mods.md

Introduction

The mod team of /r/anime wants to maintain a welcoming community for news and discussion of Japanese animation, encouraging fan creativity and providing a place to interact with the professional industry. We expect users to follow Reddiquette and treat each other with respect; it is our duty to hold users—including ourselves—responsible for their behavior and actions. We are also responsible for putting the above goals in mind when making decisions for /r/anime, placing the best interests of the users first while respecting Reddit-wide policies and communicating our actions transparently to foster a healthy relationship with the community.

Moderators

Listed in order of the subreddit's moderator list, which is by date added as a moderator. Everyone holds an equal position, see the Structure section below for details.

• /u/neito — Rumor has it that this rarely seen moderator was responsible for the creation of /r/anime. His return is talked about among those who worship the end of days.

• /u/DrNyanpasu — You can call me Nyan for short, and I joined the mod team back in 2011 when we had less than 20k subs. I enjoy mostly slice of life anime, with the occasional action/thriller tossed in. My main jam though is collecting merch and traveling to conventions. You can find me at ACen every year, as well as otakon and a few other cons in the Midwest. I spend most of my time on our discord, and sometimes I clear out the mod queue, only sometimes though...

• /u/urban287 — This mythical moderator is believed to appear once a year on a blood moon to bestow comment faces upon the good little weebs of the world. (but nothing for people who watch Index first)

• /u/FAN_ROTOM_IS_SCARY — The most positive mod uwu. I got into anime properly through tokusatsu back in around 2011, and have been hooked ever since. I speak Japanese so I transcend both sub and dub fans by watching raws. I like pretty much all genres though pretentious avante-garde stuff tends to be what leaves the biggest impressions on me. And sports anime, despite not enjoying sports whatsoever irl :p I mainly deal with the management of the official /r/anime Discord at the moment but do basic cleanup around the sub when I can.

• /u/Mage_of_Shadows — Hello there. I'm a reddit moderator for the anime community. If you need me, you'll find me at the discord...in the #manga channel (⌐■_■)

• /u/Durinthal — Lover of romance anime, I've been lurking on /r/anime since 2013 and regularly participate in subreddit rewatches. I keep an eye on /new, help maintain the rewatch wiki, and help with some of the bots/technical stuff.

• /u/Gaporigo — Slice of Life anime is my thing but I watch way too many seasonals no matter the genre, as such I spend a lot of time moderating discussion threads and /new. You can also find me in the Casual Discussion Friday threads!

• /u/mpp00 — I started watching anime back in 2014 and started participating on /r/anime due to one of /u/ShaKing807's contests. I am an avid lover of tsunderes and red-haired girls. I spend most of my time on /new, helping out with the /r/anime awards or running contests.

• /u/N7CombatWombat — The old man on the team, I’ve been watching anime for more than 30 years now. Trashy Isekai’s and trashy harem comedies are my jam. Even before I became a mod I tended to spend most of my time on /new looking for the smaller posts for conversation.

• /u/reddadz — Started watching anime on & off in the early 2000s thanks to Toonami, though I fully committed to this life around 2012. I'm a fan of most genres with a preference for anything sci-fi, thriller or psychological. I primarily follow seasonals but occasionally try to catch up on some hidden gems from the past. You might also know me from the weekly popularity contests Karma Rankings.

• /u/KiwiBennydudez — I got into anime back in high school, with Deathnote serving as my gateway into this medium. I'm now out of college, and continue to be passionate about all things anime related. I particularly love shounen-action and drama, although I watch just about anything. In my free time, I enjoy reading, creative writing, film, poetry, and video games. You may occasionally see some of my written work around the sub, as I also enjoy writing analytical pieces about anime.

• /u/DrJWilson — Shitsurei! I'm Wilson, and I only really started watching anime since the Spring 2016 season. Since then, I've dipped my toe into pretty much everything, but I always end up returning to slice of life. Around the sub I mostly am associated with written content—I'm one of the admins for the Writing Club, and eagerly try for WT! of the Month from time to time. I'm new to modding so no bully pls! Here to help out however I can.

• /u/badspler — I got hooked on anime right before the streaming/seasonal boom in 2013. I watch/read/play a little of everything and normally keep my head down lurking. I am a computer science graduate and enjoy working on a few hobby projects. I also enjoy swimming and contract bridge.

• /u/Abyssbringer — I started watching anime quite young with the classic 4kids dubs on TV such as Yu-Gi-Oh!, GX, 5D's etc. I also was into Pokémon and would even rent the DVD's from the library religiously. My older friend introduced me to Naruto at the age of 9 and thus subbed anime and I got sucked into the rabbit hole hard with early Netflix and getting my own computer in middle school. From then I watched a bunch of shows. I really enjoy SBM adaptations, 2000's action anime (Black Lagoon, Darker Than Black, Hajime No Ippo), and interesting thematic driven stories with an unique art style (Ashita No Joe, Casshern Sins, Texhnolzye). I'm a pretty big proponent of watching the classics especially UC Gundam as that changes the way you view a ton of anime history. In terms of my engagement with the sub I've lurked for 3-4 years and would post long rambling analytical writing spewing my thoughts everywhere. I joined the mod team in April 2021 and it took me 11 months to finally write this introduction :0

• /u/Verzwei — Introduced to anime around 2000, I followed shows through the early days of Adult Swim and whatever I could find on cheap DVDs. It wasn't until around 2015 that I heavily got into the medium with seasonal streaming, and I picked up manga and LNs as additional pastimes along the way. My favorite genres are romance, romcom, and yuri, and trashy harem comedies are a guilty pleasure of mine.

• /u/Sandtalon — A new moderator who joined February 2022.

• /u/MarvelsGrantMan136 — Started watching anime in the early 2000's, rushing home to watch Dragon Ball every day after school on Toonami. Love all genres, but my favorite would have to be comedy but I watch pretty much all types of shows. Mainly a dub watcher, but I enjoy subbed shows too.

• /u/Thrasher439 — Been actively watching anime and reading manga since around 2001 starting with Evangelion and Serial Experiments Lain. Watched my fair share of series since then, have no specific favourite genre but do generally gravitate more to Mecha. I'm also a big fan of video games.

• /u/Supremegypsy — I started watching anime back in elementary school though it was pretty infrequent. Funnily enough the stuff I watched back then is still what gets me going now; that being shounen anime, especially sports. I started hanging out on this sub 3 years ago and now I mostly just browse /new. Like most mods here I barely have time to watch anime these days :(

• /u/bassman2112 — An anime fan since the mid 90s (thanks Sailor Moon, DBZ & Pokemon playing on YTV up here in Canada), though I didn't realize it at the time. As I grew older, anime also grew to be a bigger and bigger part of my life. These days I'm all about psychological shows which take you on a rollercoaster ride; but also have a soft spot for calm and simple CGDCT shows =] I've been using /r/anime for many years where you'll see me hanging out in episode discussion threads, as well as checking out /new content! You can also find me on subs for mountain biking, video games, and metalcore!

• /u/FetchFrosh — I started watching anime because of an /r/anime rewatch of FMA:B and haven't really looked back since. I spend time patrolling the /new queue and also like trying to get the odd event up and running. Watch Yama no Susume.

• /u/GallowDude — Been an anime fan since the early 2000s with OG Yu-Gi-Oh and Pokemon before I even knew they weren't western-made animation. Fell off for a few years before getting back into it around a decade ago. #AhMyGoddessRemakeWhen

• /u/Xyyzx — Inimitable but mostly just unpronounceable - Often spotted haunting episode discussion threads since around 2015, and currently preoccupied with lying slumped in a dark corner gathering dust while awaiting a second season of Houseki no Kuni.

• /u/AmusedDragon — Got my start with anime like most with Toonami and watched all the normal shows that everyone who got their start there did. Now I'm into anime of every genre with a particular affection for the SoL/Iyashikei types. A 'fun' fact or two is I used to lead a runescape clan for around 4 years and also used to moderate the flash multiplayer game 'Stick Arena'. That's a deep cut for you flash game players out there. (RIP Flash)

Shared/Bot Accounts

• /u/AnimeMod — A shared moderator account, used for some announcements as well as some moderation-related bot processes, see Bots section.

• /u/AutoLovepon — A shared non-moderator account used solely for posting episode discussion threads. Mostly handled automatically (see Bots section), but sometimes threads are manually created by a person logged into this account. A few non-moderator users also have access to this account to help with manual posting of threads as necessary.

• /u/AutoModerator — Reddit's official bot account for assisting with moderation, see AutoModerator section for the rules we have implemented.

• /u/BotDefense — A third-party bot account that bans other bots across many subreddits (see /r/BotDefense for info).

Policies

Structure

In the interest of shared responsibility, every member of the mod team has an equal say in subreddit matters. Unless otherwise noted (e.g. in the Activity section), each moderator has one vote of the same weight in official procedures. Seniority provides more experience to help guide team decisions, but no additional power.

Activity

The mod team does not expect everyone to contribute equally, for a multitude of reasons, and for the longest of times this was how we operated. It got to a point however, where there were specific members of the team doing 1/4 of the work by themselves, because many others had close to 0 actions for long periods of time. As such, we introduced a minimum activity requirement of 200 mod actions in a month. Modmail replies, distinguishing comments, approving and removing posts or banning users all count towards the requirement.

Every mod must reach 200 actions on the modlog each month. Failure to do so will result in harsher punishments with each passing month called strikes. Failure to meet the 200 actions minimum in a month will result in 1 strike. Getting over the 200 actions in a month will reduce the counter by 1 strike.

1 Strike: Verbal warning about their activity

2 Strikes: Lose voting rights

3 Strikes: Demodded and given a month before being allowed to rejoin.

If a moderator is kicked due to inactivity, they may rejoin after a month. After rejoining, they must reach 200 mod actions for 3 months in a row or they will be permanently removed from the team. After this 3 month period, they are allowed to dip below 200 actions as described in the bullet points above.

If a moderator rejoins after being removed in this way, they are placed on a three month probation period where a single month below the minimum activity requirement will result in being removed permanently from the team. After the third month, they return to the same three-strike system as the rest of the team.

Sub Mods on Discord

The mod team uses Discord to organize and communicate easily, both inside the team and with various users who help around subreddit functions such as the wiki or episode discussion teams.

While all sub mods can have the permissions to moderate on Discord if they wish, it is not required to moderate the official /r/anime Discord nor participate in its discussions. We do try to answer PMs on Discord, but nobody is obliged to reply or help out when the situation the user is in does not involve them. These are things that should be handled via Modmail.

Consequently, to help the mods who choose to actively participate on Discord, we have a separate team of chat moderators who maintain order and organize events on Discord.

Planning and tracking

We have a few ways to keep track of what's going on. First we have a channel dedicated exclusively to what has been discussed recently, what was done and what is being done at the moment. We used this mostly for the results of votes and discussion that took place. Here's an example of what we usually write there!

As of June 2020, we've also created a Trello board, where we can better track everything that's going on within the team. It's not mandatory to join yet, but half the mods have joined and we've started to see a major improvement in getting things done.

Processes

Discussion

Typically new policies are discussed in either the /r/animemods subreddit or in a private channel in the /r/anime Discord server. Sometimes /r/animemods is used for discussions with more factors to consider, as the branching nature of conversation on Reddit ensures that thoughts on multiple different aspects of a discussion don't get buried. For more straightforward discussions, Discord is often used for the simplicity of having a discussion in real time.

Voting

Moderators typically have three options in a vote: Yes, No, or Abstain. Occasionally votes may have multiple options instead of a straight yes/no (one example was voting for which day the No Stupid Questions Megathread should land on). A majority is required to pass any rule. In the event that a moderator abstains, this reduces the number of moderators voting, and will reduce the number of votes required for a vote to pass. For example, if 7 mods vote yes, 5 vote no, and 8 abstain from voting, the vote is considered to have passed even though less than half the mod team is explicitly voting in favor of the policy due to the moderators who have abstained. Additionally, most votes are considered open for up to a week. Any moderator who has not voted at this point is considered to be implicitly abstaining from the vote. If mods know they won't be able to be around for a stretch, they may alert the mod team that they will be abstaining from all votes for a period of time.

Adding New Mods

Periodically (typically once or twice per year) the mod team will reach out to the community in search of new moderators. Generally when looking for new moderators, the mod team is looking for users who have taken an active role in the sub. In the summer 2019 mod applications, a minimum 50 comments over the preceding 3 months was required to be considered for the position, though this was a bare minimum. Typically European and Asian time zones are sought out as many moderators are in North America, though if a good candidate is from there then the mod team will still be more than willing to consider them.

Other considerations for moderators include programming experience (for working with bots, CSS fixes, etc.), involvement in /r/anime events, actively watching seasonal anime, demeanor, past rule infractions, and any niches that a potential moderator might fill.

Typically, the selection process is done in the form of a two-stage vote. First, all applications are looked at and voted on from a rough look. Typically one or two mods will check activity for all applicants and remove any applications which do not meet the minimum requirements. A threshold will be established, and any applicant who receives at least this threshold of "Yes" votes will be passed on to the second round. Here, more thorough discussion is typically held, and moderators will bring up any potential concerns they have about applicants, or any additional reasons they feel an applicant will be a good fit for the mod team.

In two instances, moderators have been recruited as opposed to going through the typical application process. /u/eritbh was added to the mod team in fall 2016 for helping with CSS and active role in meta. Additionally, in summer 2018, both open and closed applications were conducted. Closed applications included interviews with six users that were viewed as potentially good fits to the mod team. As a result of these interviews, /u/Bielna, /u/basedbecker, /u/Durinthal, and /u/FetchFrosh were added to the mod team.

Wiki

The /r/anime wiki is a general repository of information for the subreddit, including archives of episode discussion threads, rewatches, AMAs, and more. Some non-moderator users have been granted access to update parts of the wiki to help maintain it.

Tools

Communication

• Discord — Our daily communication and the majority of our discussions happen via restricted access channels on the official /r/anime Discord server. All official votes are held here, see Processes section for more details.

• /r/animemods — Former location of official votes, still contains some discussion threads in parallel with the Discord server.

• /r/animestaging — A testbed for things like CSS changes and post formatting.

Extensions

The majority of moderation work is done from a computer, and there are two major browser extensions that we utilize heavily:

• Toolbox — The swiss army knife of Reddit moderation, includes a wide variety of functions. The most commonly utilized features are a standardized list of removal reasons to include in a distinguished comment when removing a post or comment, a quick summary of a user's Reddit history including which external sites or social media accounts they post a link to, and the ability to remove an entire chain of comments at once.

• Snoonotes — Allows the team to record and share notes about users, used to record warnings and bans when a user breaks the rules.

Bots

All moderators have access to shared repositories, though not all moderators have a technical background and actively work on them.

• Episode discussion threads (runs as /u/AutoLovepon) — Posts episode discussion threads along with episode rating polls. Maintained by /u/Bielna.

• Weekly threads (runs as /u/AnimeMod) — Posts the weekly megathreads as well as the monthly meta thread. Maintained by /u/Durinthal.

• Flairbot (runs as /u/AnimeMod) — Checks for flair on posts and if posts with specific kinds of flair match the validation following our rules. PMs users and removes posts. Maintained by /u/Durinthal.

• Selfpromobot (runs as /u/AnimeMod) — Bot that checks video and clip post frequency. Reports posts. Maintained by /u/Durinthal.

• Modbot (runs as /u/AnimeMod) — Bot that saves activity on the subreddit and takes a snapshot of the front page once an hour for later analysis, designed to eventually incorporate features from flairbot and selfpromobot. Maintained by /u/Durinthal.

• Misato — Bot used for moderating the Discord server. Maintained by /u/eritbh.

Misc

• stylesheet — CSS used to customize the subreddit on the old desktop Reddit site, including comment faces and username flairs.

• comment-face-assets — Repository containing source images of comment faces. Maintained by /u/vaclav2012.

AutoModerator

This section outlines the general features of Reddit's AutoModerator configuration that we utilize. The full rules are not published here to prevent users from finding loopholes in the system.

• Posts by an account less than 7 days old and with less than 5 comment karma (remove and PM user) — Prevents a lot of spam, though this also removes a lot of posts from legitimate new users with questions. Posts will be approved upon request if they follow our rules.

• Posts with titles less than 4 words long (remove and reply) — Removes posts with generic and non-descriptive titles.

• Text posts with a body less than 20 characters long (remove and reply) — Removes low-effort posts.

• Text posts with keywords related to recommendations (reply and change flair) — Provides the recommendation info chart along with links to related sections of the wiki.

• Text posts with keywords related to a watch order (reply) — Provides a link to the watch order section of the wiki.

• Title includes keywords related to a specific flair (change flair) — Automatically flairs a post with what is considered a best guess based on the title. Includes Cosplay, Fanart, Rewatch, WT, Recommendation, and Clip.

• Standard: crowdfunding sites (remove) — Against our rules to share any crowdfunding links.

• Standard: meme generator sites (remove) — Memes are against our rules.

• "WT!" in title and less than 1500 characters in length (remove) — Minimum length requirement for Watch This! threads.

• Incorrectly formatted spoilers (remove and PM user) — Not all forms of the inline spoiler tag work on every platform, this removes the versions that cause issues.

• List of piracy sites (report or remove depending on specifics) - Links or obvious direction to illegal streams and other unlicensed sources of anime, manga, and other content aren't allowed by our rules.

• List of blacklisted Youtube accounts (remove) — Accounts that kept being posted by new users despite breaking various rules, primarily for piracy and self promotion.

• List of blacklisted users (remove) — Slows down users that like to make new accounts to continually break rules instead of banning them outright and letting them know immediately.

• List of shows and movies that are frequently memed about (remove) — For things that break our meme rule, like Shrek.

• List of non-Japanese "anime" (remove) — For commonly posted things that don't fit our "anime specific" rule, like Avatar or RWBY.

• Title including "live action" (remove) — Any live action adaptation doesn't fit our "anime specific" rule.

• General racist/bigoted slurs (report or remove depending on specifics) — Minimum standard of decency toward other people.

External Sites

There are a few places away from Reddit that are officially affiliated with /r/anime:

• r-anime.moe — Serves as a redirect to /r/anime.

• flair.r-anime.moe — Used to set your subreddit flair.

• survey.r-anime.moe — Used to collect data in the seasonal surveys.

• discord.r-anime.moe — Used to verify users on the Discord server and serve stats related to it.

• discord.gg/r-anime — Discord server for casual chatting and anime discussions, also where most discussions for the mod team are held (see Communication section).

• twitter.com/RedditChan — Twitter account used to promote the subreddit and user content.

• github.com/r-anime — Open source repository for bot code and subreddit CSS. Users are welcome to make suggestions (or pull requests for the technically inclined).