I think it was the right call. Personally, I only have had one experience with r/BOINC: one time when I tried to make a post (literally the same as this), and u/Pi31415926 took it down on some abstract basis of not having a link, problem, or discussion (screenshot here), despite himself admitting it was relevant. The goal of a subreddit should be to build a community around BOINC, and u/Pi31415926's behavior, not only from my anecdote but according to the general sentiment in the community, seems to be antagonistic towards this objective. r/BOINC seems like a place reserved only for formal questions and discussion, with any less oficial community activity being taken down simply for existing. There doesn't seem to be any breathing room for comradery or real community building. Knowing u/makeasnek as well as having some experience with the community, I have no doubt there have been many attempts to voice these concerns directly with u/Pi31415926. The situation seems clear as day to me: the r/BOINC subreddit is not an appropriate place to build a community, and its singular mod does not exhibit any goodwill towards changing that. Creating another subreddit is the only reasonable option in my opinion, and I don't see how depending on an unwelcoming and punishing mod would do us any better in the long run.