Reddit has introduced the “Mod Helper Program,” which aims to recognize and reward moderators who provide valuable assistance to fellow moderators. An updated Moderator Help Center accompanies the program launch. The initiative follows a period of discontent among Reddit’s moderators, many of whom relied on third-party applications that were shut down due to Reddit’s API pricing changes.
Moderators expressed a need for improvements to the official Reddit app’s moderation tools, which they considered inferior to those offered by now-discontinued third-party alternatives. Relations between Reddit and its moderators remained strained as Reddit administrators continued to take action against entire moderator teams who had made their subreddits private in protest of API pricing. Third-party app developers criticized this pricing structure as excessive and unsustainable.
The Mod Helper program operates on a tiered system where participating moderators can earn trophies and rewards based on their assistance. Based on user interactions, Karma gained through upvotes and tips can be made or lost. The program explicitly rewards moderators who receive upvotes on their comments in the r/ModSupport subreddit.
Reddit’s Moderator Support Enhancements
The Moderator Support team announced that comment karma submitted to r/ModSupport will lead to the acquisition of trophies, which will serve as a visible indicator to other moderators that a user is a trusted source of valuable insight. The program includes various ranks, each providing different trophies and perks, ranging from the “Assistant” rank to the “Expert Assistant” rank. Reddit introduced a similar program earlier this year in the r/help subreddit, rewarding users who accumulated karma by providing helpful responses to other users’ questions.
In r/ModSupport, Reddit admins claimed that “Reddit can be a complex place for newbie and expert Mods alike, and the knowledge you share with each other here is incredibly powerful. This will both recognize Mods who are particularly helpful and reliable sources of expertise for their fellow Mods, all with the goal of celebrating your support of each other and fostering a culture in this community where mods readily collaborate and learn from one another.”
Reddit has introduced the Modmail Answer Bot, a tool designed to assist moderators. This bot automatically provides relevant links from the site’s Help Center in response to queries. The bot generates a support ticket that a human administrator will manage if the suggested articles don’t address the specific inquiry. The main aim of this bot is to simplify moderator requests, allowing the admin team to concentrate on more intricate problems.
In addition, Reddit is combining the Help Center tailored for moderators with the general Help Center, ensuring that support resources are conveniently located and accessible from one place.
Challenges in Reddit-Moderator Relationship and Platform Updates
Lately, the relationship between Reddit and its moderators has faced challenges. In protest of Reddit’s new API pricing, over 8,000 subreddits went offline for 48 hours in June before the pricing changes took effect on July 1. Reddit’s CEO, Steve Huffman, referred to the blackout leaders as a “minority of moderators” and commented that they were “landed gentry,” which sparked further discontent among moderators. Many moderators dedicate substantial time to managing the platform’s communities without compensation. Reddit has taken more robust measures to address the dissent by removing moderators who refuse to reopen their subreddits. Consequently, formerly thriving subreddits like r/malefashionadvice are facing a decline as Reddit replaces protesting moderators with less experienced users.
Reddit has slowly introduced its moderation tools, which were once readily available through third-party apps. Unfortunately, the updates they have launched are awkward and not very user-friendly. While Reddit did waive API fees for accessibility apps, which are crucial for users who are blind, the in-app moderation tools remain inaccessible for blind moderators. The latest accessibility update from Reddit had many issues and bugs, causing frustration among moderators, including those from r/blind.
The response to the peer-to-peer helper program in r/ModSupport was varied. A user raised concerns about the possibility that automating the support request system might make getting assistance from someone else harder. They emphasized that the subreddit was intended for direct communication between moderators and admins rather than among moderators.
Moderator Frustration and User Discontent: Seeking Meaningful Admin Engagement
One user noted, “Admin participation hasn’t been great here,” the user continued. “I don’t know if that’s because you guys aren’t familiar enough with mod tools to provide meaningful support to the mod community or if you just can’t be bothered. But you seem to mostly rely on the mod community to address questions and concerns here, and that’s not what people come here for.”
In response to the announcement, the top comment reflected a Reddit user’s frustration with the limited moderation features available on the official Reddit app. These moderators had requested tools to handle ban evasion and sought more direct assistance from admins when dealing with problematic users.
Another user highlighted that the flair rewards were unrelated to genuinely helpful comments. Instead, “witty individuals” might achieve expert status based on their humour rather than expertise. In response to the thread, an admin acknowledged that Reddit teams were addressing some of the concerns raised by moderators. They promised upcoming enhancements to mobile features.
