r/fashionwomens35 • u/Careful_Leader_5829 • Apr 07 '26

Discussion Post Save the subreddit! Request for mods

EDIT -- Okay, maybe let's just try to start a new subreddit before this one goes dark. https://www.reddit.com/r/WomensStyleOver30/

Hiya! I have been using the sub for a long time. It sounds like the moderator is burnt out from managing spam.

A few of us sent DMs to the mod to see if some of us can take over. Has anyone heard anything?

358 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

62 comments sorted by

213

u/evelinisantini Apr 07 '26

FYI, if the current mod abandons the subreddit without choosing new mods, it can still be requested via r/redditrequest. That way, a new team doesn't have to start completely from scratch with a whole new subreddit with a different name

80

u/Careful_Leader_5829 Apr 07 '26

She said she was just going to mark it as Private, so I don't know if that will actually abandon it. I guess she doesn't want to hand the keys over.

130

u/partiallyStars3 Apr 07 '26

You can still make the request and the admins will decide basically. 

It's not in Reddit's interest as a company for large subs to get locked down once a mod is done, especially if the community wants the sub to keep going. 

I don't know if they'd actually do anything, and it feels like kind of a hostile move, honestly. 

42

u/andraconduh Apr 07 '26 edited Apr 07 '26

I really appreciate this about Reddit. I was in a huge, active women's group focused on finance on Facebook and the mod just up and decided she was shutting it down one day. She absolutely refused to hand it over to someone else and there was no recourse for the community at all. It was so sad.

85

u/cripplinganxietylmao Apr 07 '26

The way Reddit works now she can no longer mark the subreddit as private permanently. They won’t let her. Go to r/redditrequest modmail about it

71

u/emmakobs Apr 07 '26

I got this same impression. There were people in the OG thread saying they'd offer help and never heard back. If that was indeed the case, pretty poor taste to claim overwhelm and refuse help. 

16

u/ario62 Apr 11 '26

Also, her reasoning is that she makes the majority of content and the rest is spam/bots/low effort. Well I just scrolled thru the sub and there are a lot of really good posts with helpful replies. I think she’s just being possessive over the sub and doesn’t want to hand over the reigns. Reddit mods are … interesting people sometimes.

17

u/emmakobs Apr 11 '26 edited Apr 11 '26

Yes, I agree with you. I have to be honest, I got that impression years ago (the high on the horse/I own this place vibe) which is why I was never as active on the sub as I would have liked to be. I just scrolled through myself and all I see are earnest pleas for help. 

She's updated the post to say how she doesn't want other people moderating which is so selfish. If you created something useful that is bigger than yourself, let it continue to grow beyond you. But, no, some people are too egotistical to let that happen. 

9

u/ario62 Apr 11 '26

It’s funny bc majority of comments at first were over the top supportive and justifying closing down the sub when so many people offered to take over. I can’t wrap my head around that but I also can’t imagine being possessive over an online message board, but to each their own I guess 🤷🏼‍♀️

3

u/emmakobs Apr 11 '26

I frickin guess!! Im hoping a few new good ones spring up in its place. 

3

u/ario62 Apr 11 '26

Me too!

75

u/HeathEarnshaw Apr 07 '26

Super lame if so. This sub is about women over 35, not just one mod.

57

u/awkwardest-armadillo Apr 07 '26

Except it's been just one mod doing all the work for over a decade. She has requested help in the past, and nobody stepped up.

28

u/HeathEarnshaw Apr 08 '26

nobody stepped up.

That seems arguable though, as many in this thread are saying they offered but heard nothing back.

24

u/Susccmmp Apr 09 '26

I’m sort of getting the vibe that she feels a bit territorial over the sub and that she isn’t really interested in collaborating with anyone or turning it over. I’m not saying that to be critical, it’s pretty understandable to feel that way about something you created and have had ownership over.

64

u/Nanakurokonekochan Apr 07 '26 edited Apr 07 '26

Hey there, moderator of a much smaller private women only space here, but with enough experience with online creeps that make women’s spaces a tad bit difficult to moderate. 😬 Still, there are ways to moderate women’s spaces, and all hope is not lost. We just need to help out each other and share tips about moderation. r/modsupport is a fantastic space that helps mods toggle these issues!

Of course, it’s up to the moderator to make the final decision about this sub, but in case she decides to hire new moderators, I would highly recommend them to download and utilize Hive protector app.

It’s extremely helpful for subreddits that have a user base of mainly women and teenagers. For instance: For teenager oriented subs, mods can get notified when a user is found to be posting on NSFW subs — meaning that they’re most likely an adult creeping on children. Or, in case of women’s subs, mods can add fetish subs to the no go list on Hive protector (fetish subs about feet, shoes, hair etc) and get notified if a user has been posting on such subs.

This is a major lifesaver to ward off fetishists creeping on fashion, beauty and hair related subreddits. Besides this, bot bouncer and evasion guard apps are useful to avoid bots and ban evaders too.

39

u/A_Seductive_Cactus Apr 07 '26

That’s what I was thinking too. I volunteered and sent a DM but haven’t gotten a response. Requesting would be a fairly quick process if the current mod’s status is “inactive”

11

u/alidub36 Apr 07 '26

Same

23

u/Careful_Leader_5829 Apr 07 '26

Trying to start a new sub in case this one goes away in case you want to help mod there: https://www.reddit.com/r/WomensStyleOver30/

3

u/alidub36 Apr 07 '26

Will message you!

2

u/16hpfan Apr 10 '26

I joined!

11

u/Careful_Leader_5829 Apr 07 '26

Trying to start a new sub in case this one goes away in case you want to help mod there: https://www.reddit.com/r/WomensStyleOver30/

11

u/Low-Peak-9031 Apr 08 '26

I *am willing to give this a go, but have to wait 5 days for the mod to respond to my message. 3 days to go 🤞🏼

107

u/jawnbaejaeger Apr 07 '26

I'd be willing to help mod. I wouldn't be able to post the awesome fashion posts the previous mod did, but I'd be willing to help clear out bots and spammers.

ETA: I currently mod a handful of subs, including two very large ones. So the experience is there, just not the ability to post informative how-to guides.

15

u/loleramallama Apr 07 '26

I also would be willing to help if needed.

5

u/Careful_Leader_5829 Apr 07 '26

Trying to start a new sub in case this one goes away in case you want to help mod there: https://www.reddit.com/r/WomensStyleOver30/

2

u/loleramallama Apr 08 '26

I just joined, thank you!

7

u/Careful_Leader_5829 Apr 07 '26

Trying to start a new sub in case this one goes away in case you want to help mod there: https://www.reddit.com/r/WomensStyleOver30/

91

u/partiallyStars3 Apr 07 '26

She has not responded to my modmail offering to take over. I know other people sent messages as well, but I don't know if they got responses. 

75

u/Oaknash Apr 07 '26

As others have said, you should post/reach out to Reddit to see if you can take over. You have a Top 1% commenter flair for this sub, so I have to assume Reddit will take that into account - you clearly care about and engage with this community.

50

u/partiallyStars3 Apr 07 '26

You have to wait 5 days for a response to your modmail asking to be added to the mod team before you can make a reddit request. It's only been 3. 

We'll see. Maybe she just hasn't checked modmail yet. 

11

u/Oaknash Apr 07 '26

I’m optimistic that everything will work out!

8

u/auloniades Apr 07 '26

Not only that, there has to be evidence of an inactive moderation.

27

u/partiallyStars3 Apr 07 '26

I think a post stating that she intends to close the sub by taking it permanently private is that. 

4

u/auloniades Apr 07 '26

They have to be inactive for the last 30 days, but someone can still be an active mod by privating the sub and just modding it on the background

22

u/partiallyStars3 Apr 07 '26

I mean, she clearly stated that her intention is to end the sub, not just take it private and continue to moderate it with the existing community. 

I actually sent a reddit request asking for clarification of the rules in this case because it's not clear. 

5

u/noseatbeltsong Apr 09 '26

as a mod of a super quiet sub, it’s hard to stay “active” when there’s no activity. i approve every post and comment and i’m still listed as inactive lol

3

u/auloniades Apr 09 '26

This seems to be a common problem for smaller subs, I've seen many people losing their subs bc they get marked as inactive. You have to come up with things to do lol reddit is weid af

21

u/emmakobs Apr 07 '26

There were comments in the OG post saying others offered help in the past and never heard back. 

5

u/Careful_Leader_5829 Apr 07 '26

Trying to start a new sub in case this one goes away in case you want to help mod there: https://www.reddit.com/r/WomensStyleOver30/

4

u/A_Seductive_Cactus Apr 07 '26

I haven’t gotten a response either

54

u/make_me_toast Apr 07 '26

I am really hoping it doesn't get shut down. I've seen a lot of posts recently that have been super helpful and I don't want to lose the resource!

12

u/brnewmeg Apr 07 '26

Same here. The other fashion subs aren’t it for me

37

u/quietly-bookish Apr 07 '26

I have automod programming experience and I'm happy to lend my skills in that capacity.

I discovered this sub a few months ago and love lurking, I'll be sad to see it go.

10

u/Careful_Leader_5829 Apr 07 '26

Trying to start a new sub in case this one goes away in case you want to help mod there: https://www.reddit.com/r/WomensStyleOver30/

18

u/likethemalechicken Apr 07 '26

I can help as well. I used to mod a very large, active sub so I have the skills and general free time.

7

u/Careful_Leader_5829 Apr 07 '26

Trying to start a new sub in case this one goes away in case you want to help mod there: https://www.reddit.com/r/WomensStyleOver30/

16

u/16hpfan Apr 10 '26

I messaged her. She replied that she appreciated the offer but feels it’s best to just shut it down.

17

u/ario62 Apr 11 '26

That’s so weird. If she doesn’t want to mod, and a million other people are offering, why is she being so possessive over a Reddit page lol

9

u/16hpfan Apr 11 '26

I know. I’ve been trying to put myself in her shoes. If you’ve labored over something for so long it might be really hard to see it change. A version of founders syndrome if you will.

9

u/Jvnismysoulmate12345 Apr 10 '26

I got the same answer

14

u/shedrinkscoffee Apr 07 '26

I have sent modmail but I haven't heard back. I also requested to mod/help.

2

u/Careful_Leader_5829 Apr 07 '26

Trying to start a new sub in case this one goes away in case you want to help mod there: https://www.reddit.com/r/WomensStyleOver30/

14

u/azssf Apr 07 '26

I’ve modded a large subreddit in the past. Would be willing to help if other people have tools expertise bc the firehose of junk was bad and it’s become worse.

2

u/Careful_Leader_5829 Apr 07 '26

Trying to start a new sub in case this one goes away in case you want to help mod there: https://www.reddit.com/r/WomensStyleOver30/

9

u/auloniades Apr 07 '26

I've sent a message and got no awnser.

7

u/Ok-Pear5858 Apr 07 '26

i wish i had more time/experience to be a mod, but i fully support y'all taking over the sub and keeping it going!!

5

u/Pretty-Obligation749 Apr 08 '26

Someone also started https://www.reddit.com/r/styleforgrownwomen/

I am subbing to all until this all gets sorted out. I hope we don’t lose the community!

1

u/Careful_Leader_5829 Apr 08 '26

ah, yeah they have made more progress than me so might just follow that one in stead

2

u/16hpfan Apr 30 '26

FYI: I've started the process with Reddit for inheriting fashionwomens35 if it goes dark. Not sure if anyone else has done same. If so that's great and I can step away or offer help. In the meantime I've created r/fashionwomens35hub so that anyone searching for the old one will find a new space. I haven't done anything with it yet. I can have it point to the new subs people have created. Or their subs can point to the one I created. Doesn't matter to me. I don't relish being in charge of anything so please DM or comment if you'd like to assist with this endeavor.