How Reddit CEO Steve Huffman Wants to End the Forum's 'Dark Side'

— -- Reddit is shedding its anything goes attitude in favor of a new set of policies that returning CEO Steve Huffman said are necessary to stamp out the site's "dark side."

In an "Ask Me Anything" interview this afternoon, Huffman, who also co-founded Reddit, said he began with a laid-back approach to regulating content, first by banning some people who spewed hate.

"As we grew, I became increasingly uncomfortable projecting my worldview on others. More practically, I didn't have time to pass judgment on everything, so I decided to judge nothing," he wrote. "So we entered a phase that can best be described as Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. This worked temporarily, but once people started paying attention, few liked what they found. A handful of painful controversies usually resulted in the removal of a few communities, but with inconsistent reasoning and no real change in policy."

Huffman, who took over after interim CEO Ellen Pao resigned on Friday, announced a new set of restrictions today about what cannot be posted on the website.

Among them are "anything that incites harm or violence against an individual or group of people" and anything that harasses, bullies or abuses and individual or group.

"As Reddit has grown, we've seen additional examples of how unfettered free speech can make Reddit a less enjoyable place to visit, and can even cause people harm outside of Reddit," Huffman said.

Whether Huffman's rules are embraced and enforced by the community will be a crucial step for Reddit as the site tries to make it through an identity crisis. The new set of restrictions come as Pao left the company after reaching a mutual decision with the board.

Pao was subjected to hateful messages on the site and many called for her ouster.

The Reddit rebellion began after the tight-knit online community learned Victoria Taylor, a popular Reddit employee who helped facilitate the forum's "Ask Me Anything" interviews with politicians, celebrities and other news makers had been abruptly fired without an explanation given to the Reddit community.

Much of the blame was directed at Pao, with Reddit users circulating a petition calling for her to be fired. Pao apologized earlier this month in a Reddit post and promised better communication in the future.