the message to more users.

In addition, it opens up our archives for users to read past posts, but limits other discussions which also emphasizes what is being lost when we are unable to run the sub.

**What Happens Next?**

We don’t know what the final results will look like, nor can we make any promises beyond the fact that we will continue to act and be guided in our decisions by what we believe is best for the community. We will continue our internal discussions and evaluations, and provide periodic updates to the community as we deem appropriate. We dearly hope circumstances will allow us to reopen fully very soon.

While the above covers the core issue of the Blackout and Locking of the sub, we’ve had a few questions which keep getting asked either in previous Meta threads, or in modmail the past few days, so we’re also addressing them here:

**I completely missed what is happening? Can you fill me in on the background?**

Last month, reddit announced changes to their API which impacts certain third-party apps which provide critical mod tools, especially on mobile. You can find our previous statements [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/Predators/comments/143nx54/rpredators_will_be_going_dark_from_june_1214_in/). We would also recommend [the recent coverage in the New York Times for a broader look](https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/12/business/media/reddit-subreddit-blackout-protest.html).

**Can I get access to the subreddit? Pretty please?**

While we have moved the subreddit off of Private, it remains Restricted. In practical terms, only Approved Users can post in a Restricted subreddit, and Approved Users are pretty much limited to Mods. We understand that many of you have news you want to post, and recognize how frustrating it can be when the mods take longer to post news or something, but we are not planning to make exceptions. We hope that we will be able to unlock soon and things will return to normal.

**Will you be going somewhere else?**

Not at this point. Maybe in the future. There are some interesting alternatives to reddit cropping up in the Fediverse (like [Lemmy](https://join-lemmy.org/)), but they are small at this point. Obviously, there are boards, groups, channels, etc on other platforms where you can find communities of Predators fans.