December 2022 moderator strike

The December 2022 moderator strike was a five-day period in early December 2022 in which the volunteer moderation team ceased using their moderator tools in an attempt to negotiate for better treatment of moderators and other volunteers by Habitica's staff, due to patterns they felt had emerged over the years regarding acknowledgement, thanks, and trust of volunteers. The moderators collectively declared the strike on December 1, 2022, and on December 5 the staff announced that Habitica was "taking moderation in house" and "parting ways with the volunteer moderation team".
After the strike, staff forbade nearly all discussion of or reference to the fact it had happened at all. This alienated many users, and later actions and announcements by staff were also not well-received, with some contributors asking for their contributor tiers to be removed. Some users had their chat privileges revoked or were banned from using Habitica entirely for continuing to share information about the events in public chats or private messaging.
__TOC__
==Background==
In early November 2022, an exploit was discovered that allowed users on the beta version of the iOS app to gift subscriptions without paying for them.StevenGRogers (December 6, 2022). "Habitica Moderator Strike Dec. 2022". Imgur. Archived from the original on December 10, 2022. Retrieved November 10, 2023.mossipea (December 7, 2022). Comment on "The staff is taking moderation in-house and so are parting ways with the volunteer moderation team." Reddit. Archived from the original on November 20, 2024. Retrieved October 10, 2023. Moderators learned about the exploit via a post in a public forum on Habitica, and so spent considerable time on Sunday flagging posts and banning users in order to prevent public knowledge of the exploit from spreading further. After the normal work-week started staff became involved, and did fix the exploit, but apparently did not acknowledge or thank the moderators for the time spent containing this issue over the weekend.
Alys, a moderator who was also being paid for database admin work, considered this unacceptable and the latest example of a pattern of not acknowledging or providing thanks for work done by mods, contributors and beta testers. She sent staff a summary of these issues and the unappreciated feelings moderators were feeling. Staff did not apologize for these issues -- in fact, Alys was promptly fired from her database admin position, though she retained moderator status.ALittleYellowSpider (December 6, 2022). Comment on "The staff is taking moderation in-house and so are parting ways with the volunteer moderation team." Reddit. Archived from the original on November 20, 2024. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
==Timeline==
This firing, along with the history of existing issues, spurred the moderators to decide as a group to go on strike. The strike started on December 1 and lasted until December 5, when the volunteer moderation team was dissolved by staff.
===Announcement===
On December 1, 2022, moderator Cantras posted the following message to the Aspiring Socialites guild:
Hello Socialites. While we don't want this brought up widely where it may be taken advantage of by bad actors, we would like to let you know that the moderation team has gone on strike. We are deliberately not sharing further details publicly.We are not asking anyone to quit Habitica; we do want to see it succeed. Please, especially, flag problematic posts as you see them: With us off-duty, the fact that two flags hides a post may be the fastest action for removing anything gross.
Thank you.
All eight active moderators changed their contributor summaries and ceased moderation activities for the duration of the strike.
===Strike===
Around the same time the strike was announced publicly, a message was shared by a mod to a Slack workspace the moderators and staff had access to. This message listed things the moderation team wanted staff to change and explained that until progress on change had been made, the moderators would be stepping down from moderation.
The things asked for included a plan for tasks previously handled by Alys using database admin abilities, tools the moderator team had previously requested to make moderation easier, a unified staff/moderator Slack (where most channels would be visible to both moderators and staff rather than somewhat divided), trust in the moderators and taking into account their opinions regarding site use and needs, and transparency and accountability regarding site and moderator status.
The staff response consisted mostly of saying which requests were and were not possible, but they also expressed disappointment over the moderators' stated feelings. The moderators replied by saying that they would discuss the response to ensure a shared consensus. 
Later, moderators responded that the staff response to their requests was inadequate and tried to clarify both the issues and their suggestions for fixing the issues.
A few hours later, a message was posted to the Slack channel by Habitica's CFO redphoenix, saying she was making the decision to shift moderation in-house.
===Removal===
On December 5, 2022, staff member beffymaroo posted the following message to the Aspiring Socialites guild:
Hello all. The staff is taking moderation in-house and so are parting ways with the volunteer moderation team. We are eternally grateful for their efforts and genuinely wish them all the best. They are always welcome here to continue to participate as contributors and will retain legendary status.
Relevant developments in site moderation going forward will be announced. Areas of contribution once handled by mods which they cannot or no longer wish to manage will also be taken in-house by staff. This may take some time to figure out and we appreciate your understanding.
The staff will not be commenting further on the departures. If you as contributors have specific concerns about your personal areas of contribution or recognition for such please do reach out via admin@habitica.com and I will be happy to chat with you about that.
As I have said here many times, you are a much beloved part of our community. Myself and the rest of the staff are grateful for your patience during this transition.
==Aftermath==
After the announcement on December 5, a number of events occurred related to the strike or reactions to it. Users expressed concern and disappointment over the initial announcement, and later announcements and responses from staff put off many users.
===Initial reaction===
====Staff response====
About three hours after the announcement of the moderators' removal was posted,beffymaroo (December 5, 2022). Message posted to Aspiring Socialites guild at 22:50 UTC. Habitica. Retrieved October 10, 2023. beffymaroo posted the following to the Aspiring Socialites guild:
Hello all, this discussion is over in this Guild and in other Habitica public spaces. For those with concerns about the wiki, the staff isn't ready to discuss exact next steps yet and we again appreciate your patience. The staff is not commenting on this further, but as we've always told folks, if you have any concerns about the way the site is run please take those to admin@habitica.com .
In a couple of days I'll be removing this discussion from this page to keep things moving forward.
The discussion was never removed from the page. The original announcement post received a number of likes that appeared to be connected to alt accounts of a specific staff member.
Many processes the moderators had previously handled, such as Pirate Cove or Elven Grove, never had a plan shared by staff for their future management, and for some, staff appeared to have actively decided to not take on their management at all.StevenGRogers (February 14, 2023). "The "plan" Habitica staff had to take over various moderator functions". Imgur. Archived from the original on October 24, 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
====Moderator response====
A handful of moderators responded to the staff announcement in the moments after it occurred, thanking the community for their support and expressing disappointment with the decision. They stated that they had been anticipating the eventuality that they would not come back as moderators after the strike.
Several moderators were not online when the announcement and subsequent forbidding of public mention of the topic were posted; some shared their feelings on the matter via private guilds or other avenues.
====User response====
Many users responded with supportive messages to the moderators and requests for more information from staff, especially in regards to specific next steps for things the moderators handled like Pirate Cove and Elven Grove, as well as changes that might need to be made to things like the wiki. Staff did not respond to any specific requests publicly.
After staff forbade public discussion of the topic, many users turned to nonpublic avenues such as private messaging or private guilds to discuss the topic.
Some users emailed staff to express their feelings or look for more information, but many did not receive a response they considered satisfactory.
===Later incidents, actions, and reactions===
The after-effects of these events continued to ripple through Habitica for months, until August 2023 when the Tavern and public guilds were shut down, thus putting an end to on-site discussion of this and any other topic.
====December 14: Staff message about "some private guilds"====
On December 14, 2022,beffymaroo (December 14, 2022). Message posted to Aspiring Socialites guild at 21:14 UTC. Habitica. Retrieved October 10, 2023.bakunawanangan (December 15, 2022). "Habitica received some troubling reports about situations...". Reddit. Archived from the original on December 15, 2022. Retrieved October 10, 2023. beffymaroo posted the following to the Aspiring Socialites guild:
Hi all, we're starting to receive some troubling reports about situations in some private Guilds here that appear to be violations of the Terms of Service. Aside from other potential account consequences typically issued for breaking the TOS, please note folks actively participating in or encouraging these violations cannot be considered eligible for tiers.
Many, many thanks to those who are flagging potential TOS violations and bringing their concerns to our attention.
A number of users responded in concern and confusion over why the message was being directed at Socialites and wondering what they were expected to do.
Eventually, it was clarified that the warning in question was in regards to a specific private guild which was not actually engaging in the behavior described. Many users felt the concern was overblown and that the guild's name was being used by staff as an excuse to fearmonger.Jophiela (December 17, 2022). Comment on "Habitica received some troubling reports about situations...". Reddit. Archived from the original on November 20, 2024. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
Users expressed disappointment with staff's handling of the situation and silence and delays in responses surrounding it.
====January 31: Staff message about "disruptive" & "alienating" conversations====
After users had made a handful of public posts both related and unrelatedbakunawanangan (January 31, 2023). "Comment About the Top Bar Causes a Stir". Reddit. Archived on January 31, 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2023. to the strike, on January 31, 2023,SabreCat (January 31, 2023). Message posted to Aspiring Socialites guild at 19:26 UTC. Habitica. Retrieved October 10, 2023.littlemossball (January 31, 2023). "so this is how staff are talking in aspiring socialites guild in response to asking questions about moderation". Reddit. Archived from the original on February 1, 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2023. staff member SabreCat posted the following to the Aspiring Socialites guild:
Staff have received ongoing reports that recent conversations here and in the Tavern have been disruptive, alienating to fellow Habiticans, and in violation of multiple Community Guidelines.
* Comply immediately with any Mod request.
* Do not instigate or engage in contentious conversation in the Tavern.
* Respect each other.
Staff have given repeated warnings that the constant relitigation of moderation decisions is unacceptable. Furthermore, comments about being forbidden to speak about past moderation decisions that may or may not be accompanied by a request for a PM are unacceptable. Users who engage in such behavior will be subject to disciplinary action.
Comments posted in an effort to further incite a hostile or contentious environment in the Tavern or any other public spaces in Habitica are also unacceptable. Further violations will result in account consequences.
As Socialites both tiered and Aspiring, people look to you as examples of what Habitica should be. Do better.
Many users who saw this post expressed displeasure at its tone and contents, both on-site and off.Lalaitha (January 31, 2023). "Latest threat from staff to socialites". Imgur. Archived from the original on October 24, 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2023.citrusella-flugpucker (February 4, 2023). "Do Better." Tumblr. Archived from the original on May 17, 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2023.StevenGRogers (February 13, 2023). "'Aspiring Socialites' Aftermath". Imgur. Archived from the original on October 24, 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2023.notsadcerealbowl (February 21, 2023). "A not-so-short explanation of Habitica behind the scenes". Tumblr. Archived from the original on August 5, 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2023. After the message was posted, a number of contributors and at least two former mods requested that their tiers be removed as they were no longer comfortable being considered representatives of Habitica. Most users' tier requests were honored, but staff never removed the tiers of the moderators who asked for tier removal.
====February: Changes to community guidelines surrounding moderation====
In February 2023, staff revised Habitica's community guidelines.CuriousMagpie, SabreCat (February 8, 2023). "update(content): revise community guidelines (#14481)". GitHub. Archived from the original on November 20, 2024. Retrieved October 10, 2023. Many of these changes removed requirements for staff to inform users when they enact a consequence on a user or the reasons for or length of the consequence.littlemossball (February 5, 2023). "Habitica staff are working on revising the community guidelines to be more in line with their recent behavior, which can be seen at the link on the Habitica github. These do not appear to have been implemented on the site yet, but certainly they have been acting as if they are." Reddit. Retrieved October 10, 2023. These changes were not clearly announced on Habitica or to contributors.CuriousMagpie (February 2, 2023). "update(content): revise community guidelines". GitHub. Archived from the original on November 20, 2024. Retrieved October 10, 2023.
====Throughout: Mutes and bans for mentions of the strike or subsequent staff behavior====
From December 2022, staff enforced the forbidding of directly referencing the strike or its fallout. Beginning January 31, 2023, staff began enforcing severe consequences--chat mutes or bans--for discussing the topic either in public spaces or via private message. Staff only announced this enforcement in the Aspiring Socialites guild, but users who were not socialites also found themselves receiving mutes or bans if they happened to mention the topic or advocate for changes.cozyplants (January 31, 2023). "'Chat Privileges Removed'". Reddit. Archived from the original on January 31, 2023. Retrieved October 10, 2023. At least 10 specific users, including at least 7 contributors, are known to have been muted or banned for this reason between February and May.citrusella-flugpucker (June 1, 2023). "My Ship Unmoors from the Habitica Docks". Tumblr. Archived from the original on February 4, 2024. Retrieved October 10, 2023. Staff appeared to still be enforcing these consequences in August 2023, when the Tavern and public guilds were shut down.
==References==
Category:Community
Category:Social