[maest]

> Reddit is not a platform for self-promotion, and moderators there are very keen for it not becoming such a place.

Counterpoint: mods can (and have been) paid off to promote/allow posts from certain companies, while shutting down posts from competitors.

The biggest example is u/gallowboobs, but many mods of medium to large sized subreddits have reported being approached by people offering them money to use their power to influence what gets posted.

So, while on the surface of it, it looks like a subreddit is moderated by clear, transparent rules, in most cases, decisions are made by a handful of people whose interests are not clear or aligned with the community's.