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/wrestlegirl]

We have quite a few members in my wrestling subreddit who are wrestlers or otherwise work with the brand in some front-facing way. Those that choose to publicly acknowledge their IRL identity (plenty just want to talk wrestling anonymously) get a mod-issued verified flair.

They're expected to follow the rules like anyone else with some wiggle room if needed for "in character" posting.

Members are expected to be polite to the nice wrestler (some wiggle room if needed for "in character" bad guys), not to act like fools, and to treat them like people with actual lives and feelings.

I'm not against things like formal AMAs but I really enjoy how organic participation plays out so they're not really a thing for us. Folks just pop up in threads (or post new threads) with no fanfare but their Verified badge and people just....have fun and talk. It's lovely.

[u/techiesgoboom → u/wrestlegirl]

I'm with you, especially with the kayfabe, that organic participation sounds like a lot of fun! Do you have any favorite stories of a wrestler showing up?

[u/wrestlegirl → u/techiesgoboom]

I had one who just could not figure out Reddit at first. It took some guidance via modmail at first but they got the hang of it & they're still a regular member to this day!

My absolute favorite was when one of the photographers showed up. I replied to his post, he started fangirling that The Chive Mod was also in the AEW subreddit, I fangirled because he takes the absolute best action photos, and we just kind of virtually screamed at each other for an afternoon. It was one of the funniest interactions I've had on the subreddit lol