A reddit user posted screenshots of a gas giant that were beautifully adorned with the colors of the trans flag.
This attracted bigots with their agenda to disrupt the community discussion and the mods shut it down by locking the post.
So the poster created a second one with more photos as a symbolic gesture that the message was simply about pretty planets that they felt represented them-
It too, was locked.
I made a post there proclaiming that I am leaving until I see the mods replaced with those that will not give in to bigotry, and I linked to this community with the hope that people can find a new home here.
Sooooo… welcome new friends!
Locking a thread that gets heated and goes wildly off topic is normal moderating actions.
It stops any kind of inflow of rule breaking, it stops all arguments, and it gives mods time to sort out what’s happened.
If an new/inexperienced mod encounters something they don’t know how to handle, locking is the safest bet. It keeps the content, prevents escalation.
The behaviour afterwards is what defines if the mods support bigotry or not.
Ideally the mods wade through the bullshit, delete the bigotry comments and ban the bigots with the reason of “being a bigot”. Then release a post saying that bigotry is not tolerated, and make any changes to rules that are appropriate. Consulting the community where appropriate, and being as transparent as possible.
All of this takes time. Locking a post is the first stage.
By creating a second thread with more similar content, the OP is subverting moderators trying to moderate.
There is already a thread that got out of hand, which mods are struggling to deal with.
By creating ANOTHER thread, it doubles the mods workload. The expected mod action would be to lock it instantly with a comment stating they are tidying up an existing post, clarifying rules, and will contact OP when they can safely repost. Next best thing is to just delete it.
The correct response from OP would be to ask for a public comment why the original thread was locked.
This would prompt a moderator comment - hopefully - that they are dealing with it, and will give a timeline of expected deadlines.
It’s not the mods that are bigots, it’s that Reddit is a cesspool. And fun communities can easily be overwhelmed if targeted.
If the mods hadn’t encountered this behaviour before, then they have to figure out - amongst themselves and with the community - how to proceed.
I wasn’t there, I can’t be arsed reading Reddit bullshit. From the context you’ve given, I’ve come to the above conclusion.