The Mod University Course Content
Mod University Lesson Summary
Lesson 1 - Steps Before the Program
Steps you can take to get the most out of your training experience
In our first video lesson, Alan will introduce himself and explain why he became a community moderator and what inspired him to launch the Mod University training program and Discord.
In this lesson, we’ll review the Mod University category sections and explain the importance and value of the content provided within this training course.
Chat with our community by joining the Mod University Discord and visiting AlanfinityLive’s Twitch livestreams, showcasing experts in moderation and community management.
Visit the Mod University Website to view our Resources page and learn more about the other communities and training resources are available for moderators.
In this video, we’ll discuss the outcomes and results you should receive by completing this Udemy course. Get ready to become an expert community moderator!
Lesson 2 - Intro to Community Moderation
Steps you can take to get the most out of your training experience
What exactly is a community moderator, and what do they do? How do they compare with community administrators and other roles for managing online communities? Learn how the role of community mod changes depending on the platform your community uses.
A detailed history of community moderation, and how civil societies have self-governed throughout history. Discover how the rise of the internet and online communities has fundamentally changed our modern society and the way we interact with others.
How does one become a mod? Learn the different techniques you can apply to join existing moderation teams or form your own community to moderate and grow.
What the heck is a mod queue? What’s the difference between a regular ban and a shadow ban? Learn common moderator terminology in our Mod Glossary.
Great job, you’ve learned a lot of new content, it’s time for a test to see what you remember! Remember you can always rewatch a lesson at any time to refresh your memory until you’re confident in your skills.
Lesson 3 - Understanding and Engaging your Community
Steps you can take to get the most out of your training experience
What types of users make up a community, and how can you support them in achieving their goals? Learn about the different roles that members of your community take and why each role is important for a healthy online community.
What are the best ways to keep a community active? Learn techniques to encourage discussion and collaboration within your community, and increase the value that your users experience when they visit.
Understand the value that your community members seek and learn to seed and promote the creation of content. Seeding content is an essential first step in building a new community.
Once a community has an active user base, what can be done to attract new members? Learn the best techniques for recruiting new active members to counter the natural churn that occurs as activity declines.
Great job, you’ve learned a lot of new content, it’s time for a test to see what you remember! Remember you can always rewatch a lesson at any time to refresh your memory until you’re confident in your skills.
Lesson 4 - Managing Community Behavior
Steps you can take to get the most out of your training experience
Every community has expectations that aren’t explicitly stated in the rules. Learn how to ensure that your community culture remains healthy and inclusive for all members.
The primary responsibility of any community moderator is to assess rule violations and respond appropriately. Learn techniques to determine what the most effective form of punishment will be for each user, and how to discourage rule violations in the future.
A small percentage of users will refuse to follow the rules regardless of what you do. Learn the advanced techniques for dealing with advanced harassment and ban evasion in your community.
Learn to make your job easier through the use of simple tools and templates when responding and messaging your community. Learn why using templates is an essential part to being a fair and reliable community moderator.
Moderators should have a clear expectation on how they should respond to rule violations to enforce them consistently with a large team across time. Record the answers to these questions and refer to them on how to consistently respond to different rule violations.
Great job, you’ve learned a lot of new content, it’s time for a test to see what you remember! Remember you can always rewatch a lesson at any time to refresh your memory until you’re confident in your skills.
Lesson 5 - Privacy, Saftey and Personal Security
Steps you can take to get the most out of your training experience
How can you protect the privacy of your community and yourself? Learn best practices in keeping your identities safe and protect from real-world dangers.
How do national privacy laws impact your role as a community moderator? Learn about privacy laws and the impact of COPPA and GDPR on your platform and community rules.
Learn the best methods to keep your personal accounts safe from backdoor hacking, and if your username and password may have already been compromised.
Protect yourself from social engineering and learn ways to secure your personal identity to protect yourself and those you love.
With an understanding of how to protect yourself, learn the skills and best practices in ensuring that other members of your community are protected from identity theft and harassment.
Great job, you’ve learned a lot of new content, it’s time for a test to see what you remember! Remember you can always rewatch a lesson at any time to refresh your memory until you’re confident in your skills.
Gain knowledge on the process of developing empathy for the members of your community and how emotional support can be used to better understand your users.
Would you be able to recognize if a member of your community needs help? Learn about the different risk categories that users may fall into, and how to ask questions to learn more about their condition and wellbeing.
Learn more about the causes and symptoms of depression, suicide and self-harm. Gain a deeper understanding in how to communicate with users who are struggling in the real world.
Learn more about the causes and symptoms of addiction. Gain a deeper understanding in how to communicate with users who are struggling in the real world.
With a solid understanding of the causes and symptoms of various dangers to your community, learn the active steps you can take to support your users when they need help the most.
If you believe a community member is in immediate danger, you don’t have time to wait. It is essential that all community moderators know how to identify emergency situations and respond to them appropriately.
Great job, you’ve learned a lot of new content, it’s time for a test to see what you remember! Remember you can always rewatch a lesson at any time to refresh your memory until you’re confident in your skills.
Lesson 6 - Conflict of Interest and Abuse of Power
Steps you can take to get the most out of your training experience
Learn the difference between conflicts of interest and abuse of power, and gain an understanding of how to balance your personal interests with the interests of your community members.
What are some examples of conflicts of interest that you might face? Learn more about common examples that you’ll face in your moderating career.
Conflict of interest can never be removed entirely, but processes and communication can help to prevent harm to your community and yourself.
What’s the difference between a ban appeal and moderator complaint? Learn about the importance in offering a ban appeal system and how to properly hold moderators accountable for their mistakes.
Great job, you’ve learned a lot of new content, it’s time for a test to see what you remember! Remember you can always rewatch a lesson at any time to refresh your memory until you’re confident in your skills.
Lesson 7 - Self-Care and Modding as a Hobby
Steps you can take to get the most out of your training experience
How do you prevent burnout as a mod? Discover the importance of mod-life balance and why monitoring your mental health is important for yourself and your community.
Learn how the experience of participating in a community changes once you become a moderator, and how to handle balancing being a member of your community while also being a moderator.
When times are tough, learn how to properly take care of your mental health with active steps and exercises. Discover why asking for help can be difficult as a moderator, and the resources available for mods to use.
When moderating for larger communities, working with a team helps reduce your workload and make the process easier and more fun. Learn how to work with a moderator team and thrive as a unit.
If the real world ever becomes too demanding, it can be valuable to step back from moderating for a short period of time. Learn how to decide if you should continue moderating a community or if you should reduce your workload and retire.
Learn about the job and volunteer opportunities that exist within community management and moderation, and how acting as a leader can help you to build your career outside of modding.
Great job, you’ve learned a lot of new content, it’s time for a test to see what you remember! Remember you can always rewatch a lesson at any time to refresh your memory until you’re confident in your skills.
Lesson 8 - Understanding your Platform Controls
Steps you can take to get the most out of your training experience
This section is optional, designed for users to learn the advanced functionality of individual platforms that they moderate for. Learn the basics of each platform in case you use them in the future!
Common tools, tricks and resources used by Reddit community moderators. Taught by a veteran moderator specific to the platform.
Common tools, tricks and resources used by Twitch community moderators. Taught by a veteran moderator specific to the platform.
Common tools, tricks and resources used by Discord community moderators. Taught by a veteran moderator specific to the platform.
Common tools, tricks and resources used by Facebook community moderators. Taught by a veteran moderator specific to the platform.
Common tools, tricks and resources used by Discourse community moderators. Taught by a veteran moderator specific to the platform.
Common tools, tricks and resources used by IRC community moderators. Taught by a veteran moderator specific to the platform.
Common tools, tricks and resources used by Minecraft community moderators. Taught by a veteran moderator specific to the platform.
Lesson 9 - The Final Project
Steps you can take to get the most out of your training experience
It’s time to apply what you’ve learned to support your community and your mod team! Select one of the possible project formats and work to implement positive change in your community.
Instructions on how to submit a summary and report of your project. Introduce your community to the Mod University alumni and demonstrate the goals you have for positively impacting your community.
Congratulations, you’ve done it! You’ve made it to the end of the course. There are a few more steps you can take to join the Mod University community, and connect with other moderators who are building their careers just like you.