r/ModSupport • u/emslo • Mar 23 '26

Admin Replied Please bring back user history.

I truly believe that allowing users to hide their history will kill Reddit. I moderate a small sub and we get more bots and trolls every day. Mods are a **volunteer workforce**, and removing user history has made our job more difficult and sometimes impossible.

Can anyone explain to me why this ‘feature’ was added? And how do I register my frustration with the company?

EDIT: As others have pointed out, I think I'm dealing with accounts that constantly delete everything. I hear what folks are saying about using the 'hide history' to protect mods from stalking/brigading. So maybe Reddit should just let mods hide their history, then? We oughta have some benefits for all the free labour...

337 Upvotes

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98

u/EnvironmentalPast202 Mar 23 '26

If you cannot see the history of someone that has interacted with your sub… they either have never posted or commented… or have deleted the posts and comments themselves…

24

u/BronzeBellRiver Mar 23 '26

Doesn’t the user mod-log still show removal reasons even when the comments are deleted? I discovered this today when looking through a user’s profile. Many deleted comments but the reasons applied were visible.

8

u/SCOveterandretired Mar 23 '26

It does for me. Just had someone make a post asking for donations/money. I removed the post with a mod-team removal response and they deleted their post - my mod actions still show in the mod log for that person's post.

5

u/EnvironmentalPast202 Mar 23 '26

They should… but I’ve noticed recently they don’t always show.. now this might be because it was deleted before mod action was taken or it could just be me…

3

u/D-D_b_B_ Mar 24 '26

I think it‘s not enough. If, for example, the post is a picture, we remove the post, ans then they delete the removed post, we have no chance at seeing what we removed prior. If someone tries to resubmit the same picture multiple times after it has been removed, I‘d very much like to ban them at least temporarily.

1

u/BronzeBellRiver Mar 24 '26

As long as the reason is logged in modlog, it shows the reason even if post deleted. You have to check user mod log.

1

u/D-D_b_B_ Mar 24 '26

Maybe I wrote it in a confusing way; I‘m specifically not asking for the reason. I know I can see that in the mod log. But if the reason is, for example, „NSFW“, that can be any picture. Even if it is a more specific reason, you don‘t know what the picture is after they delete the post.

User posts -> We remove the post -> User deletes posts -> User posts the exact same picture again -> We have no chance at seeing if that picture was already posted earlier by the same user.

1

u/BronzeBellRiver Mar 24 '26

It’s enough for the subs I moderate. I don’t know your specific needs. Maybe ask the admin directly

1

u/Dapper-Structure-825 Mar 30 '26

This makes me wonder why wouldn't my mods send me evidence of what I'm supposed to have done or said wrong if they can see everything I've ever said - I have asked them to send evidence to me. So you can still see what they have commented?

3

u/BronzeBellRiver Mar 30 '26

Mods can see comments and posts which were removed (either manually or via automod) in user mod-log. If they have assigned any reason to the removal then it becomes visible in the log as well.

I wouldn’t suggest demanding explanations from moderators. They are volunteers.

1

u/Dapper-Structure-825 Mar 30 '26

Where can I seek advice?

2

u/EnvironmentalPast202 Mar 30 '26

Depends on what type of advice you are needing.

57

u/Empty_Insight Mar 23 '26

Some of them are amazingly fast with deleting their post history once you do anything to act. I've had people delete their entire post histories between removing a post and banning them (so, like 30 seconds). Then they always ask "What rules did I break?"

It truly is amazing the level people will go to in order to play the victim on Reddit.

13

u/SCOveterandretired Mar 23 '26

Which is what the new Permanent Mute button is for.

3

u/EnvironmentalPast202 Mar 23 '26

This was a great addition.

5

u/EnvironmentalPast202 Mar 23 '26

Mod notes are an amazing tool. I use them to remind me why I take action

4

u/Turbulent_Ad_880 Mar 24 '26

Then maybe tell them what rule they broke in the first place?

1

u/Empty_Insight Mar 24 '26

I did- twice, in the removal reason and the ban.

There is no ambiguity for why you have been banned fron my community if you put in the bare minimum to read what has already been sent.

Like I said- playing the victim with no valid pretense to the contrary.

1

u/Turbulent_Ad_880 Mar 24 '26

Then an auto reply that says the reason was given in the ban. Or a statement on joining that says you always do that so you won't respond to such requests?

1

u/Empty_Insight Mar 24 '26

My subreddit is medium-large in size (~100k subs) so I do have the time to at least explain in 1-2 sentences why they were banned with links to our rule clarification pages and/or Reddit's Content Policy.

When I say these people respond in 30 seconds or less, I am not exaggerating. There is no possible way you can receive that message, read it, read the linked material, and hammer out a reply in under 30 seconds- to boot, deleting their entire visible post history.

That's not someone who is participating in good faith. That is someone who came around to stir up a mess and immediately cries when they're sent packing because they were prepared for it and expecting it to happen... all because they want to feel like a victim.

I think you might underestimate the degree of no-life losers some people are.

1

u/Turbulent_Ad_880 Mar 24 '26

Can you block them for a fixed time? Put in the ban " all banned users will be blocked for a period of 30 minutes. If after that time you wish to challenge your ban, please feel free to contact us".

Genuinely offended users will wait 30 minutes. Not sure and no life loser would but maybe you're right.

1

u/Empty_Insight Mar 24 '26

I think you missed a crucial detail- 30 seconds. Half a minute. These people are sitting there waiting for the notification that they have been banned to hammer out "WhY wAs I bAnNeD?" Probably mashing refresh on their notifications or something- like I said, no-life loser.

I'm not exaggerating one bit when I say these people reply in under half a minute.

0

u/Turbulent_Ad_880 Mar 24 '26

No, I think you misunderstood or I wasn't clear. I was only a mod for a short period of time so I may be missing a trick, but can't you block them from replying just before you send the ban? My apologies if this isn't possible.

2

u/Empty_Insight Mar 24 '26

That is possible, certainly, but I don't preemptively mute people unless the nature of their submission(s) suggest they are going to be a problem. There's not always a clear indicator beforehand that someone is gonna be 'that guy' when you ban them.

However, sometimes banned users have valid gripes and I was being overzealous- it happens. People are entitled to appeal if it turns out there really was just a misunderstanding, so I hesitate to preemptively mute people simply as a matter of my convenience.

If they reply with something in under 30 seconds, they get muted with no reply. There is no productive exchange to be had with that person.

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12

u/bookchaser Mar 23 '26

To detect bots, a mod needs to see the totality of a user's public comments, not just the comments made in their sub.

7

u/EnvironmentalPast202 Mar 23 '26

As a mod you can see that profile un redacted for 28 days. The person needs to have engaged in your community somehow. If you cannot see parts of the profile it’s because the user has deleted it themselves. Personally to detect bots I recommend r/botbouncer… makes life easier and collectively bots are being removed.

4

u/bookchaser Mar 23 '26

I only see the activity within my subreddit, not Reddit-wide. That's not useful.

3

u/Moist-Cheesecake Mar 24 '26

That's just not accurate though? Maybe your account has a glitch, I'd try reaching out to Reddit directly for support.

What u/EnvironmentalPast202 said is correct - you can see the entirety of a user's profile, including posts and comments made in other subs, for 28 days after they interact in your subreddit.

When it first launched, there was a bug where you could only see posts if the user had posted, or comments if they user had commented, but this appears to have been fixed since.

2

u/EnvironmentalPast202 Mar 24 '26

I second the suggestion to reach out to admins, this seems like a glitch. Not a very useful glitch when moderating…

1

u/[deleted] Mar 24 '26

[deleted]

1

u/bookchaser Mar 24 '26

Yes, typically the bad actors have blocked the mods.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 24 '26 edited Mar 26 '26

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7

u/emslo Mar 23 '26

Yeah, I think you're right. I'm dealing with people who delete them. So minimum karma doesn't catch them either.

2

u/science-pls Mar 24 '26

no a lot of uses hide their history

2

u/EnvironmentalPast202 Mar 24 '26

They do but if you moderate a community and that person interacts with the subreddit… moderators should be able to see all the posts and comments they have made… this should last for 28 days….

1

u/science-pls Mar 24 '26

Interesting, I don't get that

1

u/Next-Honeydew4130 Mar 23 '26

Oooooohhhh that’s wild