> They don't WANT the mods to leave, and I do think it's a problem to embitter, and anger community, even just the mods.

I'm not convinced. I think they want the _current_ crop of mods of big subreddits to leave, to be replaced by users who would never dream of protesting Reddit's decisions.

> That said, they're quite replaceable, it seems.

In terms of popping some users out, and granting others mod access, that's true. In terms of the quality of the subreddit as a result - that would remain to be seen. I've browsed under-moderated subreddits that are relevant to my interests, and it's not a good experience.