Reddit is replete with several communities that cater to different common interests. Due to the commonness of some interests, their communities can have several thousand to a million members. These communities typically have persons who administer them, called moderators. The person who created the community will normally be its first mod; however, moderators can appoint other mods to help administer the community.
There are two general ways you can become a Reddit moderator. The first is by volunteering and requesting from Reddit or an active community. The second is creating your community, which will make you an automatic admin of such a community.
Requesting to be a moderator
You can be a moderator by requesting to be. You can either request from a specific community you desire to moderate or request from Reddit to claim a community that is currently without a moderator.
To request to be a moderator in a community with active moderation, you have to reach out to the moderators. Most communities usually send out notices when they require new moderators. However, you may still send them a request as it may give you priority when they are ready to accept new moderators.
To send the mods a message in a community, go to its homepage. Look through its right-side panel if you use the desktop version or the “About” section on the mobile app. You will find a list of the mods and a link to their profile where you can send any of them a message.
Alternatively, you can use the message the mods feature, which you will find above the list of mods. This may be more appropriate as the mods will receive the message in their capacity as mods. This may be the best way to send a request to be a moderator. You will find a few text boxes where you enter the subject and content of the message. If the moderators believe you will be a good fit, they will appoint you as a mod.
You can also request to take charge as moderator of an inactive community by submitting one via r/redditrequest. Reddit administrators will review your request and help you out if your claim is valid.
The platform is for:
- Asking for ownership of an inactive or abandoned community with currently inactive mods;
- Asking to remove mods who are above you on your community’s mod list when they are inactive;
- Asking to remove higher mods who have stopped actively supervising communities that you also mod while still remaining active on Reddit.
Reddit recently changed the activity time from 60 to 30 days. So a mod will be considered inactive if they are not active across Reddit or in the subreddit they moderate in the last 30 days.
Creating a new community
You can also become a Reddit mod by creating a community. You automatically become a moderator of the community you create.
Desktop website
Creating your Subreddit through Reddit’s desktop website is pretty straightforward. Once you make your way to Reddit’s home page, simply scroll down and look for the “Reddit home” panel. This panel will contain the options to “Create Post” and “Create Community.” Click on the latter.
This will disclose a pop-up where you can include the details of the community you want to create. Input the name of the Subreddit in the text box for the name. You should note that Reddit does not allow editing of community names and capitalizations after you save it. As a result, ensure you are certain after you input the name.
You also get to select what kind of community you want it to be. The options include “Public,” “Restricted,” and “Private.” Anyone can view, post, and comment to a public community, while only approved users can post on a restricted community. On the other hand, a private community only allows approved users to view and submit content. The next step is to select whether the community will be NSFW or not. You should note that NSFW communities do not make it to the catch-all r/popular, so it may be harder to popularise your NSFW community. When you are done, click on “Create Community.”
You can create your community the same way on the old Reddit design. Simply find the panel on the right-hand side of your Reddit homepage. The old design gives more customization options, so you can include details like the community’s title, description, sidebar, and submission text. You also get to select what content options you prefer for your community, spam filter strength, your community’s deliverability options, spam filter strength, and several other smaller options.
When you are done customizing your potential community, click create at the bottom of the page.
Mobile app
Creating your community on the mobile app is also relatively easy and straightforward. The first step is to click on the profile icon at the top right corner of your screen. This will reveal several options, including creating your community. Click on it and fill the options with your preferred settings, then click on “Create Community” when you finish.
Things to know before you create your community
The community’s purpose
It is important that you determine the purpose your community will serve after you create it. Reddit communities typically vary in membership as communities can range from a few to several million users. Furthermore, whether the community will be a unique subreddit or cater to a significant common interest that may attract several community members, determining its aim can enable you to figure out the necessary ground rules and how you can develop it.
Ability to effectively moderate the community
It is vital that one is willing to moderate any subreddit they intend to create. This ensures that the community can address issues, especially if it encounters any challenges with spam or other site-wide rule-flouting posts. As a result, it is essential that you have both the resources and the experience to help with moderation.
If you want to keep track of the conversations in your community, you can also employ our social listening tool, Notifier. This can help you moderate even more effectively as you do not need to manually go through all the content.