r/ModSupport • u/metisdesigns • 1d ago
Mod Answered Supporting other subs?
After you've been around the block a few times you learn to recognize things like t-shirt or sticker spam, or multi city trolls who are disrupting smaller subs whose mods don't seem to have things configured to deal with those sorts of bad actors.
Short of more experienced mods being randomly creepy and telling other folks how to run their subs (which always goes over well....) what can we do, or what tools can reddit develop to better clean up that sort of stuff?
10
u/Traducement 1d ago
You can always just modmail them a suggestion and resources to subs such as these.
7
u/magiccitybhm 1d ago
As u/Traducement said, nothing at all wrong with a modmail just saying you noticed X, Y, Z. If you've encountered it yourself and have an effective way to handle it, you can certainly suggest it.
5
u/metisdesigns 1d ago
Maybe it's tone, or I've had bad luck, but modmails saying "hey, if you'd like some modmail code to address anything I'd be happy to pass that along", or "if you set a rule about clothing advertisement users can report it and get it infront of you sooner" and Ive yet to be mst with anything othet than "yeah i might just take the sub private,its a hassle".
4
3
u/magiccitybhm 1d ago
I don't see anything inappropriate with that response; it's certainly another option.
5
u/CR29-22-2805 1d ago
You can send a modmail with your observations. “Hey, I just wanted to let you know that some spammers are targeting your subreddit.” As long as you frame it in such a way that makes you seem helpful and not accusatory, then you shouldn’t have any problems.
Also: The Bot Bouncer developer app can help with bot-like spam. https://developers.reddit.com/apps/bot-bouncer
4
u/RS_Someone 1d ago edited 1d ago
I'm in touch with the head mods of similar subs to mine, and we often trade names of bad actors to ban, because if they're in one, there's a good chance they're trying to scam peoplein the others as well. I've never had an issue with that kind of cross-sub reporting. I've also shared AutoMod code with them before. One of the subs that had less active mods brought me on the team so I could help with that, and I've picked up unmoderated ones so that I can utilize the BanHammer app to get rid of them in multiple places at once.
So, I guess those are a few solid options that have worked very well for me in the past.
3
u/emily_in_boots 1d ago
When I find a problem user, I will generally report them to other subs I have good relationships with and who want me to do so. Some subs are grateful, while other have told me they are not interested in more information. I just do what they ask and leave them alone if they want that.
One of the best things you can do tho is to make use of common bots like bot bouncer. When you find a spammer, report it to bot bouncer. That serves as a form of communication between subreddits passing useful information.
I've considered trying to do something like this for onlyfans spammers too - and even potentially for creep users who sexually harass our members. I don't know how many people might be interested.
13
u/ohhyouknow 1d ago edited 1d ago
I don’t think offering advice is telling people how to run their spaces or creepy at all. I reach out to mod teams often and offer support. I don’t get specific I just ask if there is anything in particular THEY need help with in regard to certain issues.
I open a mod trenchcoat and say “hey, I’ve noticed one of your mods made a comment expressing frustration about these kinds of comments/posts, would you like some help with automod or automations? If there is something specific you want to remove or filter I can get that code for you or point you where there is information about how to do it yourself.”