>If mods on Reddit really believed they were irreplaceable

I was going more for "very hard, especially in bulk and on short notice" than irreplaceable there.

>wouldn’t it make more sense to protest by quitting?

Already did a while back...used to mod some big-ish subs.

Going private seems like a reasonable intermediate step though. A bit like workers holding a strike instead of straight to mass resignation

No one is claiming to be irreplaceable, although if you have evidence to the contrary you're welcome to provide it.

But that's not why the protest is happening...?