Moderating an online community is both challenging and rewarding work. We know that establishing clear guidelines helps clear up ambiguity and hold ourselves responsible. And it means everyone can play their part in fostering a positive, fun, and welcoming online environment.

Our Moderator Code of Conduct is designed to help moderators understand the responsibilities and scope of their role. It also helps the wider community understand the vital role our moderators play, and what every member can do to support them.

Conduct

We ask our moderators to:

• Be a proactive and integral member of their community.

• Lead by example, exemplify the community’s values and code of conduct, and be accountable for the community’s health.

• Promote positive and productive content and conversations.

• Respect other communities and their members.

• Be accountable for their actions and effectiveness, and learn from their experiences.

• Set community behaviour guidelines that align with the wider Just About community standards, and modify them where necessary.

• Step down from the role if they show evidence of not representing the platform’s values, or are no longer able to reliably serve their community.

Activities

Our moderators are expected to:

• Learn how AutoMod works and provide feedback on its effectiveness to the Just About team.

• Encourage the community to identify and report inappropriate content, through the official reporting system.

• Action reports fairly, transparently and promptly, leaving notes in the reporting system.

  • Investigate what’s happened and apply the appropriate response.

  • Affirm member behaviour expectations where necessary.

  • Restore content if a mistake is made.

• Provide members with an understanding of why content has been edited or removed, reinforce community standards, and increase the transparency and clarity of the moderation process.

• Intervene to resolve unhelpful or disruptive content in the conversations they’re part of.

• Escalate situations to the Just About team, mental health organisations, or local law enforcement where necessary.

• Reach out to the Just About team whenever they need help and support.

As always we welcome any feedback you have for improving our Moderator Code of Conduct.

You can share your thoughts in this article’s comments, or discuss it in detail over in our Just About community space.