EDIT 3 - The r/FirefoxCSS sub ‘resurfaced’ mid-afternoon today, Saturday 27Apr24… over 4 days after it had closed again due to the 2nd ‘gone private’ blackout incident triggered for unknown reasons by a person or persons unknown on Tuesday afternoon. Previous and only current Mod ‘yawn_zz’ reappeared alive and well and apparently back in sole control of “his” sub. Hmm? Mild flamewars and some Mod deleting of critics’ and disbelievers’ posts ensued.

The good news is that the r/FirefoxCSS sub’s extensive and valuable back history appears to be recovered and fully searchable again. :D

No explanation(s) offered for the 2nd 4-day-long blackout period or how/who/why the silly and petulant ‘PRIVATE SUB FOR STAR FOX FANS’ notice got posted? Same credulity-straining story about Pro-Palestinian protestors hijacking Mod’s unlocked phone offered for 1st half-day ‘gone private’ blackout incident last Monday. Novacula occami… “When you hear hoofbeats, think of horses not zebras”… Caveat emptor!

EDIT 2 - Regrettably the ‘gone private’ incident resumed pm Tue 23Apr24… this time with a silly ‘PRIVATE SUB FOR STAR FOX FANS. BEST NINTENDO GAME EVER!’ notice added… suggesting r/FirefoxCSS Mod has been hacked and is being trolled. An alternative suggestion is that sole Mod may be doing the trolling for unknown/unexplained reasons? :(

EDIT 1 - Gone ‘private’ incident over r/FirefoxCSS reappeared a short while ago after >8 hours blackout no longer a ‘private’ sub. Phew!

Explanation of sorts was posted by Mod at: https://www.reddit.com/r/FirefoxCSS/comments/1caovpr/why_was_this_subreddit_closed/ (this post and sceptical comments from users Re: Mod’s bizarre blackout explanation was then deleted before the 2nd ‘gone private’ incident began. Unknown if this was just a coincidence or deliberate trolling?)

ORIGINAL POST - The r/FirefoxCSS sub suddenly went private this afternoon, Monday 22nd April 2024.

No warning, no discussion, no explanation.

A minor tragedy… all those years of questions and answers, thousands of CSS code snippets, and a myriad of other info about the inner workings of Firefox all now hidden from general view and no longer searchable. What a waste!

A ‘private’ CSS help sub is next to useless IMO. A sad loss. :(

See also: https://www.reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/1cafqvr/does_anyone_know_why_rfirefoxcss_is_closed/

  • hansman@fedia.io
    2·
    7 months ago

    [Repost]The FirefoxCSS archive really should be maintained; it is a unique source of info even though many codes are partially outdated.

    However, for a long time, the discussions on that sub have been dominated by spammers requesting support for extensions, or showing off useless personal setups.

    Then there are the many posters who will not engage in a discussion on css code, simply expecting a quick fix regardless of the complexity of the issue; not to mention the many efforts by contributers which go unanswered.

    Since hardly anyone seems to be unduly bothered by the possible demise of that sub - including our very own MrOtherGuy ;) - I assume that there is little if any interest in discussing the finer points of Firefox specific CSS coding.

    • ResurgamS13@fedia.ioOP
      3·
      7 months ago

      Although no great shakes at CSS I am very dismayed by the sudden and mysterious demise of the r/FirefoxCSS sub… for exactly the same reasons as hansman Re: the loss of the huge body of previous knowledge contained in that sub’s years of posts, replies, suggested CSS userstyles, etc… and much other related info on the inner workings of Firefox including many suberb insights in the replies posted by MOG. :D

      As hansman has posted today in the r/Firefox thread "Either way, u/yawn_zz needs to get his arse in gear, and at least make a statement - he owes the contributers of the sub that much.".

      I too am at a complete loss to understand what is going on and what has triggered the two ‘gone private’ incidents?

      Did the sole remaining Mod ‘yawn_zz’ really have his phone stolen and hacked 2 days ago by ‘pro-Palestinian protestors’… supposedly whilst leaving his unlocked phone with a friend during an exam? This seems an unlikely story to say the least? Exactly why would any ‘pro-Palestinian protestors’ have the slightest interest in messing with a Firefox CSS sub-reddit? So what is really going on? Has the Mod ‘gone rogue’? The lack of any statement from yawn_zz makes this more probable by the hour.

      If yawn_zz didn’t want to be the sub’s Mod any longer why didn’t he just make an announcement post and walk away leaving the sub ‘abandoned’ but up and running? Why all the amateur dramatics and apparent deliberate spite?

      I had cautiously hoped that posting here might prompt MOG to perhaps try contacting u/yawn_zz to find out what was going on? I was hoping MOG might have other contact details for him, having been the co-Mod of the r/FirefoxCSS sub with yawn_zz for several years. MOG would also have a much better understanding of the workings of Reddit Mod & Admin systems than me starting from ground zero. Any advice or assistance on how to proceed with a ‘rescue’ would be very welcome indeed!

      I spent last evening reading-up on how users can attempt to ‘recover/reopen/rescue’ a sub-reddit that had been taken private, abandoned, or the ‘top-Mod’ has ‘gone rogue’. The answer is that the Reddit Admin methodology for doing this isn’t incredibly obvious. I also discovered that this is not the first time that the r/FirefoxCSS sub has ‘gone private’ or run into Mod problems either… see searches of ‘redditrequest’ and ‘top_mod_removal’, etc.

      As reported in an update post on the r/Firefox sub topic yesterday afternoon I have applied to ‘join’ the now private r/FirefoxCSS in an attempt to discover what is happening. No reply from the Mod yawn_zz as yet. Not a huge surprise given the silly/childish/petulant/spiteful ‘PRIVATE SUB FOR STAR FOX FANS. BEST NINTENDO GAME EVER!’ notice added by ‘someone’ when the sub was taken ‘private’ for the 2nd time yesterday afternoon. What on earth is that all about?

      Although I do not have deep CSS knowledge I have been interested in modifying Firefox’s UI for over a decade. I would be happy to learn how to become a Reddit Mod and take on looking after a rescued r/FirefoxCSS… however, it would be better if there were a few other Mods too (preferably stable, well-adjusted adults!) with some in-depth CSS skills! :)

      • MrOtherGuy@lemmy.worldM
        3·
        7 months ago

        Hi, I can’t help you too much, but I can tell you what little I know.

        I honestly have no idea what has been happening in reddit since last July. As far as I’m concerned the whole platform is dead, killed by admins, and I don’t want to have anything to do with it.

        Indeed, the sub was abandoned some years back as well, back then I became a mod solely to rescue it from abandonment. I believe (although I might remember incorrectly) yawn_zz was given mod rights first by admins, and then I was given mod status by them. No clue how this sort of deal would resolve nowadays.

        At any rate, I don’t have any other contact with them, but without going to any further details I can say that our relationship was suboptimal.

        Frankly, the community was less willing to move to another platform than I had hoped, but perhaps now is a good chance to try again :)

        • hansman@fedia.io
          2·
          7 months ago

          Frankly, the community was less willing to move to another platform than I had hoped, but perhaps now is a good chance to try again :)

          Let’s hope so; and thanks for chiming in.

          But more importantly - how do you like your new nick: MOG? ;P It sure is easier to type.

        • ResurgamS13@fedia.ioOP
          2·
          7 months ago

          Thank you for your kind reply. :) Reading between the lines from the few exchanges you had with yawn_zz when you were leaving r/FirefoxCSS last July I had gained the impression that your relationship was likely on the minimal/curt/frosty side.

          I have no objection to the community moving here or wherever else it wants to exist… my aim at present is to try and rescue all those years of previous posts so they can be searched… even if this was only as an archived sub in future.

          As a first step I need to find out from u/moohorns if he has received any reply from the Reddit Admins Re: the message he sent to them a couple of days ago not long after the 2nd ‘gone private’ event had occured sometime in the early afternoon of Tuesday 23rd April… see: https://www.reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/1cafqvr/comment/l0wnif6/

  • KnowItAll@fedia.io
    2·
    7 months ago

    Maybe the ‘best moderator of this forum ever (MOG)’ could jump over his shadow and take over this forum for a short time, as an interim moderator so to speak? Please!

  • tjn21@fedia.io
    1·
    7 months ago

    After the first ‘private’ session ended, the mod replied to a post to the effect that someone had his phone and had made the sub private. This episode has lasted longer. The first was apparently 8 hours, this is now in its 3rd day.

  • hansman@fedia.io
    1·
    7 months ago

    I hope it’s just a glitch, or the boss mon went too far into his jazz cabbage.