[quaunaut]

They've actually kept dozens from happening in the past, but you've gotta be familiar with the nature of the site to understand. Generally, those past witch hunts were built around small groups of people coming together to harass someone for an unpopular view- whether it was someone working for a company they hated, or someone who supports women's rights fervently.

This was a case where Reddit had mild success in the past, being able to figure out the license plates of hit-'n-run suspects, or thieves of various types. So, they thought that maybe they could do some good here.

Now they know otherwise: There is no right time for stuff like this. Ever. So, they go back to what they've done in the past to stop these, dozens, and dozens, and dozens of times: Heavier moderation of anything that could even possibly lead to someone's personal information.