Did the trolls just win?
Imzy — the internet community that positioned itself as a more compassionate version of Reddit — will be shutting down in June, according to a post from company CEO Dan McComas.
“We’ve loved getting to know all of you and seeing you build communities and make new friends,” said McComas. “Unfortunately, we were not able to find our place in the market. We still feel that the internet deserves better and hope that we see more teams take on this challenge in the future.”
The company launched last fall with $8 million in funding and company leadership that included former Reddit and Twitter employees.
Imzy aimed to create more accountability for online commenting by making users join a group before being able to join a conversation. “Extreme” content — posts involving torture, self-harm, and porn — were not allowed on the site.
In contrast to Reddit, Imzy allowed users to “tip” moderators and other community members, in an effort to keep the site free of ads.
The site will close down on June 23. McComas assured users they will not have to worry about Imzy selling their information.