Moderator Hierarchy

I've experienced issues with Reddit's approach to the moderator hierarchy being based off seniority (time in role).

I was in a sub where the founder was absent for 4 years and then returned kicking and banning the mod team that had spent years growing and guiding that sub.

I'd like to advocate for Just About to either have a model with equality amongst moderators, or having active engagement a requirement to maintain seniority.

Voting mechanisms to make decisions or resolve disputes would be a cool feature too.

Created at 11:27am, 14th August, 2023. Page last updated at 2:44pm, 16th May, 2024.

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SFBoomer 8/14/2023, 11:48:40 AM

There's definitely a huge challenge when it comes to mods/admin control, and I agree that time-based seniority shouldn't be the way for the reasons you outlined.

I think engagement-based seniority is also a challenge, as it doesn't factor in the 'justness' of the engagement. For instance, a mod could downvote, put negative comments, or engage in other non-solution oriented ways and that still count as fulfilling their duties.

I think a combination of all three is a good way to go.

Imagine users vote on moderation outcomes as a way of reinforcing (or challenging) the legitimacy of the moderator - sort of like how people say 'Good Bot' on Reddit to reinforce that a bot is doing its job properly.

So a moderator's seniority could be determined by a metric derived from longevity, high engagement, and high community-reinforcement on moderation outcomes.

This could be abused by the community (negatively reinforce legitimate moderation outcomes in order to displace the moderator), however the solution would be that negative reinforcements against a moderator are flagged to the overarching Just About admin team. They could then view a sample of instances where the moderator intervened and determine whether there is a problem to be addressed.

JoelStaff8/14/2023, 2:00:44 PM

We've said from the start that we don't want Just About to be a place where being a moderator is either a 'first in' or a 'job for life' situation. Maintaining active, consistent moderation that fits with JA's core values is fundamental to what we're trying to build, and we want to select, onboard, and support moderators who align with that.

Whether a totally flat moderator structure, or engagement 'scores', or a combination... or something else entirely best facilitates that remains to be seen. We have ideas for how we want to start, but ultimately we know we'll have to change and adapt as our platform evolves and our communities grow - and the best way to do that optimally is in conversation with our members.