Community Moderation - The Basics
🧑⚖️ What makes a good moderator?
A great moderator isn’t just someone with permissions. They’re someone who understands your community and helps it grow.
Look for people who are:
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Friendly, active, and approachable
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Able to de-escalate situations calmly
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Confident taking action when needed
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Good communicators who lead by example
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Focused on making the server feel welcoming and safe
💡 Banning should be a last resort. A great mod can guide conversations without shutting people down.
📜 Setting server rules
Clear rules help reduce confusion and conflict.
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Keep them short and easy to find, ideally in a dedicated channel
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Use a bot flow to guide new members to the rules
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Apply the rules fairly to everyone, including moderators
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Consider adding a note that moderators may use their judgment when enforcing them
💡 Guilded’s Community Guidelines and Terms of Use always apply, even if you have your own server rules.
🔍 Example rules you can adapt for your server
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Be respectful. No insults, harassment, or hateful conduct
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No NSFW or disturbing content
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Don’t discuss or promote illegal activity
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Avoid spamming or trolling
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Use self-promotion channels appropriately
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Stay on topic in each channel
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Keep political and hot-button topics out of general chat
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English only in public spaces
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Don’t share private information or screenshots without consent
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Criticism is okay, personal attacks are not
💡 Not everything needs a rule. Give your moderators the space to act with context.
🧩 Moderator roles and permissions
Give your mod team the tools they need, based on their level of responsibility.
Core permissions:
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Kick and ban members
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Manage messages
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Access moderator view
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Manage server XP
Optional or advanced:
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Update server settings
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Manage roles and nicknames
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Control bots and webhooks
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Use @everyone and @here mentions
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Manage server emotes
💡 Only assign high-level permissions to moderators you fully trust.
🧰 Helpful moderation tools
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Use private replies for gentle rule reminders
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Create a timeout or mute role to quickly manage spam
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Shift-click to mass delete messages
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Ban users with the option to clear their message history
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Assign channel-specific moderation roles if needed
✅ Final tip
Great moderation is about trust, clarity, and knowing your community. With the right people and tools, you can keep your space safe, fun, and welcoming for everyone.