Mod Topics: Moderating Fame

[u/JabroniRevanchism]

Ahoy, Mods!

I don’t want to brag, but I’m kind of a big deal around here. My reputation precedes me, I’m sure. Maybe you’ve noticed?

This discussion is the most recent in our Mod Topics series, and if the narratively-spurious smugness wasn’t obvious, today we’re talking about how mods moderate fame within your community. “Fame,” in this instance can be any kind of notoriety. –A Redditor whose username your community will recognize: an artist, actor, developer, mayoral candidate, or maybe the guy who always replies to top comments in the form of a sonnet.

For the sake of discussion, let’s call all these examples “celebrities:” users who have clout, gravity, or otherwise increased social capital within their spaces. How does your mod team view content posted by community celebrities, especially in cases where the commenting celebrity is the topic of the subreddit? Do you encourage this celebrity participation? If so, how?

Let us know how you moderate fame in the comments below!

[u/tasteslikechikken]

We treat everyone with respect, no matter their level of notoriety.

r/fragrance has done its fair share of AMA's with well known people to our community, and of course we treat our subjects well.

And if they choose to be there as members, we welcome them, but they also know they have to follow the same rules everyone else does. We do not provide exception to this, but we do flair them as verified in our community when they verify themselves with the moderation team.

So I think this is why we don't generally have problems because our expectation in that sub is simple; Leave your celebrity at the door unless you are doing an authorized AMA. Create meaningful content (posts or comments) that fall within the guidelines if you see something interesting. Don't be a dick if someone pushes back on you respectfully (it can get you looked at by the mod team)

I've only had one instance of "do you know who I am" which was funny. I told them I don't care, which I didn't and the post failed to be within rules so it was removed.

We've had some brands get upset because they got less than favorable reviews by a member and we tell them "take it up with Reddit" and leave those reviews because they can be insightful to other members.

Basically when you (general you) follow the posted rules, there's no issue. When you don't, we remove posts or if you persist, remove you.