This would be chaos. Most of the big subreddits have a combination of bespoke bots and complex automod configs that even the current mods struggle groking. Reddit would lose a ton of quality through poor moderation quickly if you put everything up for grabs.
Looking at /r/all today, it seems like there's still enough big front-page subs with mods to at least temporarily reallocate responsibilities. Most of the big subs are controlled by "power mods" already who administrate many subs. I think there would absolutely be a significant longer term loss of quality, but my guess is that in the shorter term Reddit could just give the keys to those subs to the 'power mods' who have remained.
I think you'd be surprised. Nature abhors a vacuum and there will be many users waiting in the wings for the tiny internet power of that prestigious mod hat.
> intentionally accesses a protected computer without authorization, and as a result of such conduct, recklessly causes damage;
I would think it's reasonably easy to establish mens rea when someone switches their sub from public to private and back every few hours, even if manually done because what else would they want to do but take down Reddit? Not to mention the punishes much harshly "conspiring" to commit such a crime. Careful there.
They're mods. They're authorized. Taking their subs private -temporarily, intermittently, permanently- is within the scope of the authority delegated to them by Reddit. A prosecution on the basis of CFAA would be ridiculous -- though, of course, that wouldn't mean it couldn't happen.
IANAL either, but my reading of that is the "and" in there is important. That is, you'd have to be "intentionally accessing a protected computer without authorization" and recklessly cause damage.
Reddit mods are not accessing a protected computer without authorization.
