"Think about it like you're a firefighter": Understanding How Reddit Moderators Use the Modqueue

TL;DR

The paper investigates how Reddit moderators actually use the moderation queue (modqueue), revealing that it is not a uniform workspace but is instead adapted to individual and community needs. Through a survey of 110 moderators across 400+ subreddits, the study shows wide variation in how modqueue is used, including daily checklist routines, pattern detection, and frequent leaving for broader context or collaboration. It identifies persistent challenges such as coordination collisions, noisy signals, and fragmentation across multiple interfaces and tools, arguing that modqueue remains essential for human oversight of automated moderation. The authors propose design directions for modular, lightweight, cross-interface moderation infrastructures with support for pattern recognition and better integration with third-party tooling to reflect real-world workflows and community values.

Abstract

On Reddit, the moderation queue (modqueue) is a primary interface for moderators to review reported content. Despite its central role in Reddit's community-reliant moderation model, little is known about how moderators actually use it in practice. To address this gap, we surveyed 110 moderators, who collectively oversee more than 400 unique subreddits, and asked them about their usage of the modqueue. Modqueue practices vary widely: some moderators approach it as a daily checklist, others as a hub to infer community-wide patterns, and many still find the queue insufficient to inform their moderation decisions. We also identify persistent challenges around review coordination, inconsistent interface signals, and reliance on third-party tools. Taken together, we show the modqueue is neither a one-size-fits-all solution nor sufficient on its own for supporting moderator review. Our work highlights design opportunities for more modular, integrated, and customizable platform infrastructures that better support the diversity of moderator workflows.

Figures (7)

• Figure 1: (left) The Reddit moderation queue (modqueue), which centralizes items flagged by users, AutoModerator, or platform filters for moderator review. (right) An example of in-thread moderation functions, allowing mods to view and react directly on a reported post or comment without using the modqueue.
• Figure 2: The Old Reddit modqueue interface. The modqueue appears as a list of items, which moderators can filter to show posts, comments, or both. Each entry displays basic metadata about the flagged content, including the content itself (e.g., comment text), the author, the number of reports, and minimal contextual information (such as the post a comment belongs to and the number of other comments on that post). Moderators can take core actions directly from this page, including approving, removing, marking as spam, or ignoring reports.
• Figure 3: Additional filtering and sorting options in the new modqueue allows mods to view and prioritize certain report types over others.
• Figure 4: The New Reddit modqueue interface. Old sub-queues (e.g., Reported, Spam, etc.) are folded into the moderation queue as tabs. When an item in the queue is clicked, a contextual panel opens to the right that displays the surrounding discussion. When a username is clicked, a user panel opens to the far right that shows information about the user and their history in the subreddit.
• Figure 5: The modqueue on Reddit’s mobile app provides a streamlined version of the New Reddit interface. Reports are shown in a simplified list, and moderators can access moderation actions or additional information about each item by tapping on it.