Ellen Pao has resigned as interim CEO of Reddit, saying personal attacks had shaken her faith in humanity.
Pao joined Reddit in April 2013 and became its acting CEO in November. She is now being replaced by Reddit co-founder and former chief executive, Steve Huffman.
Pao recently said sorry for screwing up the way the website recently managed the community and communications.
The apology came after a huge online protest following the dismissal of former director of Talent, Victoria Taylor, from the company last week.
In her resignation note posted on Reddit site, Pao said: "I’ve seen the good, the bad and the ugly on reddit. The good has been off-the-wall inspiring, and the ugly made me doubt humanity."
Pao said the board had asked for higher user growth than she thought was possible.
Huffman said: "One of my first priorities is to re-establish a relationship with the community. This is the first of what I expect will be many AMAs (I’m thinking I’ll do these weekly)."
Reddit was founded in June 2003 as an entertainment, social networking, and news website. It allows registered community members to submit content, like text posts or direct links.
