Moderators shape the community. Whether or not that shape sticks after they leave depends a lot on the community and what rules they keep/enforce.
for example, r/fishing bans memes. What if mod A leaves and mod B allows memes? Experience says that memes proceed to take over r/fishing anf the community tone changes. Sure, r/fishing "exists", but does it exist for the reasons you subscribed?
You can even use HN as a whole here. How much do you think the tone of HN would change if Dang dissapeared tomorrow?
That's the issue that was understated during these protests. Moderation is thankless work and even without drama it can burn one out.
for example, r/fishing bans memes. What if mod A leaves and mod B allows memes? Experience says that memes proceed to take over r/fishing anf the community tone changes. Sure, r/fishing "exists", but does it exist for the reasons you subscribed?
You can even use HN as a whole here. How much do you think the tone of HN would change if Dang dissapeared tomorrow?
That's the issue that was understated during these protests. Moderation is thankless work and even without drama it can burn one out.