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Reddit is launching the \u201cMod Helper Program\u201d to reward moderators who offer helpful advice to other moderators, along with an updated moderator help center.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The announcement comes amid <\/span>growing discontent among the site\u2019s moderators<\/span><\/a>, many of whom relied on third-party apps that have <\/span>since been shut down<\/span><\/a> because of <\/span>Reddit\u2019s API pricing<\/span><\/a>. Moderators have asked Reddit to improve the official app\u2019s moderation tools, which are lacking compared to those offered by now-defunct third-party apps. Tensions between Reddit and its moderators are still high, as the site\u2019s admins <\/span>continue to remove entire mod teams<\/span><\/a> for keeping their subreddits private in protest of the API pricing, which third-party app developers <\/span>criticized<\/span><\/a> as exorbitant and unsustainable.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Mod Helper Program is a tiered system that awards helpful moderators with trophies and flairs. Reddit users accrue karma by receiving upvotes and awards, and lose karma if they receive downvotes. The program rewards moderators who receive upvotes on comments in <\/span>r\/ModSupport<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Comment karma earned in r\/ModSupport will be rewarded with trophies that will \u201csignal to other mods that you are a source of valuable information,\u201d the moderator support team <\/span>announced<\/span><\/a> on Thursday. Each rank awards unique trophies and flairs, ranging from \u201cHelper\u201d to \u201cExpert Helper.\u201d Reddit launched a <\/span>similar program<\/span><\/a> in r\/help earlier this year, which rewards users who accrue karma by responding to other users\u2019 requests.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cReddit can be a complex place for newbie and expert Mods alike, and the knowledge that you share with each other here is incredibly powerful,\u201d Reddit admins wrote in r\/ModSupport. \u201cThis will both recognize Mods who are particularly helpful and reliable sources of knowledge for their fellow Mods, all with the goal of celebrating your support of each other and fostering a culture in this community where mods readily collaborate and learn from one another.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Reddit also launched the Modmail Answer Bot, which automatically responds with relevant links to the site\u2019s Help Center. If the recommended articles don\u2019t answer a specific request, it will create a ticket that will be handled by a human admin. The bot is designed to streamline moderator requests so the admin team can focus on more complex issues.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Additionally, Reddit is merging the moderator-specific Help Center with its sitewide one to ensure that support resources are \u201ceasy to find and accessible from the same location.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The relationship between Reddit and its moderators has become increasingly strained in recent months. Over <\/span>8,000 subreddits shut down<\/span><\/a> for 48 hours in June in protest of Reddit\u2019s new API pricing, which went into effect on July 1. Reddit CEO Steve Huffman claimed that the blackout was led by a minority of moderators, describing them \u201clanded gentry.\u201d The comment sparked further outrage among moderators, who spend hours running the platform\u2019s communities without pay. In recent months, Reddit has ramped up its efforts to smother the rebellion by <\/span>removing moderators<\/span><\/a> who refuse to reopen their subreddits. Once-thriving subreddits like <\/span>r\/malefashionadvice<\/span><\/a> are crumbling as Reddit replaces protesting moderators with inexperienced users.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Reddit has been slow to roll out moderation tools that were once offered by third-party apps, and the updates that the site has launched are clumsy and inaccessible. Though Reddit <\/span>made an exception<\/span><\/a> to its API pricing for accessibility apps, which are crucial for blind users, its in-app moderation tools aren\u2019t accessible for blind moderators. Reddit\u2019s most recent accessibility update was riddled with bugs and \u201cintroduced a pile of new issues,\u201d <\/span>according to a moderator<\/span><\/a> of r\/blind.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The response to the peer-to-peer helper program was mixed in r\/ModSupport. One user <\/span>questioned<\/span><\/a> whether automating the support request system would only make it harder to receive help from a \u201creal person.\u201d They also noted that the subreddit exists for moderators to discuss issues directly with admins, not with other moderators.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAdmin participation hasn\u2019t been great here,\u201d the user continued. \u201cI don\u2019t know if that\u2019s because you guys aren\u2019t familiar enough with mod tools to provide meaningful support to the mod community, or if you just can\u2019t be bothered. But you seem to mostly rely on the mod community to address questions and concerns here, and that\u2019s not what people come here for.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In the most upvoted comment replying to the announcement, Reddit user MapleSurpy expressed frustration over the lack of useful moderation features available on Reddit\u2019s official app. Moderators have requested ban evasion tools and \u201cactual help from admins\u201d when dealing with \u201cproblem users,\u201d MapleSurpy said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve asked for better tools on the official app to run subs now that Reddit took away every single third-party one,\u201d they <\/span>said<\/span><\/a>. \u201cWhat did we get? Another automated system \u2026 and flair rewards. Thank you SO much, I\u2019m sure this will solve a whopping zero problems.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Another user pointed out that the flairs aren\u2019t based on comments that are actually helpful, and that \u201csnarky people who are funny\u201d will reach \u201cexpert in no time.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n