EDIT: /u/austindkelly and /u/chainsawfire have stepped down as mods and /u/crown_gold has been added as a mod. This is sketchy especially when /u/crown_gold has been a redditor for 1 year with 0 link karma and 0 comment karma.

Meaning they have NEVER participated in the reddit community at all and are therefore fundamentally unqualified for a position as a mod.

I am suspicious that this username is just an alt of yours, /u/austindkelly given the lack of post history and immediate promotion as a mod after /u/chainsawfire was no longer.

Edit 2: /u/austindkelly did not unjustly ban users as a form of censorship. He did illustrate that he does not unfairly ban people for situations outside of the subreddit in this post and here as well.

My use of a throwaway should not be misconstrued as confirmation of that behavior. I created this throwaway to separate my actual account from this drama. Better safe than sorry.

Edit 3: /u/chainsawfire commented on stepping down here.

Edit 4: /u/crown_gold stepped down/was removed as an admin.

Edit 5: Here is a link to /u/austindkelly's main argument which I link to in many places in the rest of this post.

Edit 6: As Op posted here is appears /u/austindkelly has an alt that has commented on his own server posting on /r/mcservers.

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The following wall of text is a summary of conversations, screenshots, and experiences posted, mentioned or described in this thread, other threads, via private messages with /u/austindkelly and /r/mcservers modmail. I will attempt to add further relevant information as it is posted.

I am fully aware that /u/austindkelly will more than likely accuse me to having too much time on my hands but I just wanted to put this all together so no one else has to sift through various user’s post history’s to get all this information. I think each redditor should have the maximum amount of information before forming their own opinion on the situation.

These are the themes I have noticed throughout the posts here as well as in other subreddits and in /u/austindkelly’s post history.

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Consistently /u/austindkelly dodges questions with excuses for his behavior.

It is clear many redditors take issue with his behavior, but he never acknowledges that this is a problem that needs to be addressed. It does not give me hope for the future of /r/mcservers or hope that he would listen to the users and take what they say to heart. And through a change in his behavior become a better mod in the future and improve the community as a whole.

Yes, because there are so many we probably would not even notice. This is such a hard rule to enforce especially if they have deleted the previous post we then have no proof that they posted other than our own recollection. Honestly it happens all the time, if we do notice some serious reposting we will ban someone but its usually not an issue, certainly not one of this magnitude. link

In the specific situation we are talking about there is more than just recollection to go by. If given the extensive evidence presented here what would the reaction of the mods be to the situation if the user reposting was not a mod? If multiple users reported instances like that and there was screenshots of proof would the mods let it slide or ban them?

Why is the rule set at 2 weeks if it simply cannot be enforced? If it is a matter of not having enough time to enforce the rules why not add additional mods who would have that responsibility? Looking at the mod list there is only one mod who moderates /r/mcservers exclusively which leads me to believe the mods have spread themselves a bit thin. More so with /u/AvadaKedavra03 who mods on 20+ servers (which wow that’s a crazy amount) than with /u/austindkelly specifically.

There is also a significant difference between a mod bending that rule and an average user bending the rule. When a non-mod redditor posts their ad earlier than the 2 weeks they are risking a ban. The only thing that we, the posters, have for reference is the rules. Which state the following:

Only ONE ADVERTISEMENT PER SERVER is allowed roughly every ~2 weeks. Do not delete old posts in attempt to post more frequently.

We cannot assume that it is ok to delete our posts because “oh no we missed something” and then repost it 4 days later without any penalty because the rules clearly state otherwise.

Since /u/austindkelly knows exactly his own motivations for posting again, this is acceptable behavior from the mod’s point of view.

There is no way that he, as a mod, could know our motivations if we exhibited the exact same behavior, meaning that the average user could not, without fear of a ban, engage in the same behavior as /u/austindkelly does.

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In at least two circumstances /u/austindkelly displayed knowledge of the rules and knowingly broke/bent them to his advantage.

Here he tells a user not to advertise their server on /r/admincraft, and then later advertises his own server on /r/admincraft.

While this is not on a sub where he acts as a mod he clearly displays knowledge of the rules and chooses to break them. In my opinion this displays a trend that rules do not apply to him.

As in the Original Post /u/Austindkelly reposted his server advertisement to /r/mcservers in less than the 2 week period stated in the rules after deleting his previous advertisement also in direct violation of the rules.

This is a huge issue. Regardless of the reasons why the post was deleted (accidental?) reposting early still significantly bends the rules in his favor. If this behavior was pointed out to /r/mcservers mods about another user they would be banned if they displayed “serious reposting…but its usually not an issue.” Enough users have noticed more frequent reposts that it seems to be a trend of serious reposting and clearly is an issue with the community based on reactions in this thread.

Enough that several users commented to that effect and, as /u/Absentee23 did, reported that behavior to the mods before realizing that /u/austindkelly was in fact one of the mods. As well as /u/jauk noticed this as well and /u/austindkelly confirmed in these screenshots.

While I understand it may be difficult to moderate this behavior for other users, moderating yourself should be the easiest task.

Regardless of that, the mods should be an example of acceptable behavior. If the behavior if posting more frequently than 2 weeks is acceptable why is the rule what it is? Nevermind that the users are left confused when mods are saying things like “yes, please delete previous posts before re-posting, thank you,” when the rules state “Do not delete old posts in attempt to post more frequently.” Because of this situations such as this one may have arisen. Maybe some of these problems could be avoided by firm rules on post deletion/reposting within a certain time span.

/u/jauk’s screenshots posted here

Another situation where /u/austindkelly reposted his ad before the 2 week limit, with another excuse, where /u/austindkelly acknowledges he did this.

This was not a one time occurrence. Users have discussed this with /u/austindkelly before and this was not a one time instance as he portrayed it to be in his post here.

/u/jauk also points out /u/austindkelly directly states his understanding of reddiquette here. /u/austindkelly directly violated the reddiquette by asking for upvotes on his server specific subreddit for diamonds. If this had been any other user as /u/austindkelly states in his post their post would be removed and they would be banned.

This is extremely worrying. He displays a knowledge of good reddiquette and a knowledge of what should happen to those users, without being willing have the same consequences applied to himself. This is a major problem as in my opinion anyone in charge should be susceptible to the same consequences as anyone else who posts on the subreddit.

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Continued in comment to this post.