[2021] Meet a Moderator: Nodehappy

Some individuals are curious about the world of content moderation, what it entails, and who takes on the task. Now is your chance to get to know one of your community moderators. You may ask anything, except for why someone in the community has been warned or banned. Please be respectful of one and another when discussing. Steam's rules and guidelines still apply in this thread.

Hi, my name is Node. I am a content moderator. I've been content moderating professionally since 2016 on various game hubs on Steam and communities outside of the Steam platform. While the work is challenging and trying at times, I enjoy ensuring that communities stay as safe as possible for others to enjoy.

NOTE: Discussions/questions of why you or someone in the community has been warned or banned are not permitted. Steam's rules and guidelines still apply in this thread.

Originally posted by GunsForBucks: Hope you are doing well and I didn't offend you in some way.
Take care.

I'm doing well, got back from a vacation. I wasn't offended in any way. It was a conflict of interest, sadly. I needed to be able to perform my duties. It comes with the territory, I'm afraid.

Originally posted by willderyes: I have to say: thank you for your service in this way.

You say "professionally". Does that mean you're actually paid? What kind of schedule do you work?

Thank you! As a content moderator, I get paid, but my work for Iron Gate is only on a volunteer basis. I am responsible for 127,001 users on Valheim alone and over 1.5 million users on and off the Steam platform. Due to the volume of users, my schedule runs around the clock. Therefore, I use a series of tools to ensure my job is more manageable.

Originally posted by Mharr: So, it's been a fun week aye. Did you have a sense of how the patch was going to land before it happened?

It has definitely been an exciting week for sure! As much as I would like to say that I know how users will react to a patch, I can't until it actually lands. Whether it is bug fixes or content being released, the reactions are diverse, to say the least. Content moderators have to be ready for an influx of activity across the grid, bringing challenges. Still, there is plenty of joy to be had as well.

Originally posted by Vault Traveler: Sry but what is a „content“ moderator?

In short, content moderators ensure that user-generated content (UGC) is safe for users, is not illegal, and follows a platform's rules & guidelines. Of course, there is more to it than that, but that should give you a decent summary.

Originally posted by SubsidedLemon: First of all: thanks for keeping this community as clean as possible!

What I wantef to ask is:
What are the kind of game forums did/do you moderate. Do you prefer a specific genre/type of game?

Thank you! With the constant growth of the gaming industry and the rise of indie game developers and indie/micro publishers, I slowly migrated to working mainly within this industry. Previously, I have worked on streaming media platforms (e.g., streaming tv) and e-commerce sites. However, my first preference is with games as I enjoy them the most. I like mystery, sci-fi, simulation, puzzle, and survival games in no particular order. Some folks like music discovery; I love game discovery and am always trying out new games!