)
the real drama was in the making. it's been kinda a weird piece to write tbh
this isn't typical rdrama fare, but I figured I'd share it here since you guys kindly helped with a bunch of the background research.
oh and as thanks for providing me lots of pointers to links, here's a dump of every relevant link I dug up, including histories of jannies (shockingly: all anarchists) and a bunch of old archives of the sub, a tangent about violence that didn't end up going anywhere, and a heap of other nonsense.
cheers
TIMELINE:
18 August 2014:
https://web.archive.org/web/20130818004835/reddit.com/r/antiwork - sub origin - in praise of laziness
https://web.archive.org/web/20150703051842/http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/07/world-without-work/395294/ - atlantic - a world without work
https://www.marxists.org/archive/lafargue/1883/lazy/ the right to be lazy
3 July 2015:
https://web.archive.org/web/20150703071415/reddit.com/r/antiwork - Doreen Ford was second-ever mod of antiwork, becoming a moderator when it had some 1300 users
22 February 2017:
https://web.archive.org/web/20170222140844/https://www.reddit.com/r/antiwork/ - slow growth. 2300 readers
https://camas.github.io/reddit-search/#{"author":"phoenix--insurgent","resultSize":100} - main visible user besides AbolishWork, another anarchist who talks a lot about sabotaging bosses etc
31 October 2017:
https://web.archive.org/web/20171031035119/https://www.reddit.com/r/antiwork/ - discussion starting to pick up a tiny bit
3 September 2018:
https://web.archive.org/web/20180903051111/https://www.reddit.com/r/antiwork/ - i hate newreddit, but anyway, 4.8k subscribers and a new moderator. really starting to pick up steam within its niche
https://old.reddit.com/r/antiwork/comments/98wj7t/i_want_to_quit_the_corporate_life_but_feel_awful/ - randomly selected self-post from that time. note: AbolishWork there in the trenches, doing her thing
https://old.reddit.com/user/onedayitwillbedaisy - currently active in /r/anarchism and /r/destroywork
https://old.reddit.com/r/CrimethInc/ CrimethInc - run by that mod. rebel-left does its thing
19 October 2018:
https://web.archive.org/web/20181019205342/reddit.com/r/antiwork - 7.2k subscribers, helped by a boost from AskReddit and NoStupidQuestions https://camas.github.io/reddit-search/#{"author":"onedayitwillbedaisy","subreddit":"antiwork","searchFor":1,"resultSize":100,"query":"[META] frequently"}
13 February 2019:
https://web.archive.org/web/20190213030802/reddit.com/r/antiwork - 16.4k subscribers, well and truly taking off. New moderators:
DnLocky https://camas.github.io/reddit-search/#{"author":"DnLocky","resultSize":100}
IAmThe11 https://camas.github.io/reddit-search/#{"author":"IAmThe11","resultSize":100}
WinterTrabex https://www.reddit.com/user/WinterTrabex
pink_paperclips https://camas.github.io/reddit-search/#{"author":"pink_paperclips","resultSize":100}
(all anarchists)
21 November 2019: https://web.archive.org/web/20191121192009/https://www.reddit.com/r/antiwork/ - 67.9k subscribers
New moderators:
/u/Whitepirate15 - mostly apolitical. https://camas.github.io/reddit-search/#{"author":"whitepirate15","resultSize":100}
/u/Sehtriom - anarchist http://reddit.com/user/sehtriom
/u/Sasha_Unicorn - NEET, NeurodivergentPride, GenZedong communist, https://old.reddit.com/user/sasha_unicorn, https://old.reddit.com/r/GenZedong/comments/in9rqo/pov_youre_a_human_being_if_ussr_never_existed_be/g465m9t/?context=999, https://old.reddit.com/r/alltheleft/comments/hrfu29/can_someone_please_tell_me_what_my_ideology_is/fy45yqu/?context=999
29 June 2020: https://web.archive.org/web/20200629225114/https://www.reddit.com/r/antiwork/ - 131.9k subscribers
New mods:
elektrybaut_trurla - generic socialist - https://camas.github.io/reddit-search/#{"author":"elektrybaut_trurla","resultSize":100,"query":"socialist"}
CremationLily - egoist anarchist - https://camas.github.io/reddit-search/#{"author":"cremationlily","resultSize":100,"query":"anarchism"}
(others beyond the "...more")
19 November 2020: https://web.archive.org/web/20201119090644/https://www.reddit.com/r/antiwork/ - 194.8k subscribers, more and more memes
Early-ish media coverage:
22 October 2021: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/22/opinion/work-resignations-covid.html
https://x.com/Molson_Hart/status/1451549611974402048
10 November 2021: https://www.vice.com/en/article/k7waba/reddits-million-strong-anti-work-community-wants-to-blackout-black-frida - Vice on Black Friday Blackout
16 December 2021: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/12/16/reddit-kellogg-strike-antiwork/ - Kelloggs strike - wow they made fake job apps
https://x.com/JoshuaPotash/status/1468983773014470662 - viral tweet
16 December 2021: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-12-16/this-is-the-booming-movement-to-abolish-work-as-we-know-it - bloomberg interviews Doreen
"Sub culture" threads:
https://old.reddit.com/r/antiwork/comments/dzmbxh/unknown_easy_jobs_lets_share_our_knowledge_and/ - easy jobs
https://old.reddit.com/r/antiwork/comments/eay9e8/nothing_will_change/ - everyone is brainwashed into being happy working
https://old.reddit.com/r/antiwork/comments/ikcfeu/what_are_your_best_tips_for_being_a_slacker/ - tips for being a slacker
https://old.reddit.com/r/antiwork/comments/lf1uw2/if_you_think_capitalism_is_a_defendable_system/ - https://kiwifarms.net/attachments/screenshot_2021-02-08-if-you-think-capitalism-is-a-defendable-system-and-working-everyday-is-s-png.1904389/ - immature to approve of daily work or capitalism
https://old.reddit.com/r/antiwork/comments/lo6wov/my_dads_a_working_class_hero/ - anger at hard workers, in post history user mostly talks about drugs, anarchism
https://x.com/black_autonomy/status/1283155252091383808 - on twitter but the Hard Antiwork Stance
https://old.reddit.com/r/antiwork/comments/ragevj/i_straight_up_dont_want_to_work/ - I straight up don't want to work
"No, that doesn't actually mean antiwork"
https://old.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/rp1e85/what_do_you_think_of_the_anti_work_movement/hq31xvm/ - we just want better conditions
ON VIOLENCE:
AbolishWork was pretty strict about nonviolence on the sub, partially for optics but perhaps partially as principle:
https://camas.github.io/reddit-search/#{"author":"abolishwork","resultSize":100,"query":"violence"}
onedayitwillbedaisy is eagerly violent and pro-chaos, but avoids it on antiwork to avoid getting shut down:
https://camas.github.io/reddit-search/#{"author":"onedayitwillbedaisy","resultSize":100,"query":"violence"}
DnLocky recommends How Nonviolence Protects the State:
https://camas.github.io/reddit-search/#{"author":"dnlocky","resultSize":100,"query":"nonviolence"}
https://www.akpress.org/how-nonviolence-protects-the-state.html
“Peaceful protests don’t work. Change will come with blood.”
IAmThe11, by contrast, opposes violence and seems chill: https://old.reddit.com/r/antiwork/comments/aab2bu/i_want_my_boss_to_be_ripped_apart_by_dogs/ecqn30u/?context=999
https://camas.github.io/reddit-search/#{"author":"IAmThe11","resultSize":100,"query":"violence"}
https://camas.github.io/reddit-search/#{"author":"IAmThe11","resultSize":100,"query":"socialist"}
“compassionate socialist c*m anarchist”
WinterTrabax - roommate of Doreen/AbolishWork(https://i.imgur.com/a/o1JuifY) :
https://www.reveddit.com/v/antiwork/comments/cm7bh2/dont_forget_fight_club_was_released_in_1999/ew2ckdg/?context=999&ps_after=1565021097 - shoutouts for this and similar “knock it off with the violentposting” stuff
Sehtriom:
https://old.reddit.com/r/antiwork/comments/f6cuwy/well_when_you_put_it_that_way/fi6shyf/?context=999 - Appropriate response on violence
https://x.com/reddit_lies/status/1453361315397898250 sme violent posts
The sub evolves:
https://old.reddit.com/r/antiwork/comments/qe0cv5/the_subreddit_is_antiwork_not_reformwork_were_not/ The faultline between anti- and reform- exposed and explored, with gigachad meme dude stepping in: https://old.reddit.com/r/antiwork/comments/qe0cv5/the_subreddit_is_antiwork_not_reformwork_were_not/hhqfp0c/
https://old.reddit.com/r/antiwork/comments/rgyqud/i_do_not_want_to_work_let_me_make_myself_clear_i/honjuig/ people begin calling the originals plants
https://old.reddit.com/r/JustUnsubbed/comments/eqhpzt/rantiwork_is_getting_pretty_ridiculous/ poor lost soul on what it "used to be"
https://old.reddit.com/r/antiwork/comments/qown4a/i_do_miss_the_old_antiwork/ - wojaks wojaks wojaks
Anarchists complain about the shift:
https://x.com/_saintdrew/status/1452710096396595200
https://x.com/EcoTechBro/status/1452700071393472518
Viral tweets about text exchanges with bad bosses:
https://x.com/TravisShreffler/status/1449547981821206533
https://x.com/tadpr0le/status/1452033437389312001
The Interview:
https://web.archive.org/web/20220126190515/https://old.reddit.com/r/antiwork/comments/sdb68w/sorry_doesnt_cut_it_mods_are_not_leaders_of_this/ - mods how dare you, you're not our bosses
https://old.reddit.com/r/antiwork/comments/se3umd/petition_shut_down_rantiwork/ - Petition: shut down antiwork
https://archive.is/N9ePf - direct conversation with Doreen
https://old.reddit.com/r/antiwork/comments/se62xd/ualex_moran_is_100_an_alt_account_for_uabolish/ - ALT??? (no, people just fell for a troll: 
Doreen confesses to masturbating next to someone who didn't want it and putting their hand on her boxers:
https://old.reddit.com/r/WorkReform/comments/sdj1xl/rantiwork_mod_who_went_on_fox_news_admitted_to/
Kimezukae - NYT + other interviews.
https://archive.is/20220127200358/https://old.reddit.com/r/antiwork/comments/sdwd28/statement_rantiwork/ - post-left anarchist "long-term unemployed" NEET doing NYTimes interview
https://camas.github.io/reddit-search/#{"author":"kimezukae","searchFor":1,"resultSize":100} - stepping down
whitepirate15 - briefly head mod, all sorts of weird s*x stuff https://old.reddit.com/r/antiwork/comments/seechm/restructuring_recent_events_megathread/hujyyib/?context=9
EphraelStern - reddit powermod brought in to clean up and represent the will of its new userbase
https://old.reddit.com/r/antiwork/comments/seechm/restructuring_recent_events_megathread/
SRD RECAPS:
WORKREFORM PLOTLINE:
https://old.reddit.com/r/WorkReform/comments/sdlxqa/today_was_a_big_day_150k_members_and_counting_in/ - 150k members in a day (470k now)
(commies mad)
https://old.reddit.com/r/COMPLETEANARCHY/comments/sdjivd/rworkreform_is_a_liberal_attempt_to_coopt_a/ - anarchists notice its mods work at a bank
https://old.reddit.com/r/DankLeft/comments/sdyhjp/psa_rworkreform_is_run_by_literal_bank_executives/ - so do other commies
https://old.reddit.com/r/WorkersStrikeBack/comments/sdoq7o/stop_promoting_rworkreform/ - commies mad that it's reform
https://old.reddit.com/r/LateStageCapitalism/comments/se0rdg/i_tried_out_rworkreform_instead_of_rantiwork_holy/ - commies mad that some there don't hate right wing
https://old.reddit.com/r/DankLeft/comments/sdpkd2/when_i_looked_at_my_phone_after_work_referring_to/ - commies mad that mod is cryptobro
(commies mad)
https://old.reddit.com/r/WorkReform/comments/sdp8gn/yeah_i_work_in_a_bank_taking_calls_assisting/ - uh yeah i'm a low-level bank employee. spooky right?
https://old.reddit.com/r/WorkReform/comments/sedd6u/riop3l_heading_out/ - peaceing out
https://old.reddit.com/r/Workers_Revolt/comments/siloe5/transparency_is_key_screenshot_this_post_before/ (https://archive.is/XIO5v) - SandersForPresident mod takeover timeline
(moderates /r/SandersForPresident, /r/NewDealAmerica, /r/OregonForSanders, /r/ReadyForAOC, and /r/VoteAOC)
DestroyWork:
https://old.reddit.com/r/destroywork/comments/sibmpd/labor_must_be_voluntary_for_all_this_isnt_about/ - simple summary
https://old.reddit.com/r/destroywork/comments/sfmpkq/what_is_the_purpose_of_this_subreddit/ destroywork chronicling antiwork’s original story
Communist lesson from collapse:
https://x.com/SwampCommunist/status/1486730907637612553
Related concepts:
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/lying-flat-is-justice-chinese-millennials-are-chilling-and-beijing-isnt-happy-about-it/articleshow/84164663.cms - tangping or lying flat in china
https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-topics/c05008/japan’s-hikikomori-population-could-top-10-million.html - hikikomori in japan
https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/neet - NEET
Fun:
- COAL MINING ENJOYER
https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/whats-your-job-on-the-leftist-commune - whats your job on the leftist commune
RELEVANT GENERAL INFO:
https://status451.com/2016/09/15/social-gentrification/ - Social gentrification
https://old.reddit.com/r/slatestarcodex/comments/9rvroo/most_of_what_you_read_on_the_internet_is_written/ - Most of what you read on the internet is written by insane people
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Theres so much crap in this post that it literally broke the site.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
More options
Context