The moderator problem: How Reddit and related news sites decline | Hacker News Reader

The moderator problem: How Reddit and related news sites decline

jakeseliger.com

23 pointsblfr7 comments

I don't deserve a lick of karma for this post, but dang is probably the best moderator I've seen on any site ever. I've been on the interbutts for approximately 20 years now, and have lurked/participated on hundreds of non-notable and notable forums, and never found a moderator like him.

The "please don't do this on HN" replies he makes should be replicated by other mods on other sites such as reddit. I bet those polite replies have done more to change the tone of HN, and delay the Eternal Septembering that's currently underway (hi redditors), than even the HN guidelines for conduct can claim credit for.

EDIT: Damnit people, stop giving me karma for this.

Dang, iirc, is a YC employee and therefore has different motivations than a volunteer moderator.

So I'm taking this as agreement with the OP to some degree. ;)

Being paid versus not (volunteer work) certainly influences mod behavior.

I for one wouldn't want to do it without pay. And considering it's such thankless work, it's only worth doing if you're being paid for it.

Yes, the OP basically said volunteer mods were being paid with non-tangible goods. (e.g. They got to enforce their axe to grind on other people)

> dang is probably the best moderator I've seen on any site ever.

You're kidding, right? That bit with the Uber driver in Delhi raping a passenger was extremely poorly handled, and many threads go way off topic without a single word from dang.

To be fair, it's not his fault.

He does a fine job, but no one has figured out a technological solution to the problem. Google's spent an untold amount of money to try and address this, but YouTube's comment section is still a cesspool. Other sites end up with a small army of moderators but that's expensive, doesn't scale, and someone still ends up having to babysit the site on a Saturday night.

The only reason we're not Reddit is lack of users.

I think it's just the inevitability of any site that starts gaining mass appeal. It's the heat death of the universe: you can try and stop it, but entropy will increase no matter what. Sure, zealous moderators can be a catalyst for it, but it was going to happen spontaneously anyway.

People who contribute to sites like reddit enjoy feeling like part of a community. It's hard to feel like you're part of a community when that community starts becoming millions of people. Really hard.

Sure, things like subreddits help - but only slightly. Subreddits that are worthwhile tend to become default subreddits after awhile, and then you're back to square one. Without extremely heavy-handed moderation (and really, you're just stemming the tide at that point), it's hard to feel like you're not lost at sea among people appealing to the lowest common denominator.

And sure, it'll probably happen to HN too. Maybe not, maybe HN is niche enough to keep staying niche.

But unless you have a vested interest in a site like reddit, you might as well accept it and enjoy the ride while it lasts.

Remember when slashdot was smart? Now it doesn't even rate a mention.

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