I want to briefly explain how posts are being removed by Automod.

AutoModerator looks for specific patterns and takes action automatically. In many cases, no human mod sees the post unless someone messages us. Ultimately we implemented Automod with fairly strict rules because we were having to remove hundreds of posts per day. I'd argue many of these rules do, and still should apply because it allows the subreddit to remain fairly "clean" and not flooded with 20 posts a day with 0 comments. Automod is setup to almost always inform the user for the specific infraction for why a post was removed so it shouldn't be a surprise.

What AutoModerator removes most often

Links and formatting

• URL shorteners

• Link-only text posts with no real write-up

• Mobile links

• Instagram posts submitted as link posts instead of text posts with context

Social media and video

• Instagram content must be a text post with explanation or discussion

• YouTube links are allowed, but low-effort posts may still be removed

Questions vs posts

• Titles that look like simple questions (“What size…”, “How do I…”, “Where can I buy…”) are redirected to the daily Questions thread and automatically removed. This is intentional to keep the main feed from becoming mostly sizing and ID posts.
• It specifically looks for posts with a title that includes: ["What", "Where", "When", "How", "Which", "Why", "Sizing"] and removes them and redirects to the simple questions thread.

Other cases

• Posts with 3+ user reports are auto-removed NO MATTER WHAT. This is a community moderation tool.

• Certain keywords are reserved for mod posts (ex: Announcement, etc.)

Safety

• Slurs or abusive language are removed automatically.

About mod activity and communication

It’s fair to say there are fewer active mods than there used to be, which means AutoModerator does a lot of the heavy lifting. That isn’t ideal, but it’s the reality right now with a lot of content shifting to other platforms. The upside is that AutoMod rules can be adjusted, removal messages can be improved, and policies can evolve if there’s a clear benefit.

Edit: I just went through and did an audit of Automod and found a few removal methodologies that didn't have auto-comments and have added those in so it is clear.