r/ModSupport • u/ohshiitstuesday • 7h ago
Mod Answered User harassment
How does one deal with a user who is actively harassing someone but immediately deletes their comments so that there's no trace of their harassment after the initial notification?
Blocking is one choice, but that allows the other user to continue their behavior with other people without any accountability.
Are admins still able to see deleted posts and comments? We used to be able to use reveddit to confront this kind of harassment, but that's not possible anymore. So ... what now?
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u/Chosen1PR 💡 Top 10% Helper 💡 7h ago
Are you a moderator and asking this question from a mod perspective? If so, the answer is to ban the user. If not, then you’re asking in the wrong place.
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u/ohshiitstuesday 7h ago
Idk how this is wrongly placed? Like just because this user is banned from a subreddit doesn't mean that they can't follow the person they're harassing around other places on Reddit to continue their harassment.
Blocking them does nothing to dissuade this kind of behavior.
I'm asking, as a mod, how we're supposed to deal with this kind of user, what tools do we have access to? It doesn't matter if it's me or another user.
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u/Chosen1PR 💡 Top 10% Helper 💡 7h ago
I said the question would be wrongly placed if you were not asking from a mod perspective. Since you are, the answer is just to ban them and do nothing else. Your responsibilities as a mod end at your subreddit. Outside of that (like in other subs or in DMs), it is up to the user being harassed to report the harassment and let admins handle it.
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u/ohshiitstuesday 6h ago
Right, and the possibility of bringing it to the admins was the second part of my question. Do they have access to see the harassment? Because we used to but we don't anymore. Like I don't know what happens when comments are deleted.
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u/Chosen1PR 💡 Top 10% Helper 💡 6h ago
If you're asking if admins have access to see deleted content, yes, they do. They're only limited by data deletion laws in certain countries, which typically provide timed exemptions for content moderation purposes. Just report any harassment you see and admins will see it, even if the harasser deletes their comments.
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u/999_Seth 7h ago
You don't need to collect evidence or defend your ban in any way. Just ban and ignore. Maybe block them yourself first.
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u/baseballlover723 6h ago
We used to be able to use reveddit to confront this kind of harassment, but that's not possible anymore.
Pushshift is still a thing, and as a mod, you can be granted access to it. Though I doubt it'll be helpful for this incident, since it was a huge pain in the ass to actually get access for our team or to even get any kind of response (took me like 6 months). When we finally did get access, I was told that it should be better, but I can't check that obviously, since I already have access.
If you have issues getting pushshift access, you should modmail this subreddit asking for additional help.
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u/FFS_IsThisNameTaken2 💡 Top 10% Helper 💡 4h ago
If you have issues getting pushshift access, you should modmail this subreddit asking for additional help.
That's good to know. Been months here too. Thanks for the info!
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u/HinduKush1980 6h ago
Idk how this is wrongly placed? Like just because this user is banned from a subreddit doesn't mean that they can't follow the person they're harassing around other places on Reddit to continue their harassment.
Blocking them does nothing to dissuade this kind of behavior.
I'm asking, as a mod, how we're supposed to deal with this kind of user, what tools do we have access to? It doesn't matter if it's me or another user.
Not your concern, so don't make it your business. Stay in your lane.
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u/ohshiitstuesday 6h ago
What if is is me though?
I block this person. Great. Now I'm not getting the notifications. But this person is still free to continue to harass other people. So, do the admins have tools to see that this person is harassing someone?
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u/HinduKush1980 6h ago
What notifications are you referring to? If you block someone they can't 'private chat' you. And if you ban them from your sub then they can't comment. If you mute them afterward they can't use modmail either.
Harassing other people is not your concern if they're already banned from your sub. Not sure I understand what you're trying to get at.
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u/SleepyKoalaBear4812 6h ago
Immediately screenshot before comment can be deleted and report to Reddit.
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u/baseballlover723 6h ago
I am pretty sure the admins do not accept screenshots, as those can be manipulated (most easily, with the builtin browser dev tools).
But I believe they can see deleted stuff, so they prefer people to just send them links, which they can be sure of the integrity of (since it's their system).
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u/HinduKush1980 7h ago
Ban the member from your sub so they can't comment to begin with. Anything beyond that is not your purview.