Exploring Technological Change in Community Moderation Teams

This interview study examines how volunteer moderation teams in online communities adapt to the introduction of new technological platforms, focusing on Reddit communities that adopted Discord. Conducted with the University of Washington's Department of Communication and the University of Colorado Boulder's iSchool, this research uncovers how moderators innovate with user-created tools to navigate platform transitions and address challenges at scale. 

• Explore how technological frames influence adaptation to new platforms.

• Investigate how moderators use APIs and user-generated tools to resolve platform mismatches.

• Provide actionable insights into designing better tools for online community moderation.

I served as the Lead Researcher for this project. My contributions included::

• Study Design: Developed research questions, methodology, and sampling strategy.

• Participant Recruitment: Conducted interviews with 14 moderators across eight communities.

• Data Analysis: Used thematic analysis to identify patterns and emergent themes.

• Collaboration: Coordinated with co-authors and presented findings at conferences.

• Dissemination: Publish study results and presented at CSCW, 2019.

• Research Execution: Designed and implemented a study of Discord adoption among Reddit moderation teams.

• Qualitative Data Collection: Conducted semi-structured interviews to explore challenges and adaptations.

• Analytical Synthesis: Identified three key adaptation strategies:

  • Content Moderation Bots: Automating rule enforcement and scaling moderation workflows.

  • Information Management Tools: Creating custom logs for tracking user behavior and decisions.

  • Communication Innovations: Developing tools like ModMail for seamless interaction with community members.

• Knowledge Sharing: Published and presented findings in Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, CSCW, 2019.

• Demonstrated how moderators use APIs and automation tools to address scalability challenges.

• Highlighted the critical role of technological frames in shaping innovation and adaptation.

• Provided design recommendations for platforms to better support volunteer community governance.