The removal of u/skeen as top moderator of r/atheism has, undeniably, caused a lot of controversy in the past few weeks. But was this removal even legitimate?

The entire point of r/redditrequest was to ensure that subreddits could not become inactive or abandoned. r/atheism was never in danger of becoming inactive and was by no means abandoned. u/skeen has stated that he used alternative accounts as to not be seen as a "god."

The entire point of the subreddit was a lack of moderation. u/skeen did what he wanted with his community.

Even if you believe that u/skeen abandoned the subreddit, why should it have been given to u/jij and u/tuber? It is a default - it should not simply have been given away to the first people who asked for it. It is just too big - there should have been a policy in place for a situation like this. The subreddit should have been given to redditors who were trusted by the gigantic community that formed around the subreddit; people who invested time and effort into making the place as good as it could be.

u/tuber and u/jij, good intentions or not, have not proven to be capable moderators. Their actions and those of their colleagues have torn the community apart from the inside out. Few are happy with the changes that have been made, and the community that so many of us have invested time into has been utterly wrecked as a result.

This was not their community to take. If you believe that the subreddit was abandoned, it should have been given back to the community that built it - not to the first people to yell "mine!"

u/tuber and u/jij exploited a loophole; a flaw in the rules. As a result, thousands of redditors are disenfranchised and without the subreddit that we used to love.

We petition the administrators of Reddit to return r/atheism to its former state, either by the restoration of u/skeen to the position of top moderator or by the appointment of a community leader to that position. If the admins refuse, we demand an explanation as to why.

Thank you for your time.