https://www.reddit.com/user/spez/comments/1vgbkge/modernizing_reddits_infrastructure_with_you/

> Automod: This has been one of the most important mod tools. But it’s also hard to learn, hard to maintain, and heavily dependent on brittle keyword matching, regex, and inherited configurations that only a few people on a mod team, if any, understand. We can do better.

> We’re building new systems, including giving mods LLMs and AI-assisted tools to help them tackle their low-hanging (but time-consuming) fruit, so they can spend more time cultivating their community and less time policing.

https://www.reddit.com/r/redditdev/comments/1vgbm9c/our_plans_for_the_future_of_reddits_public_data/

No specific mention about AutoModerator.

https://www.reddit.com/r/modnews/comments/1vgbt2j/whats_next_for_mod_tools/

> Longer term, we think systems like Rules Hub can handle the enforcement tasks you rely on Automod for today, while being easier to use and maintain. But it’s not there yet, especially for larger and more complex communities. Automod remains one of the most capable moderation tools on Reddit today, and we won’t change any existing Automod workflows until replacement workflows are tested and proven in partnership with moderators.

ETA: The posts do contain more information regarding other moderation tools development and Reddit admins intentions for the future, so I do encourage you to read the full posts.

Zeldathon's Summer event is live since yesterday, streaming around the clock until Saturday July 25th. The event has already raised over $14,000 by the time of this post!

Watch

Catch the stream at https://zeldathon.com/ , https://twitch.tv/zeldathon , or https://www.youtube.com/@Zeldathon!

All donations go directly to support St Jude Children’s Research Hospital

St Jude Children’s Research Hospital leads the way the world understands, treats, and defeats childhood cancer and other life-diseases. As one of the world’s premier pediatric cancer research centers, its mission is to find cures for children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases through research and treatment. Additionally, families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food, so they can focus on helping their child live. Read more about St Jude here - https://www.stjude.org/

Donate

https://donate.zeldathon.com/

Your donations can affect what happens during the show. You can also enter into their prize giveaways, some of which have been posted here by the creators!

• ALBW Ceramic Lamp by MuddyTabby
• MM Blue Dog Plush by YellowDuckieO

An extra incentive is that anyone who links their reddit account to their donation account is eligible to receive a special user flair on r/Zelda for participating in this event.

Schedule

Want to know what's happening when? For full schedule details to find your favorite game or favorite team members, visit https://zeldathon.com/schedule

This post is about a very minor, teensy-weensy change to the subreddit here, but it is significant enough to merit a formal post about it.

r/AutoModerator was originally created to discuss the u/AutoModerator moderation tool and support moderators in using it. Historically, AutoModerator was unique among moderation tools, but over the years, admins have developed Other-Tools which supplement or facilitate similar kinds of effects as AutoModerator. I had mentioned this earlier this year:

> The primary purpose of the subreddit here is for moderators to find updates, support, and resources regarding the AutoModerator mod tool. More generally, moderators also discuss other similar or related mod tools like subreddit settings, safety filters, Automations, Devvit apps, and API bots, particularly if those other tools supplement or interact with AutoModerator. (Which is fine! but more on those topics another day.)

Today is that another day.

As the full suite of moderation tools has matured, the community of moderators familiar with configurable moderation tools has similarly evolved. Many times these days, people will ask questions here, and the solution to their questions may or may not be with AutoModerator the mod tool, but the people in AutoModerator the subreddit still know the answer. There is a community of peer support among technical-oriented moderators here, and it is our desire to serve that community.

We have, even some time ago, updated the rules and description on r/AutoModerator to reflect this trend, changes in bold:

• Rule 1 - Stay on Topic - /r/AutoModerator is for moderator discussions about the AutoModerator program and similar automated moderation tools. - Report as: Off-topic / Unrelated to AutoModerator or Moderation Tools

• Rule 2 - Behave and Be Respectful - Be nice. Report as: Incivility, insults, trolling, aggression, or other malicious behavior

• Rule 3 - Moderation complaints - /r/AutoModerator is a support space for moderators. This is not a place to argue or complain about moderation actions, moderators, or AutoModerator performing its intended functions. - Report as: User is complaining about moderation

Effectively, this means that moderators who have questions about configuring subreddit settings and mod tools are welcome to post here, even if those questions are not necessarily about AutoModerator the original moderation bot. For examples, this includes questions regarding Safety Filters (eg Crowd Control, Harassment Filter), Devvit Mod apps (eg Auto-Modmail, FloodAssistant), Automations (aka Post and Comment Guidance), and configurable tools like these.

Let us know if you have any questions or concerns, about this change for the subreddit, or about the subreddit in general.

We are looking for feedback regarding updating our post flairs, which historically have been oriented around "Help", "Solved", "Not AutoMod", "Not Possible with AutoMod" and "Not Possible". We have recently added post flairs for "Wiki Updates" and "Guide", though they are still set to mod-only. We are adding a devvit app which allows people to subscribe to get notifications for specific post flairs, so that function would be paired well with clear guidelines or categories for post flairs.

The suggestion has been raised that we put up a regular post to prompt mods to share examples of code snippets they use in their subreddits. I figure, doing so around a theme that changes with each iteration is a fair way to go about it. This first iteration's theme is chosen for two reasons:

• This topic was the last time that admins directly contacted r/AutoModerator - https://www.reddit.com/r/AutoModerator/comments/zk9tnr/subreddit_karma_is_now_in_automod/ - perhaps worth reminiscing.

• In that post, u/LanterneRougeOG mentioned that this feature was "a much requested improvement to Automoderator".

To be clear, these attributes are as follows:

• comment_subreddit_karma: compare to the author's comment karma in your community
• post_subreddit_karma: compare to the author's post karma in your community
• combined_subreddit_karma: compare to the author's combined (comment karma + post karma) karma in your community

These checks are like other author checks in that they must be placed indented under an author: subgroup.

LanterneRougeOG originally provided four use cases for these checks:

Welcome new contributors through post replies

---
type: submission
author:
    combined_subreddit_karma: "< 3"
comment: |
    Welcome to the community! Here are links to our [Rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/{{subreddit}}/about/rules) and [Wiki/FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/{{subreddit}}/wiki/index). We hope you enjoy your time here.
---

This kind of rule is useful because it targets newer members who may not know much about your subreddit, but users who have posted much before will have already received this message. With the deprecation of welcome messages, this serves a similar purpose. This kind of reply also benefits other readers by making your rules, wiki resources, and a link to message the mods (in the AutoModerator signature) more visible. In the case that a new member makes a rule-breaking post, then the author may quickly self-correct, or another reader may know to report it.

Filter links in comments from newer accounts

---
type: comment
body (includes): ["http", ".com", "www."]
author:
    comment_subreddit_karma: "< 5"
action: filter
action_reason: "Link included in comment by user with < 5 comment subreddit karma. Check for spam or other issues."
---

This kind of rule is useful because it can catch a lot of spam from accounts new to your subreddit (ie, even if the spammer uses an old or general karma-farmed account) while carving out common false positives from established community members. Optionally, you can include a message: or comment: line to let the accounts know that their comment is pending review.

Enable features like media in comments but as a privilege to positive community members

---
type: comment
body (includes, regex): '!\[(video|img|gif)\]\([^)]*\)'
author:
    combined_subreddit_karma: "< 10"
action: filter
action_reason: "Media in comments by user with negative or low subreddit karma"
message: |
    Hey there! Looks like you’re a new user trying to upload media in a comment - thanks for joining our community! We’ve filtered your comment for moderator review. In the meantime, feel free to engage with others through text until you’ve spent a bit more time getting to know the space! 
---

This kind of rule is useful because you have an alternative to disabling media in comments altogether. Instead, you can set a threshold that fits for your team so that you can review how newer members are using the features. You could even consider setting two or three thresholds - a lower one set to action: remove, a slightly higher one set to action: filter, or a higher one set to action: report - so that the amount of review does not overwhelm your team. As you monitor whether the filtered or reported content tends towards approvals or removals, you can adjust the thresholds up or down accordingly, eventually settling into a balance that provides the best experience for your team and community.

Monitor toxicity from negative participants

---
type: any
body (includes): ["potential bad phrase"]
author:
    combined_subreddit_karma: "< 0"
action: filter
action_reason: "potential toxic phrase said by user with negative subreddit karma - [{{match}}]"
---

This kind of rule is similar to the above, but helps you find when disruptive members are discussing topics or using potentially insulting words/phrases that happen to also be used/discussed by regular community members. This reduces how wide the net is cast by relying on a factor of local reception (indirect input from your community!) so that your monitoring as a moderator can be more effective.

---

Some of the most powerful applications for AutoModerator are in the ways that checks can be combined!

How do you use this feature? What makes that code snippet worthwhile for you? Share in the comments below!

We recently noticed that admins had placed an age-restriction on the "before subreddits" subreddit, r/reddit.com, which is where admins hosted the original reference documents for AutoModerator and other moderation or site-wide policies or resources. While the age restriction on the subreddit as whole make sense considering the wide variety of content hosted there, unfortunately, this also means that those not-nearly-as-naughty wiki pages attached to that subreddit are also now age-restricted, forcing users and moderators in regions which require age-verification to verify their ages if they want to access those wiki pages.

We believe that users and moderators should have access to the contents of these wiki pages without being gated by age-verification. While the most important AutoModerator pages are our main concern, there are many similar pages which serve as historic references, informing how reddit and moderation have evolved over the years.

We had asked admins about this dilemma, but so far, no admins have reached out to us about any solution or plans. (To be clear: The active moderators of r/AutoModerator are not admins ourselves.)

To make moderation resources more freely available to moderators, we have copied the contents of a selection of relevant and historic wiki pages from r/reddit.com. All of the backups are listed on:

https://www.reddit.com/r/AutoModerator/wiki/backup

• Relating directly to AutoModerator:

  • The Full-Documentation page - Quite literally the most important resource, which is also linked at the top of every moderator's AutoModerator config editor page. We specifically asked if admins could redirect this page to the subreddit here.

  • The still-relevant Introduction, Standard-Conditions, and Writing-Basic-Rules pages.

  • The historic Changelog and Converting-to-New pages.

• Relating to Moderation in general:

  • The Moderation and Moderation-Intro pages, a bit outdated, but still a useful reference.

  • Moddiquette and HealthyCommunities (Moderator Guidelines) - These pages pre-date the Moderator Code of Conduct, and to this day, many people are unaware that some things that were suggested in these pages are not actually part of the current Moderator Code of Conduct enforced by admins. Some moderator teams still hold themselves to these standards.

  • The UserAgreement now lives on redditinc.com, but to view revisions older than 2018, you have to look at the wiki page history.

  • The ProhibitedAds page predates the many separate pages of the current ads policies. Moderators may often be interested in knowing which kinds of content are not allowed in ads when defining their own rules around similar content.

  • Similarly, the SelfPromotion page, while no longer enforced by admins, is still informative to users and moderators that do hold that standard in their own subreddits.

• Relating to Reddit in general:

  • The FAQ, Voting, and Reddit_101 pages - full of information helpful to newer redditors. Sometimes these tidbits are helpful to moderators when answering user questions. Much but not all of these pages have been added to the RedditHelp site.

  • The Reddiquette, Pressiquette, Brandiquette, and Bottiquette pages - fair reference for guidelines that may or may not apply to your subreddit needs.

  • The Markdown and Wiki pages, which contain information not listed on their respective RedditHelp replacements.

Recently, I noticed the full documentation link for automoderator in the sidebar on r/automoderator asks for my birthday. I'm in the UK and not age verified. (In app it instead says r/reddit.com is archived).

So, I tried other links in the r/automoderator wiki index, and the same happens for the introduction, writing basic rules, and the full documentation links there. https://www.reddit.com/mod/AutoModerator/wiki/index

These pages are the only ones not hosted on r/automoderator but on r/reddit.com.

It seems r/reddit.com has now been marked NSFW?

We asked via modsupport mod mail if there is anything that can be done so UK mods don't have to verify their age or use VPNs just to see automod documentation.

Or

If r/reddit.com cannot be reclassified, could the automod documentation pages there be hosted on and redirected to r/automoderator instead.

We also noted that there may be other pages on r/reddit.com that are worth saving as well, like the old reddiquette and moddiquette, moderator guidelines pages, and spam and self promotion pages, too. Mods tend to refer to these, even if just for historical purposes.

I was told that to comply with the online safety act, Reddit requires age confirmation to access restricted content :|

This won't just affect UK mods, but mods anywhere with these new online safety laws.

Automod documentation isn't unsafe and mods shouldn't need to verify to see it, to help keep their communities safe.

r/automoderator has back-up pages here that can serve as an immediate work around for affected mods https://www.reddit.com/r/AutoModerator/wiki/backup

Hopefully a long term fix can be found.

I Dj as a side passion, and am always on the lookout for good Zelda remixes – Koji Kondo is hands down my favorite composer of all time. There are some really great ones, but they rarely keep the original music in tact. Many don't use the original samples, and include drops or dance breaks that have nothing to do with Zelda. I've been searching for remixes that feel like listening to the original N64 bangers, just... more dancy!

So I took a crack at making one myself! Link to Soundcloud above, would love any feedback!

Also, I literally made a new Soundcloud account bc I'd like to start making more stuff like this, but apologies if my account screams of being a bot. I'm just new here! And if you enjoy this and have any requests for other tracks, please do let me know :)

What does it do?

Why does it exist?

What do you like about enforcing it?

Your mod team likely recently (today) got a modmail notification from admins about the new feature rolling out for Videos in Comments.

Many moderators may be wondering how to report or filter comments which contain uploaded videos, in cases where your team wants to consider monitoring them closer or with greater scrutiny, or restrict their use to appropriate posts or trusted authors.

Fortunately, this is possible with AutoModerator. Unfortunately, the OP of the post on r/modnews was unaware at the original time of the announcement, and their comment about it was downvoted out of visibility before later editing in the example code.

Conveniently, this relies on the same kind of RegEx check that is already documented for both video embeds in text posts (July 2022) and for other media in comments (Oct 2022).

Here's the RegEx check:

body (includes, regex): '!\[video\]\([^)]*\)'

What this check is looking for is a string of the form:

• 

This is similar to the other media in text posts and comments, which simply use [img] and [gif] in place of [video]. In fact, if you wanted to expand your current AutoModerator rules that apply to gif or images in comments to also apply to videos in comments, then you would want to use a RegEx like this:

body (includes, regex): '!\[(video|img|gif)\]\([^)]*\)'

Here are a few example rules:

---
# Report videos in comments
type: comment
body (includes, regex): '!\[video\]\([^)]*\)'
action: report
action_reason: "Video in comment detected, please review."
---
# Filter videos in comments if they get 2 reports
type: comment
body (includes, regex): '!\[video\]\([^)]*\)'
reports: 2
action: filter
action_reason: "Video in comment detected, reported twice, filtered for review."
---
# Restrict video replies on posts flaired "Serious"
type: comment
body (includes, regex): '!\[video\]\([^)]*\)'
parent_submission:
    flair_text: "Serious"
action: remove
set_locked: true
action_reason: "Video in comment detected on post flaired Serious."
message: "Hey there! We appreciate your participation, but we do not allow video replies on posts with the Serious flair here. Please resubmit your comment as text only."
---
# Restrict video replies on AMAs to approved users only
type: comment
body (includes, regex): '!\[video\]\([^)]*\)'
parent_submission:
    flair_text: "AMA"
author:
    is_contributor: false
action: remove
set_locked: true
action_reason: "Video in comment detected on AMA post by unapproved user."
message: "Hey there! We appreciate your participation, but we restrict video replies on AMA posts. Please resubmit your comment as text only or reach out to the moderators if you feel this was in error."
---

Let me know if you have other questions or suggestions!

This is a question for moderators that frequently moderate from the official mobile apps.

When I say "favorite mod tool", I mean one that you either try to use frequently, or would actually use frequently if it worked, or one that you simply would like to use. Interpret that openly.

When I say "broken", i mean a mod tool that is either incomplete, buggy, missing, or requires extra steps to effectively use.

Here's some examples from when I was checking queues over coffee this morning (iOS, fwiw):

• You cannot remove or reorder highlighted posts from the highlights menu. The buttons show but are greyed out / not responsive.

• Tapping a filtered comment in queue loads the parent post but does not show the filtered comment. This one's funny because it changes when you try a second time on the same comment.

• Posts by site-wide suspended or shadowbanned accounts will show their username in the subreddit feed, but not when you open the post. Mod notes for these accounts are accessible on desktop but not on mobile.

• You can open a post from modqueue before you remove it. But you can't right after you remove it while still shown in the queue. So you have to reapprove it or navigate to it a different way if you want to look again at the comment section or review it in greater depth.

So many little things like this make moderating on mobile so painful, but after long enough, you just kinda grow blind to it or work around it or put it off until you can get to desktop. Some of this is so engrained in my muscle memory that i didn't consciously realize how regularly i encounter them until i did an exercise in active narration.

One of the frequently asked questions here and in other moderator subreddits is about how to set up AutoModerator for the first time. This can be tricky mostly for two reasons:

• If you are unfamiliar with AutoModerator, then you may not know where to look. Some of the documentation is version-specific for reddit as well.

• The first time AutoModerator is configured can have a couple slightly different steps from future edits.

So this wiki page lists the basic steps and a few pointers for the first-time (or first-timer) to help get from confusion to the configuration editor.

https://www.reddit.com/r/AutoModerator/wiki/setup

I'll be adding this link to an auto-reply for some keywords when people post here. Let me know if there are other points or tips you think should be added to this page or other pages!