I’ve been a mod for several different communities over the years, not just reddit-type forums but also IRC, discord, twitch etc. I’m now “retired” because I have too much going on irl and don’t have time, but anyway.
As someone who was a mod for literal decades: for me personally, it was always about love of whatever community or project I was volunteering at. Wanting it to be a safe, welcoming and pleasant environment for everyone, helping people when they had questions or problems, and so on.
To be brutally honest, yeah, it’s a thankless job. The average internet user really has no idea what mods deal with, especially if they’re working with larger/more popular communities. Over the years, I’ve dealt with a lot of harassment, stalking, death threats, even a smear campaign (well, there was an attempt, lmao). You’d be shocked how vicious people can become over the most trivial, unimportant shit — to give you an idea, someone once sent me a death threat because I told them to knock it off when they were spamming the same question on twitch chat. I’ve been doxxed for banning someone for posting content that was against the rules of a forum, and accused of being a shill for several different web sites. I was also told I was an “authoritarian” for enforcing rules such as “no self-promo” and “no affiliate links” etc., and I’ve been accused of “censorship” for banning Holocaust deniers and flat earthers.
That’s not to mention the really ugly shit. Someone photoshopped a picture of my dog to make it look like he was decapitated and sent it to me. I’ve been sent things I had to contact the authorities about, literally like, actually illegal, horrible stuff.
And the reason those things were sent to me was always something completely fucking unimportant, by any measure. Like just inane internet stuff. I’ve never been a moderator for any kind of “serious” community, never anything political or anything like that, just anime, video games, digital art, etc.
So why did I do it for so long, and plan to do it again when I have the time?
As someone who has struggled with loneliness due to an unfortunate combination of mental health issues such as depression, anxiety and agoraphobia, I know better than most how vital online spaces can be. I know how important it is to have a place where one can talk to likeminded folks who share the same hobby, passions, and so on. I probably wouldn’t be alive right now if I hadn’t had access to those spaces, and I want to do my part not only to give back as a show of gratitude, but also to make sure that others like me have a place where they feel welcome, safe and seen (in a good way).
Being a mod was how I met just about every person in my life that isn’t family. My best friends were on the same mod team as me; my husband was a member of a community I moderated, as were many of my oldest and dearest friends. I don’t know what my life would’ve been like without the internet.
So, that’s why.
TLDR: the good outweighs the bad.