Community-Centered Design of Automated Content Moderation

Are you an active moderator on Reddit?

If so, please join our study!

We are a team of researchers who are conducting research in online content moderation and community building.

We are currently recruiting participants for our interview study about experiences of moderators on Reddit. For more information, read more below.

About the Project

Background

Content moderation is critical to the health of online platforms. Yet automated moderation is often too simplistic, lacking context and disproportionately moderating out underrepresented voices, while human moderation requires exhausting emotional labor, often borne by people from underrepresented groups.

What is the purpose of this study?

The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of moderation needs, practices, and behaviors of current and active content moderators on Reddit. 


The image depicts a woman typing on a laptop on her lap. The woman is wearing blue jeans and a white cardigan, with her back facing the camera.

For Participants

Who is eligible?

To be eligible for this study you must be an active moderator on Reddit and over 18 years old. You do not need to be in North America to participate.

How do I participate?

Participation involves a short, structured interview (~30-60 minutes). Interviews will be conducted via Zoom or another mode, such as Reddit DM or chat if you prefer (you can let us know your preference when you schedule). Interview questions will focus on your experience serving as a moderator, such as, “why do you moderate;” “how do you determine appropriate content for your specific subreddit;” and, “what’s the hardest part of your job as a moderator?”

As a thank you for your participation, we can offer a $40 gift card.

Voluntary Participation

Your participation in this research is completely voluntary.  You may choose not to take part at all. If you decide to participate in this research, you may stop participating at any time. If you decide not to participate in this study or if you stop participating at any time, you will not be penalized or lose any benefits to which you otherwise qualify.

Potential Risks

There may be some risks from participating in this research study.  You may be asked to review content with inflammatory language. However, this content will pose no more risk than content you moderate on Reddit. You may skip any question you do not wish to answer or any content you do not wish to review.

Benefits

There are no direct benefits from participating in this research. However, possible benefits include help to understand the daily work practices of content moderators and the challenges they face, and findings will support the development of a tool to improve the working conditions of content moderation. 


I’m ready to participate, what do I need to do?

When you’re ready, follow this link to complete our Qualtrics survey. The information you provide in the survey will allow us to follow up with you for an interview.

If you prefer to copy and paste the URL, use this: https://umdsurvey.umd.edu/jfe/form/SV_e54uqquLy7BvjXU

Right to Withdraw and Questions

Your participation in this research is completely voluntary. You may choose not to take part at all. If you decide to participate in this research, you may stop participating at any time. If you decide not to participate in this study or if you stop participating at any time, you will not be penalized or lose any benefits to which you otherwise qualify. If you decide to stop taking part in the study, if you have questions, concerns, or complaints, or if you need to report an injury related to the research, please contact the investigator: Katie Shilton: kshilton@umd.edu.

Participant Rights

If you have questions about your rights as a research participant or wish to report a research-related injury, please contact:

University of Maryland College Park Institutional Review Board
Office 1204 Marie Mount Hall College Park, Maryland, 20742
E-mail: irb@umd.edu Telephone: 301-405-0678

For more information regarding participant rights, please visit: https://research.umd.edu/irb-research-participants

This research, Community-Centered Content Moderation IRB #1704882-2, has been reviewed according to the University of Maryland, College Park IRB procedures for research involving human subjects.

Questions? Contact us!

If you have questions about the study you can contact Sarah (u/SarahAGilbert) via direct message on Reddit or any of the researchers below via email.

  • Sarah Gilbert (Communication, sarah.gilbert@cornell.edu)
  • Hal Daume III (Computer Science, hal@umiacs.umd.edu)
  • Michelle Mazurek (Computer Science, mmazurek@umd.edu)
  • Katie Shilton (Information Studies, kshilton@edu