This research introduces "post guidance," an approach to content moderation where real-time feedback is provided to users as they create content, based on community-specific rules. A large-scale randomized experiment on Reddit demonstrates that this proactive system increases the number of successful posts (not removed after 72 hours), decreases moderator workload by reducing reported posts and automated removals, and improves contribution quality as measured by increased comments, views, and upvotes. While user engagement beyond posting was not significantly affected, this paradigm shift in content moderation offers valuable insights for improving online platforms across the web.

Metadata

Summary

  • Post Guidance: A new content moderation paradigm that provides real-time feedback to users as they draft posts, based on community rules.
  • Reddit Implementation: Rules can trigger interventions such as warning messages or preventing submissions.
  • Experiment: A randomized field experiment conducted on 33 subreddits with 97,616 users.
  • Results: Increased successful posts, decreased moderator workload (fewer reports and automated removals), and improved post quality (more comments, views, and upvotes). No significant change in overall user engagement.
  • Implications: Potential for adaptation to various online platforms and contribution types.

What makes this novel or interesting

  • Proactive Moderation: Shifts the focus from reactive content removal to proactively guiding users before they post.
  • User-Centric: Puts the onus on the user to adhere to community rules, reducing the burden on moderators.
  • Community-Specific: Allows for tailored guidance based on the unique norms and goals of each community.
  • Real-time Feedback: Provides immediate feedback, potentially fostering a learning experience for users.
  • Scalable: Offers a potentially more efficient approach to content moderation than manual review.

Illustration

Screenshot from the paper

Verbatim Quotes

  • On the Problem: "Effective content moderation in online communities is often a delicate balance between maintaining content quality and fostering user participation."
  • Introducing Post Guidance: "We introduce post guidance, a novel approach to moderating online communities that allows moderators to create rules that trigger interventions as users draft content in an online community."
  • Key Findings: "Post Guidance (1) increased the number of 'successful posts' (posts not removed after 72 hours), (2) decreased moderators' workload in terms of manually-reviewed reports, (3) increased contribution quality, as measured by community engagement, and (4) had no impact on posters' own subsequent activity, within communities adopting the feature."
  • Broader Implications: "This study finds post guidance to be effective as a scalable and flexible content moderation paradigm, with the potential to improve user-generated content across the Web."

How to report this in the news

A new study reveals a more effective way to moderate online communities. Think of it like a helpful editor suggesting improvements to your writing as you type, rather than just marking it up with red pen after you're finished. This "post guidance" system on Reddit gives users real-time feedback while they're creating posts, based on the community's specific rules. The result? More posts that follow the rules, happier users, and less work for the moderators. This approach has potential to improve online conversations everywhere.

Detailed Recap

Techniques and Approaches used in the experiment

1. Specific Techniques Implemented in the Reddit Experiment:

  • Character Limits:
    • Minimum character count (e.g., 25 characters) for post titles and/or bodies.
    • Maximum character count (e.g., 1000 characters) for post bodies.
  • Required Punctuation:
    • Enforcing specific punctuation marks (e.g., requiring a question mark at the end of post titles in r/AskReddit).
  • Content Restrictions:
    • Excluding URLs in post titles.
    • Prohibiting specific keywords related to tech support.
  • Community Rule Conveyance:
    • Displaying messages about community-specific rules when certain conditions are met (e.g., short post body length).
  • Welcome Messages:
    • Displaying welcoming messages to new users or first-time posters.
  • Regex-Based Rules: All rules in this experiment were implemented using regular expressions (regex), providing flexibility in pattern matching.
  • Interventions:
    • Preventing post submission if rules are violated.
    • Displaying warning messages to users about rule violations.
    • No other interventions were tested in this experiment, such as flagging posts for review or banning users.
  • Triggers:
    • Rules were triggered on any change to the post's title and/or body.
    • No other triggers were tested, such as only triggering on post submission attempt.

2. Underlying System Structure Needed to Support the Above Techniques:

  • Rule Creation Interface: A user interface for moderators to create and manage Post Guidance rules. This interface should allow for:
    • Defining interventions (e.g., prevent posting, show message).
    • Specifying conditions using various methods (e.g., regex, keyword lists).
    • Selecting triggers (e.g., on title/body change, on submission attempt).
  • Real-time Rule Evaluation Engine: A system that evaluates user-generated content against the defined rules in real time, as the user types.
  • Feedback Delivery Mechanism: A way to deliver feedback to the user, including:
    • Displaying warning messages within the post creation interface.
    • Preventing submission if necessary.
  • Data Logging and Analytics: A system to log rule activations, user responses, and overall impact on community metrics. This data can inform future rule adjustments and platform improvements.
  • User and Community Management: Integration with existing user and community management systems to enable community-specific rule customization.
  • Flexible Rule Definition: The ability to define rules using a variety of methods, including:
    • Regex for complex pattern matching.
    • Keyword lists for simple content filtering.
    • Potentially in the future, integration with machine learning models for more nuanced content evaluation.
  • Configurable Triggers: The option to trigger rules based on various events, such as:
    • Any change to the post title/body.
    • Post submission attempt.
    • Specific actions within the post creation interface (e.g., clicking a button).
  • Diverse Interventions: Support for a range of interventions beyond preventing submission and displaying messages, including:
    • Flagging posts for moderator review.
    • Temporarily banning users.
    • Providing links to relevant community guidelines.

Detailed Recap for Product Designers

Product designers aiming to create interfaces, affordances, and nudges for healthier online communities should consider the following points from this research:

  • Proactive Feedback is Key:
    • Design interfaces that integrate real-time feedback mechanisms during content creation. Don't rely solely on post-submission moderation.
    • Consider how to surface rules and guidelines contextually, without overwhelming the user. Progressive disclosure might be useful.
    • Explore various feedback modalities beyond simple warning messages. Consider visual cues, interactive tutorials, and personalized recommendations.
  • User-Centric Design:
    • Shift the burden of moderation from moderators to users through intuitive and helpful guidance.
    • Empower users to understand and adhere to community rules.
    • Design for a learning experience. Help users improve their contribution skills over time.
  • Community-Specific Customization:
    • Provide affordances for communities to define their own rules and tailor the feedback system accordingly.
    • Consider how to balance platform-wide guidelines with community-specific norms.
    • Allow for flexible rule creation, potentially incorporating different types of content (text, images, video).
  • Real-time Interaction and UX:
    • Optimize the user experience for real-time feedback, ensuring minimal disruption to the content creation flow.
    • Explore how to present feedback in a non-intrusive yet noticeable way.
    • Design for different user skill levels and levels of familiarity with the platform.
  • Scaling and Automation:
    • Design systems that can scale to handle large volumes of user-generated content.
    • Leverage automation to provide efficient and consistent feedback.
    • Consider the potential role of AI and machine learning in enhancing the feedback system.
  • Transparency and Control:
    • While automation is beneficial, maintain transparency and give users some control over the feedback they receive.
    • Allow users to customize notification settings and feedback preferences.
    • Clearly communicate the rationale behind any automated interventions.
  • Addressing Potential Issues:
    • Be aware of the potential for "bad-faith" actors to circumvent rules. Design systems that can adapt and improve over time.
    • Consider how to balance proactive guidance with reactive moderation to address different types of rule-breaking behavior.
    • Monitor and evaluate the impact of design choices on community health and user engagement.