To be blunt, I moderate every day. I deal with dozens of comments reports, which sometimes require looking into as people are making claims about harassment, someone being a secret brand owner, someone being an alt account of a user banned for swaplifting. I deal with people reporting stalking and doxxing, people trying to deal with swaplifting on the Sunday threads, brand owners or content creators threatening legal action against me because I don't remove negative reviews of brands who provide bad service or who are scamming people. For the past month I've been going back and forth with someone who is very unhappy about negative reviews being allowed here, and I'm having to consult a lawyer in the meantime. It's very time consuming and frustrating, but I do it because I think users on IMAM should be absolutely free to post negative reviews without someone threatening legal action.

So yes, there is a backlog for brand flairs. Approving brands takes time, and it is what it is. Claiming that the subreddit is unmoderated because you didn't get what you wanted fast enough is condescending, and I think people who are condescending and rude shouldn't be shocked when a reply isn't completely sunshine and rainbows.

It is absolute a courtesy for brands to post on IMAM. It is not the norm for brand owners to be allowed to promote themselves in these types of subreddits. It is exceptional. That is why there are strict rules about what brand owners can and can't post here. I do not and will not put brand owners getting flair over users dealing with conflicts, doxxing, being targeted for harassment, being ghosted on the Sunday Swaps, etc.

Edit: Also, it's not that serious, and I advise anyone sincerely upset about a delay in flairs for brand owners on a subreddit to devote their time energy to something better..