r/ModSupport

To preface, I obviously cannot prove that the weekly visitor count on any given subreddit is artificially inflated, but it doesn't take a lot to put two and two together when you see a high visitor count or a sudden spike in traffic and a low amount of corresponding contributions.

Sometimes there is what appears to be a corresponding amount of contributions, but when evaluating content in the subreddit, it's clear that there are many comments from bots and/or upvotes on posts have been manipulated.

I will refrain from providing specific examples, but I have seen this with a number of subreddits pertaining to health topics. They pick something trendy with general wellness, spin up a subreddit with AI generated or spammy content, then all of sudden it gets a bunch of traffic. Some of these subs have been banned in the past, but I think their impact was limited in this regard because it didn't appear they were able to boost themselves in search results.

I don't know how all of the search algorithm stuff works, but I wonder if an unforeseen consequence of the change from displaying subscriber count to weekly visitors is that more weight has been given to traffic or rapid boosts in traffic (“trending” content) and, as a result, an opportunity for spammers to exploit has been created.

I’m seeing similar results on Android Mobile and New Reddit desktop. Results are a little different when using the search function for subreddits on Old Reddit but the issue still appears.

I know, as a moderator, what happens in other subreddits shouldn't be my priority, and I can file a MCoC report, but it is my concern that these types of subreddits will redirect traffic from other subs populated with authentic activity due to the manipulation.

I could be overthinking this. Maybe traffic has always been factored in the same way, and I was unaware of it because that information wasn't prominently displayed. Or maybe boosting subscriber count was also an issue I'm unaware of.

I'm just wondering what one should do besides filing a MCoC report (rule 1?) with basic speculation about automated activity, or if this is something that Reddit could address on their end with the way search result rankings work.

It's not just my communities, I'm seeing it all over reddit. Whenever someone with a private history runs into a disagreement with another user, discussions are derailed, accusations of "shill/bot/troll" are constant, nuisance reports are issued, and mods either intervene, or let the chaos reign.

I'm spending more and more time having to personally review histories to say "no, this person is not a bad faith troll" just to end attacks borne of nothing more than suspicion. It's becoming disruptive to the point that I'm considering whether or not allowing users with hidden history to participate is worth the trouble.

I really question the value proposition of this decision. Sure, individual users benefit from additional privacy, but at the direct expense of the communities that lose trust and cohesion, faith that the people they're interacting with are participating in good faith (or are even real people), and the moderators who have to manage the fallout.

Hi everyone,

I recently removed a Alumni moderator from my subreddit, , and now that they’ve returned, I’m trying to add them back to the mod team.

However, although I sent them a moderator invitation, they never received it. When I try to invite them again, Reddit keeps saying that they’ve already been invited.

Has anyone else experienced this issue? Is there a way to cancel the pending invitation or resend it so they can rejoin the mod team?

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks!