"Reddit Communities Embrace Innovative Protests Amidst Company's Moderator Crackdown Warning"

Several subreddits have embraced alternative methods of protest, including implementing focused posting, changing topics of discussion, and temporarily making communities private. Many of these communities recently participated in a Reddit blackout from June 12-14, rallying against the platform's API rule changes, which could potentially harm third-party apps. Despite the company's decision, led by CEO Steve Huffman, to maintain the status quo, subreddits have begun considering indefinite blackouts.

Reddit, however, has emphasized that community moderators are expected to keep their communities accessible and cannot unilaterally decide to go dark without a public vote. The company has even issued warnings to moderators, indicating potential removal if they continue participating in the blackout.

To circumvent potential moderator removal, multiple communities are conducting polls to determine the type of posts allowed on their subreddits. Additionally, some communities are relaxing certain rules due to limited moderator tools, which pose challenges to their responsibilities.

Prominent communities such as r/pics, r/aww, and r/GIF have chosen to share pictures and GIFs of John Oliver as a form of protest. In a tweet, John Oliver expressed approval of this initiative.

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