Why Is Reddit's AMA Page Shut Down?

Reddit has been going through some major changes, such as new anti-harassment policies, most of which have come under the helm of interim CEO Ellen Pao. But the latest reported move has led to closing of one of its most popular features. For any Redditors out there, you may have noticed that Reddit's "Ask Me Anything" thread was shut down Thursday. According to The Verge, the subreddit was temporarily shelved after the site allegedly fired communications director Victoria Taylor, the coordinator of the frequented interview forum.

Several Reddit sections were put in private mode, including a thread posted by Taylor herself, in which she reportedly said she was "dazed" and "hopefully" planned to stay in PR, according to Business Insider. Taylor was the primary contact person between Reddit and the famous people featured in the AMAs. Eleven subreddits have also gone private to reportedly protest Taylor's firing, including r/videos, r/gaming, r/AskReddit, r/science, r/history, and r/movies, Business Insider reported, while others have altogether stop taken submissions.

Each blocked page was posted with a notice, including this message from the site's moderators:

Due to internal administration reorganization at reddit, /r/IAmA has temporarily been made private by the moderators. We will be using this time to restructure our process for AMAs.

Reddit's AMAs are undoubtedly one of the site's most popular features. Let's be real: Reddit can house some pretty disgusting threads for degenerates, but its AMA forum was widely well-liked. The interviews, in which Redditors got to ask people anything, often offered a candid look into the inner-thinkings of a politician, celebrity, or other high-profile figure. President Obama, tech visionary Elon Musk, and Breaking Bad 's Bryan Cranston have all stepped up to what can sometimes be a brutal roast.

That's what made Taylor's job critical to the AMA machine. Her duties reportedly involved booking talent, sifting through thousands of posted questions, and relaying them to interview subjects over the phone. She would then transcribe their answers and post them online. Last year, she said she helped organize 1,400 AMAs during her tenure.

There's no word as to when the AMAs will be back, and already people have voiced their outrage at Taylor's alleged firing. One thing's for sure: The longer that these subreddits are down, the more problems will face the site.