Reddit users 'revolt' against firing of employee

Reddit had to apologise to its users after many of its popular subsections were taken down in a 'revolt' over an employee's firing.

Volunteer moderators who work with paid administrators to run the site's discussion threads turned many of the 'subreddits' dark after the dismissal of communications director Victoria Taylor, Daily Mail reported.

Taylor is known for running the website's popular 'Ask Me Anything' interviews, where celebrities take part in question and answer sessions with the site's users. Reddit reportedly receives more than 160 million regular visitors a month.

The sudden news of her firing led moderators of the question and answer subsection IAmA to close down their thread, followed by many others who said that Taylor was the only site administrator who ever communicated well with them.

Unconfirmed reports suggested she was fired for differences of opinion on how to take the site forward.

Many of the website's moderators were annoyed not only at the firing of Taylor, but at the lack of communication they have been given.

Reddit's co-founder and executive chairman Alexis Ohanian attempted to calm the situation in a number of posts on the website.

"We get that losing Victoria has a significant impact on the way you manage your community. I'd really like to understand how we can help solve these problems, because I know r/IAmA thrived before her and will thrive after," he wrote.

And in a longer post, he revealed that they would "work out a plan for going forward".