AutoMod is designed for server moderators - community discussion channels of Discord, where you can chat and share files and content with other users - who spend a lot of their time making sure the communities' internal rules are followed. In 2020, the platform introduced the Discord Moderator Academy, an online course covering the ABCs of moderation, from developing server-specific rules to managing shareholder relationships between users.
At launch , AutoMod is already complete with a list of keywords with violent or potentially harmful content. There is also the possibility for each community to add up to three lists of keywords that the tool can report. Finally, the moderators can decide what action to take against those who violate the established rules.
Content This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.
The promotional video of AutoMod. Source: discord.com
As with all social media platforms, moderating offensive or violent content is a sensitive key to Discord. Just last month, Payton S. Gendron, the man who was responsible for the racially motivated Buffalo massacre, talked about his attack plans on a private Discord channel. The company said it was "devastated" by the incident, renewing its commitment both to collaborate with law enforcement agencies in the ongoing investigation and to strengthen its internal security policies. At the moment, according to Discord itself, fifteen percent of the platform's workforce is employed on the security team. The responsibility of social networks and online spaces in the diffusion of extremist and violent ideologies is still a much debated topic.
The introduction of AutoMod is not the only novelty announced yesterday by Discord: the possibility of subscribing to a Premium membership will be extended to many more servers starting this summer (had already been tested on a limited number of communities). The feature allows administrators to monetize access to their spaces, offering access to private chat rooms or other benefits. Discord will also launch new educational resources and virtual networking spaces for building and managing online communities.