Statistical modeling of harassment against Reddit moderators

• Main Authors: Hamad Bin Khalifa University, KWAK, Haewoon
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2020
• Subjects: Moderation; Online communities; Reddit; Survey; Toxicity; Numerical Analysis and Scientific Computing
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sis_research/5662; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/sis_research/article/6665/viewcontent/3366424.3382729.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

Despite the dedication that some volunteer moderators of online communities display when performing their moderation duties, they become targets of hate and harassment by other users. To understand what causes the change in moderator role from heroes to victims, we analyze the responses of 1,818 moderators on Reddit to an online survey about moderation practices and harassment. We built a statistical model and found 6 significant independent variables that affect harassment on moderators, such as the knowledge of community norms, which increases harassment on moderators the most. Our findings imply that vulnerable moderators in toxic communities need countermeasures against harassment.