Thank you for sharing. Because of your end notes, I'm going to share this on other social media. I think it's a good article to show non-Fedi people.

You're doing good work. I've wanted to be a Fedi moderator, but PTSD combined with the worse reports makes that a very bad idea. I just hope I can support my instances by sending helpful reports.

welp, this answers my question, "Is moderating on Mastodon saner than on Reddit?"

Answer: nope

PS: I'm a Reddit mod of a sub that's 100k strong

@jumile “know how much or little to include.” It’s like you know me. There are twenty other things I wanted to talk about. I scrapped a lot from my initial draft, and STILL it was verbose.

Yeah, the gap between how moderation works in the fediverse vs big social cannot be overestimated.

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@pink

True.

@lpryszcz

@Gina wow. That’s wild. I’m surprised at how different our teams are. I wonder if it has something to do with the differences in our communities and rules?

When I say our queue is manageable, I really mean it. We work across multiple timezones, and have most of a 24 hour period completely covered. So it’s almost like we’re working in shifts.

Anyway, I appreciate your weighing in. This is good community. 🫶🏻

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I read your blog post, and I have to say it hasn't changed my opinion. I'm always saying, "The moment someone says they need a moderator, you need to tell yourself; there goes my freedom." I'm not sure how an instance can claim to be decentralised and then, with the next breath, tell users it has blocked sections of the Fediverse.

My view is that users should be responsible for their own policing. Users should block or mute accounts they dislike, disagree with or have no wish to see. A blanket ban disenfranchises the entire user base of an 'instance' the right to access material. Now I'm not stupid. Of course, anything illegal, such as child porn, should be banned, and yes, people might need someone to turn to if being harassed, but my concern is always the growth of Tribalism: "We hate Trump and we don't want any Toots about him on here!" I'm glad the post said, "It’s simply someone saying they don’t like what another person said" There are a lot of people in life looking for ways to shut other people up.

Just some personal thoughts.
#Freedom

@Anachron 😂 the vegan cookie comment. That gave me a good chuckle.

Thank you for your kind words. And thank you for reporting what you saw. That’s what makes us a team. We clean things up together.

@Godfrey642

Hear! Hear!

Thank you for your kind words.

@tsvenson I love all of this. And I def share your sentiment about the fediverse culture and the “open source way.”

Thanks for being a moderator. I hope you enjoy the journey. The dark parts are there, but as I mentioned, so are the good parts.

this was a lovely read and I appreciate the peek inside how it all works, both good and bad

Thank you very much for writing and sharing this :)

I read this completely (where Do I get the cookie? ;) ).

Thanks for your work. You moderators are the social backbone of the fediverse. Sure, the technical background enables the fediverse in the first place, but you make it cozy and comfortable for the rest of us. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

@Palky55

Thank you so much, David. I appreciate that. And I agree about the value of Mastodon and community.

As an aside, with the friendliest of intentions and no judgement whatsoever, I’d like to suggest an alternative to “funny farm.” It’s a phrase that makes some folks feel uncomfortable. Especially those with mental health conditions. You could say “in a mental health hospital” instead.

@instance-toot.wales

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@dockwalk great question.

Warnings are our way of telling someone we don’t like something they’re doing. We usually do this when a rule isn’t explicitly breached but is skirting the line. Or if we believe someone is unintentionally breaking a rule. Or when people continue doing things they’ve already been moderated for.

A strike is when you’ve been moderated. It helps us keep track of “recidivism.”

@klefstadmyr well, this was really nice to hear. I appreciate your vulnerability and willingness to reflect before retaliating against moderators.

Believe it or not, some people who have been moderated will send us very kind messages. They will apologize and say they realize they were out of place.

Moderators and the moderated aren’t inherently bad people. We’re human. Shit happens.

@riaschissl great question.

I’m personally and adamantly 100% against using AI for anything related to moderation. Actually against using it for most things, but especially something this nuanced.

We’ve discussed this with the larger moderation community. The challenge is, the moment you open up words and images to AI, you have a potential privacy issue.

I wouldn’t say I’m indefinitely steadfast in this. But for the moment, I absolutely oppose.

@soaproot beautiful. Thank you for that. Currently, we’re good. We have an intimate little team that’s doing well with our queue.

Should we reach a point where we need to add to our team, I will definitely take you up on that. 🫶🏻

@mike thank you, Mike. I really appreciate that.

I know you went through a bit of hurricane recently. I suspect you and I would agree and disagree on a number of things. But I certainly felt your pain on that one.

@pippa

Y’all are so kind. 🙌🏻

@Gina

@SnowyCA

You make a very strong case for self-love. Thank you for that.

@lpryszcz

@Gina the spam waves are intense. But at least they’re so obvious that we can whip through them. It’s the ones that need reflection that hold up the queue.

I appreciate your approach of spreading out a thin layer of moderation. I’m sure your team appreciates that.

We’re well taken care of, too. We look out for each other. Even when we argue intensely about a moderation decision can’t agree on. 😂

I'm the only mod here for one active user, but that user is crazy! need to watch them!

CC: @markwyner@mas.to

@sam 😂

Yeah, I’ve heard Sam is a real problem. Fighting yourself is no joke. Just ask Tyler Durden.

@pippa

🫶🏻

@Gina

Getting my diagnoses only last year, at 56yo, I'm sure you can imagine how much of the dark parts I've been in and through myself.

Now those experiences are valuable resources, and becoming a moderator in an awesome team have accelerated that process.

I also believe in mutual aid, as see it as one of the core pieces of why the open source way is working. In particular it helps us focus on all we share, respect and appreciate each others quirky and nerdy differences - as they are.

o7

@fediversereport

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Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us Mark, and for all the great work you do to keep us safe 💚

This was a very interesting and well-written article. I especially enjoyed the Mandalorian reference.

Oh and, thank you for the cookie

@watchfulcitizen thank you!

That’s a good question. I think automating moderation is a really bad idea. Because most things aren’t clear case. But automating reporting would be really helpful. That’s my two cents.