this post was submitted on 25 Aug 2023
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Reddit

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The Mod Helper Program is a tiered system that awards helpful moderators with trophies and flairs. Reddit users accrue karma by receiving upvotes and awards, and lose karma if they receive downvotes. The program rewards moderators who receive upvotes on comments in r/ModSupport.

Comment karma earned in r/ModSupport will be rewarded with trophies that will “signal to other mods that you are a source of valuable information,” the moderator support team announced on Thursday. Each rank awards unique trophies and flairs, ranging from “Helper” to “Expert Helper.” Reddit launched a similar program in r/help earlier this year, which rewards users who accrue karma by responding to other users’ requests.

Reddit also launched the Modmail Answer Bot, which automatically responds with relevant links to the site’s Help Center. If the recommended articles don’t answer a specific request, it will create a ticket that will be handled by a human admin. The bot is designed to streamline moderator requests so the admin team can focus on more complex issues.

Additionally, Reddit is merging the moderator-specific Help Center with its sitewide one to ensure that support resources are “easy to find and accessible from the same location.”

In the most upvoted comment replying to the announcement, Reddit user MapleSurpy expressed frustration over the lack of useful moderation features available on Reddit’s official app. Moderators have requested ban evasion tools and “actual help from admins” when dealing with “problem users,” MapleSurpy said.

“We’ve asked for better tools on the official app to run subs now that Reddit took away every single third-party one,” they said. “What did we get? Another automated system … and flair rewards. Thank you SO much, I’m sure this will solve a whopping zero problems.”

Another user pointed out that the flairs aren’t based on comments that are actually helpful, and that “snarky people who are funny” will reach “expert in no time.”

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[–] Izzy@lemmy.world 148 points 1 year ago (5 children)

Moderator rewards program? How much money are they going to be paying them?

[–] Transcendant@lemmy.world 145 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Nothing. The rewards are special flairs and digital trophies. This is what reddit thinks of their mods.

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[–] ChrisLicht@lemm.ee 63 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I was top mod of a 25K sub that closely followed an IRL lolcow trying to become a public intellectual. It was thankless, the monthly user tempests in a teapot were annoying, and dealing with the occasional new junior mod turning out to be a chud was taxing. I did it for maybe six months and then peaced out.

I honestly don’t understand the psychological makeup and social model of the big top mods who do this shit, day in day out, year after year. I assume they’ve got to be making money somehow, or they maybe are bubble-boys.

[–] Izzy@lemmy.world 29 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Probably just fools. Working for a corporation that makes money from your work without sharing any of it with them. Nobody should be moderating on Reddit without getting paid.

[–] Semi-Hemi-Demigod@kbin.social 23 points 1 year ago (2 children)

There's value in creating and maintaining a community for something you love. I imagine it's a bit like gardening: Pulling weeds and hauling mulch isn't fun, but when you take a step back you've created something nice.

Or something. I'm shit at gardening and never wanted to be a mod, probably for the same reason. And it would be far, far better to have your garden not be harvested by a megacorporation who can kick you off at any minute, but that's why I use the fediverse.

[–] Clent@lemmy.world 20 points 1 year ago

Would you garden on another person's property?

Not a community garden.

That's not what Reddit is, it's a corporation.

We spent a decade thinking it was a community garden.

Reddit said fuck you. Mine.

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[–] xapr@lemmy.sdf.org 14 points 1 year ago (3 children)

It's really remarkable. I've noticed what seems to be a similar dynamic on some official corporate tech support forums like Microsoft, HP, etc. I've seen people who spend a lot of time providing volunteer tech support (based on their reputation scores). I just don't get the idea of volunteering for a for-profit corporation.

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[–] mnemonicmonkeys@sh.itjust.works 23 points 1 year ago

None. They're being paid in pride and accomplishment

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[–] roguetrick@kbin.social 121 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Fucking lol. You get badges for doing the job of mentoring people that other social media companies pay people for. Anybody that falls for that gamification shit deserves it.

[–] PP_BOY_@lemmy.world 26 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Eh, the volunteer mod system works well for smaller communities. It ensures that the moderators have a personal interest in the topic. It's not really fair to say "other social media companies pay people for" because they're not forums like Reddit. Its also pretty disingenuous to argue that things wouldve been better if every community was modded by site admins. The best subs IMO were the ones that were small enough to not attract admin attention.

Oviously for the "front page" subs, there shouldve been a more active involvement with the site admins and some type of payment but I never felt exploited when I deleted hate speech from a ~10k subscriber subreddit for a TV show that ended 15 years ago.

My biggest complaint came with the "first come, first served" system that made it almost impossible to reclaim abandoned subs.

[–] roguetrick@kbin.social 16 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

I get you, but this is straight up making middle management free too. The unpaid mods are providing support to the unpaid mods and they're getting badges for their effort. It's a laugh. This is a community manager job.

[–] mp3@lemmy.ca 118 points 1 year ago (4 children)

The Mod Helper Program is a tiered system that awards helpful moderators with trophies and flairs. Reddit users accrue karma by receiving upvotes and awards, and lose karma if they receive downvotes. The program rewards moderators who receive upvotes on comments in r/ModSupport.

lmao my sides, they're giving stickers and shit like at elementary school

[–] someguy3@lemmy.ca 27 points 1 year ago

Exactly my thought. "Thanks for your unpaid work. Here's a sticker."

[–] luffyuk@lemmy.world 17 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Even worse than a pizza party.

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[–] Dettweiler42@lemmyonline.com 100 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Looks like reddit is now using the same approach as I'm using for my toddler: Sit on the potty? Get a sticker. Do a chore? Get a sticker. Spending countless nights keeping spam bots at bay? Believe it or not, sticker.

[–] AWittyUsername@lemmy.world 19 points 1 year ago (1 children)

This shit works on a lot of people though

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[–] aport@programming.dev 84 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Power mods: moderating is a thankless job, hard work, and reddit does not recognize how important we are!

Everyone else: then stop

Power mods: >:(

[–] Gsus4@feddit.nl 10 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Maybe when they were moderating, they felt like they were responsible for a community they created and were invested in it, because it could not just be taken away, like it was. Now it's just a shitty unpaid job :/

[–] Rentlar@lemmy.ca 74 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Some free stars for Lemmy mods/admins: ✴❇💫🤩✨⭐🌟🌠

(Bonus stars: 🇦🇺🇧🇫🇨🇩🇨🇱🇨🇲🇨🇳🇨🇺🇨🇻🇨🇼🇩🇯🇨🇽🇩🇿🇪🇺🇫🇲🇬🇫🇬🇭🇭🇲🇮🇱🇰🇲🇰🇳🇱🇷🇱🇾🇲🇲🇲🇵🇲🇷🇳🇿🇵🇦🇵🇬🇵🇰🇵🇷🇸🇧🇸🇬🇸🇳🇸🇴🇸🇾🇹🇰🇹🇱🇹🇳🇹🇷🇹🇻🇻🇪🇻🇳🇼🇸🇿🇼🇽🇰)

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[–] DakRalter@thelemmy.club 59 points 1 year ago

This is hilarious! The mods are being compensated for their time with shiny gold stars!

This would be fine for small independent forums that don't really make a profit, but for spezzit? More fool them.

[–] jet@hackertalks.com 44 points 1 year ago (4 children)

It can't be that bad, they are still using reddit. If it was a big issue they would be here

[–] bloodninja@sh.itjust.works 62 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Here’s some fake medals and internet points to keep you happy.

[–] atlasraven31@lemm.ee 26 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] Aurenkin@sh.itjust.works 14 points 1 year ago

My only weakness

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[–] Hadriscus@lemm.ee 43 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Wait till they hold "Moderator of the month" contests

[–] pancakes@sh.itjust.works 23 points 1 year ago

That's a funny way to say "Bootlicker of the month".

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[–] mtchristo@lemm.ee 39 points 1 year ago (2 children)

The platform gets millions. The moderator's get virtual trophies

[–] ZzyzxRoad@lemm.ee 11 points 1 year ago

Reddit is like a microcosm of American society

[–] vivadanang@lemm.ee 10 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Yup. not even a sticker, or a shitty t-shirt.

And those mods work every fucking day lol. just sad, because Spez thought he could muskify reddit.

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[–] regalia@literature.cafe 36 points 1 year ago

Unpaid janitorial duty for fucking stickers lol

[–] lagomorphlecture@lemm.ee 34 points 1 year ago

Welcome to reddit where the awards are made up and the points don't matter.

Oh and where mods went for free in exchange for the made up awards and points.

[–] planish@sh.itjust.works 26 points 1 year ago

Sitewide Discontent is my new OC name.

[–] DavyJones@lemmy.dbzer0.com 23 points 1 year ago
[–] mashbooq@infosec.pub 22 points 1 year ago

The rewards are literally just more imaginary internet points? Lol

[–] tiny_tina_@lemm.ee 22 points 1 year ago

Never going back

[–] Jaysyn@kbin.social 20 points 1 year ago

Smells like desperation.

[–] Rooster@infosec.pub 20 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I pop into reddit occasionally with my ad blocker turned off. Any companies still popping up there are added to my shit list.

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[–] aquinteros@lemmy.world 19 points 1 year ago

anyone left modding for stickers in reddit is an absolute moron.

[–] set_secret@lemmy.world 18 points 1 year ago (1 children)
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[–] AssPennies@lemmy.world 16 points 1 year ago

I work in enterprise IT, and whenever I see new announcements from the C-suite offices that include the words "streamline" and "merging", I can tell things are going to get worse, way worse.

I shouldn't be surprised anymore that execs truly believe they have the perfect solutions, all of which actually make things worse, way worse. No difference to them, they'll just fall up anyway.

[–] EyesEyesBaby@lemmy.world 16 points 1 year ago (4 children)

I could not care less. I want my mod tools in Apollo back.

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[–] XEAL@lemm.ee 15 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Among top ranks where will be "Banner", "Expert Banner" and "Petty banner".

And there will trophies such as "Powetrip", "I am the law" and "Locked because y'all can't behave".

[–] Disgustoid@startrek.website 15 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That's amazing. This has big "as a thanks for working your nuts off, we'll reward you with a pizza party" energy going on.

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[–] kratoz29@lemm.ee 14 points 1 year ago

Yeah, that'll fix everything.

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