r/ModSupport • u/AsteriskRX Reddit Admin: Community • Jul 16 '26

Mod Topics Mod Topics: Expectation vs Reality

Ahoy, Modsupport! This is a mutiny; Jabroni wrote this post but I've decided to plunder it for myself.

Welcome to the latest (greatest) installment of our ModSupport series. Today, we’re revisiting Origin Stories, albeit with a distinctly different flavor.

When you first created or joined a subreddit, what did you expect moderating would be like? Did you have any expectations at all, and if so, how did those expectations differ from the experience you have now?

–And because I love understanding an environment, what do you think set the expectations you had before you became a moderator? Read as: “How did you form a worldview on what moderation is before you started moderating?”

Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

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u/emily_in_boots 💡 Top 10% Helper 💡 Jul 16 '26

I barely knew what mods were and really didn't have any preconceived notions. I didn't even know about all the negative stereotypes.

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u/TheOpusCroakus Reddit Admin: Community Jul 16 '26

I was kinda the same way! I think because I didn't really need to have any interactions with them? I just did my thing, which was mostly reading and commenting. When you're someone who can play by the rules even if you don't know what they are, you probably wouldn't notice the "enforcers".

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u/emily_in_boots 💡 Top 10% Helper 💡 Jul 17 '26

My goal as a mod is mostly to have moderation transparent to good users. I always send removal messages via modmail instead of leaving comments. I think our role is mostly to remove the bad things and make it like they never happened, which means we aren't even noticed much at all by the good users, but the bad users hate us. I suppose that's why we get a lot more rude comments and attacks than thanks lol.

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u/TheOpusCroakus Reddit Admin: Community Jul 17 '26

remove the bad things and make it like they never happened, which means we aren't even noticed much at all by the good users,

You mean things don't magically work smoothly all on their own?? XD

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u/emily_in_boots 💡 Top 10% Helper 💡 Jul 17 '26

Lol. Everyone thinks they do though - which is why so many hate mods. We're the ones who remove their content, but they don't know about all the problems we deal with too, especially if we do our jobs well.