Theultimate

creatinga

guideto

newcommunity

onReddit

Theultimate

guidetocreating acommunity

Youradventureasamoderator

beginshere.ThisguidewillassistinyourquesttobuildacommunityonReddit.Alongthewayit’llhelpyounavigatechoppywatersandeven

pointthewaytoacrew,heartyandtrue,tojoinyouonyourexploration.

Youmaydiscoverthegreatest

treasureisnotinkarmaandgold,

butinthefriendshipsyoumake

alongtheway.Sohoistyoursails

andletthespiritofadventurecarryyouforth.

Tableofcontents

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What’samod?

Communitybanners

Communityicons

Communitydescriptions

Communityrules

Makingyourfirstfiveposts

Flair

Communitystatus

Schedulingapost

5settingsyoushouldknow

Findingyourpeople

Stayingsafeasamoderator

ModToolsDictionary

NewmodFAQs

Resourcesavailabletoyou

What’saReddit

moderator?

Moderators,or“mods,”are

volunteerredditorswhocreate

communitiesorjoinexisting

communities,andhelpensurethatthecommunitiesarefun,interesting,andwell-organizedplacestodiscussandshare

contentwithotherredditors.

Goodlistener

Leadswithheart

Thingsmodscando

.Createthelookandfeelofthecommunity.Invitepeopletojointhecommunity

.Settherulesandenforcepostingandcommentingguidelines

.Removeandapproveposts/comments.Grantuser?airandpost?air

.Lockthreadsorcommentsfromreceivingmorecommentsandreplies

.Banspammersorotherredditorswhomaybebreakingcommunityrulesfrom

theircommunity

Thingsmodscan’tdo

.Seetheindividuallistofsubscriberstothecommunity

Spamredditorsaboutthenewcommunity

.Editotherredditorssubmissionsorcomments.KnowwhovotedonthingsinthecommunityKnowwhoreportedthingsinthecommunity

Community

banners

Setthemoodwithabanner

Welcomehometoyournewcommunity.Firstthings?rst:paintthefrontdoorandmakeyourcommunitylookwelcomingbysettingacommunitybanner.Thebannervisualinyourcommunitysetsthetoneforthespace,whichcan

helpredditorsdecideifthey’reinterestedinjoining.

Agoodbannermight...

Restateyour

communityname

Re?ectthemoodofyourcommunity

Poweringupyourcommunity

Poweringupyourcommunity

Keepitsimpleorgetcreative—thechoiceisyours!

r/ElvenFoodkeepsitsimpleandusesaforestbackdrop

Acoupleiconsandatitledothejobforr/Jobsbanner

Forgoodresults,useanimagethatisatleast1600x480.Anytextshouldbealignedslightlyleftofcenterinthemobilefriendlydisplayspace.

Center

Desktopdisplayspace

Mobile-friendlydisplayspace

Poweringupyourcommunity

Communityicons

Makeiticonic

Power-upyourcommunitybysettingacommunityicon.Itcanbeassimpleaschoosingabackgroundcolorandaddingasymbolto

representyourtopic.

Takealookatyourfavoritecommunitiestogetinspired.

Optimaliconsizeis

500x500.

Poweringupyourcommunity

descriptions

Community

Describeyourcommunity

Yourcommunitydescriptionistheplacewhereyoutelltheworldwhoyour

communityisforandwhattheycanpost.

Agooddescription...

StatesthetopicofyourcommunityHelpspeopleunderstandwhatthey

·Iswelcomingtovisitors

canpost

Communityrules

Setcommunityrules

Communityrulestellothershowthey

shouldexpecttoparticipateinyour

community.Youcanaddrulesovertimeasyourcommunitygrows.Onerulenew

communitiesmightaddisaruleaboutbeingkindandrespectful.Thiscanhelpsetthe

rightwelcomingtoneforyourcommunity.

Poweringupyourcommunity

Agoodsetofrulesforanewcommunity:

1

Setsthetoneforhowpeopleshouldengageyourcommunity

2

Canevolvewiththecommunity’sinputovertime

3

Aresimpleenoughthatfolksstillfeelliketheycancontribute

“Ourruleskeepchangingasthesubgrows.Weensureourrulesandreasonsbehindwhywehaveaparticularrule,is

explainedtoallmembers.”

—r/BollywoodBlindsNGossipmodu/EccentricBai

Poweringupyourcommunity

Poweringupyourcommunity

Makingyourfirst

fiveposts

Nowthatyou’vecompletedthebasics...

It’stimeto?llyourcommunitywithatleast?veposts.Doingsowill

helpyourcommunitybefoundbyothers.Italsohastheaddedbonusofmakingyourcommunitylookactive.Newcommunitiesthathave

morepostsenticepeoplewho?ndyourcommunitytosubscribe!

Setaremindertovisityourcommunity

everyweekandmakeanewpost.It’s

importantyoucomebackregularlytoaddnewcontentthatcanbediscovered.

Whatshould

Ipostto

mycommunity?

Poweringupyourcommunity

Lookatrelatedcommunitiesforinspiration.Whattypeofcontentisbeingpostedeverydayandhowmightyoucreatesomethingsimilar?

Makeapoll.Peoplelovesharingtheiropinion!

Createa‘Welcome’post.Tellotherswhatyourcommunityisallaboutandwhoit’sfor.

Createameme!

Lookupcommonquestionspeoplehaveaboutyourtopic.Createapostthatanswersthequestion.Thiswillhelpyourcommunityshowupinsearchresults!

Sharearecentnewsarticleaboutyourtopic.

Askathought-provokingquestionthatenticespeopletorespond.

Makea‘TodayILearned’(TIL)postaboutyourtopic.

Makea‘Top5’listforyourtopicandaskotherstosharetheiropinion.

Shareatiporpieceofadvicewithothers.

Lookforrelatedcontentinothercommunitiesandcrosspostcontentintoyourcommunitywithanewcaption.

Thinkaboutwhatnewpeople(vsthose‘intheknow’)mightwanttodiscuss.Makeapostforthenewbiesandanswertheirquestions.

Schedulingapost

Easilyplanpostsaheadoftime

Thescheduledpostsfeatureletsyou“setitandforgetit”whenitcomesto

planningcontentforyourcommunity.Notonlywillthishelpyoustayorganized,italsooffers?exibilitytopostatthetimesyouwantto–whetheryou’reonline

ornot!

Youcanschedulethedate,time,timezone,

andwhetheryouwanttheposttobe

recurring(likeaweeklywelcomethreadfornewcommunitymembers).

Flair

Whatisflair?

Flairisacreativewayformemberstobadgetheirpostsandcreateanidentitywithintheircommunity.

It’saspecialtaggingsystemthatyoucanchoosetoenableforyourcommunity.Therearetwotypesof?air:

Postflair

Postflairallowsmodsandmemberstoaddtagstocontentandeasily

?lterthroughcontentand

conversations.Dependingonyourcommunity,youmightdecidetogetcreativeandmakeflairfun,orkeepthingssimple.

+Youcansetuppostflairby

navigatingtoModTools>Content>ManageFlair.

Userflair

Youcanchoosewhetheryouset

userflairorwhethersubscribers

cansettheirownflairinyour

community.YoucanthinkofUserFlairasafunwayforusersto

createortagthemselvesasa

uniqueidentityinyourcommunity.

+YoucansetupuserflairbynavigatingtoModTools>

UserFlair.

Flairexamples:

Postflair

r/casualconversation

r/cats

Userflair

r/writing

Community

status

Highlightwhat’stopofmind

Communitystatusisawaytosharewhat’sgoingoninyourcommunity.Settingastatusaddsalivelytouchtoyourcommunityandit’svisibletoallredditors.Ifsomeoneclicksortapsyourstatus,theycanseetheinfoyou’veputinthisspace.

+Toaddastatus,clicktheaddemojiiconnexttoyourcommunityname.SimplyaddyourtextoracustomimageorGIF(128x128px).

Whatmightyouuse

Highlightaliveevent

Showcasespeci?cposts

Commemorate

acommunitymilestone

communitystatusfor?

Communitystatusexamples:

Sidebar

Customizeyoursidebarwithinfoandresources

Thesidebarwidgettoolallowsyoutoaddavarietyofusefulcontenttotheright-handsidebarofyourcommunity.It’saneasywaytodisplayyourcommunity'srules,addrelatedlinks,explaintheoriginsofthecommunity,orjustshowoffaneverchangingarrayof

handsomecatphotos.

+Toaccessthistool,clickEditWidgetsat

thebottomoftheright-handsidebarofyourcommunity'spage.

Widgetsyoucanaddtoyourcommunity’ssidebar:

TextCommunitylist

BookmarksCalendar

ButtonsPostflair

ImagesRules

Fivesettingsyoushouldknow

1.NewPostNoti?cations

ConsiderenablingtheNewPostNoti?cationsetting.Picturethis:someone(who

isn’tyou)postssomethingincredibletoyoursubreddit,andvoila!Immediatelyyou

getanoti?cationthatcallsyouintoaction.Engagingnewpostsmakes

contributorsfeelappreciated.

+Toactivatethissettingonmobile,navigatetoModTools>ModNoti?cations>Activity>NewPostsandturniton.

2.SafetyTooling

Reddithassafetyfeaturesalreadyenabledforyourcommunitythatpreventspam

andblockproblematicusers.Youmaychoosetofurtherenhancecommunity

safetybyauto-collapsingcommentsandpostsfromuserswithnegativekarma,

shouldtheypostinyourcommunity.

+Tocon?gurethissettinggotoModTools>Safety>CrowdControl(Comments)(Posts)andsetittoLenient.

3.LocationSetting

Ifyoursubredditisspeci?ctoaspeci?clocationorregion,suchasr/SocialParisorr/LigaMX,youcanusethelocationsettingtohelpyoursubredditattracttherightaudience.

+Tosetyourcommunity’slocationviamobile,gotoModTools>Location>andaddyourrelevantlocationdetails.

4.PostingGuidelines

Ifyouhaveaparticularwayyouwantpeopletocontributecontenttoyour

community,youcancreatepostingguidelines.Noteverycommunityneeds

guidelinesyoumaydecidetoletyourcommunitypostwhatevertheylike!

+Ifthissettingisforyou,onDesktopnavigatetoModTools>ContentControls>ProvideMemberswithPostingGuidelines.

5.PostTypes

Thetypeofcontentallowedinyoursubredditcansetthevibeofyourcommunity.YoucanchoosefromthreePostTypesettings:AnyContentType(text,link,image,video),TextOnlyorLinkOnly.

+ThedefaultsettingisAnyContentType,butyouhavethe?exibilitytocustomize

thissetting.Onmobile,adjustthissettingviaModTools>PostTypes>PostType

options.

Findyour

people

Growyourcommunity

Onewaytogrowyourcommunityisby

invitingrelevantredditorsusingtheinvite

button,andthencraftingamessageinvitingthemtoyournewcommunity.

SampleMessage:Comehangoutinthenewestcommunityforuncomfortable-lookingrabbits,r/buncomfortable!

Communityinvitetips:

Do

Don’t

.Donotspaminvites,youwillbecomedisabled

fromusingit(aimfor~5invitesdaily!).

.Inviteredditorsalreadyinterestedinyourtopic

.Saywhatyourcommunityisabout

.Befriendly

Name-dropping

Anotherwaytogrowyourcommunityisbyname-droppingyourcommunitynameinrelevantcommentsections.

Lookforneworpopularpostsaboutyourtopicinrelatedcommunities

Determinethebestplacetoaddacommenttothethread

Name-dropyourcommunityauthentically!

Youwouldn’tallowspammycommentsinyourcommunity,sobeauthentic,notspammy!

Tryleavingacomment!

Loveyourdecor!There’sa

communityforthisstyle—

youmightliker/maximalism!

Stayingsafe

asamoderator

Setyourselfupforsuccessby...

Reviewingtheaccountyouaremoderatingonandtakecaretoremovepersonalinformationyouwouldnotwantotherstoknowabout.

Asyougainsubscribers,consideraddingamoderatorbuddytohelptakepartinmanagingcommentsandposts.

SafetyFAQs

Ifmysubredditgetsincorrectlyclosed,whatshouldIdo?

Readthe

RedditRules

andthe

ModCodeofConduct

.It’spossibleyour

communityviolatedoneoftheserules.Ifthisdoesnotapplytoyou,fileanappeal

here

.

Someonecontinuestoharassmycommunity,whatdoIdo?

YoucanbantheuserfromyourcommunityviaModTools>UserManagement.

HowdoIreportcontentthatseemsalarming,beyondremovingthepost?Ifyouneedactiontakenbytheadminsforaseriousissue,sendaModMailto

r/ModSupport

withthedetails.

Safetysettingsyoushouldknow

Tofindyoursafetysettings,gotoyourModerationToolsandclickSafetyundertheSettingssection.

HarassmentFilter

TheHarassmentFilterallowsmoderatorstoautomaticallyfilterpostsandcommentsthatarelikelytobeconsideredharassment.

ReputationFilter

TheReputationFilterletsmoderatorsautomaticallyfiltercontentby

redditorswhoarelikelytoparticipateinunwantedbehaviorssuchasspam.

ModmailFilteredFolder

Thisfolderautomaticallyfiltersinboundmodmailmessagesthatarelikelytocontainharassment.Thesemessageswillskiptheinboxandgodirectlytoafilteredfolder.

ModToolsDictionary

ModLog

ThinkoftheModLogasadiary.Whenyouoranothermemberofyourmodteamtakesanactioninyourcommunity,theModLogautomaticallycapturesthat

action.YoucanusetheModLogtoseeallmodactionstakenbymoderatorsofyourcommunity(oradmins!).Thistoolisespeciallyhelpfulifyouhavealargemodteam.

Modmail

Ifaredditorsendsamessagetoyoursubredditmodteam,itwillappearin

ModMail.ModMailisthesharedmessagingsystemthatyoucanuseto

communicatewithmembersofyourcommunityandotherredditors.AdminsmayreachouttoyouthroughModMailaswell!

Queues

ModQueueislikeVIPholdingareaforpiecesofcontentthatwarrantyourreview.TheNeedsReviewqueuewithinModQueuehostscontentyoushould

double-clickontoseeifitrequiresactioning.

LookingforanexpandedguidetoModTools?Checkoutthehelpcenter

here

.

ModToolsDictionary

Queues(cont’d)

Thisincludesuserreports,and?lteredpostsandcomments.Contentremovedbythespam?lterwillgointotheRemovedQueue.

Asyourcommunitygrowsinengagement,thiswillbethenumberoneplaceyoutapinoneachdaytomonitorwhat’shappening.

RemovalReasons

RemovalReasonsareshortmessagesshowntoredditorsifyouremovetheir

contentfromyourcommunity.AcommonRemovalReasonfornewcommunitiesmightbe“Spam-nooutsidelinksorself-promotionallowed.”

Automations

InAutomationsyoucansetupaniftyfeaturecalledPostGuidance.PostGuidancewilldouble-checkaredditor'spostbeforetheypostittoyourcommunity,to

ensurethepostfollowsyourcommunityrules.Youcanlearnmore

here

.

LookingforanexpandedguidetoModTools?Checkoutthehelpcenter

here

.

NewmodFAQs

Ijustcreatedasubreddit…sowhatshouldIdo?rst?

.Addadescriptiontoyourcommunity.Thedescriptionshouldhelppotential

visitorsquicklyunderstandwhatyourcommunityisallabout!.AddaBanner.ThiscanonlybedoneonDesktop.

.AddaCommunityIcon.

.Addatleast5posts.Visitorswillwanttoseethattherearelightsoninyourcommunity,beforesteppingthroughthedoorandcommitting.Adding?vepostswillalsohelpyouunlockyourcommunityratingfaster,allowingyourcommunitytobefoundbyothers!

IsthereaplacewhereIcanpromotemycommunity?

Youcangrowyourcommunityby?ndingpostsalreadyonRedditthatmaybetheperfect?tforyourcommunityaswell!SearchforrelatedkeywordstoyourtopiconRedditandsortbythelastmonth.Ifyou?ndapostthatlookslikeagood?t

foryourcommunity,commentonthatpostwithsomethinglike“I’dloveforyoutopostyourcontentinmynewcommunity,itlooksperfect!”

Tip:It’sveryimportanttonotbespammyinothercommunitiesandtoonlytrythissparingly(~5timesperday).

HowdoIsetupu/AutoModerator?

Ifyoudon’thavesubscribersyet,youwon’tneedu/AutoModerator!Itisbest

utilizedbycommunitieswiththousandsofsubscribers.However,ifyou'refeeling

reallysavvyandcurious,werecommendsettingupPostGuidance.Seethis

guide

togetyoustarted.

HowdoIchangemysubredditname?

Yourcommunitynamecannotbechanged.Ifyoumadethiscommunityinerror,justgoaheadandmakeanewone.

NewmodFAQs

HowdoIaddasubredditbanner?

Youcanaddabannerviadesktopbynav