Moderation playbooks · Checked October 12, 2026

Look after your moderators

Spotting burnout, sharing the load and limiting exposure to harmful content.

Open in Kipp’s docs

1. 1. Know the signs

   Moderators getting less active, making more mistakes, or turning impatient or bitter with members.

2. 2. It’s common, and it’s real

   A 2023 study of volunteer moderators found burnout from conflict between moderators, time pressure and daily exposure to toxic behaviour, with distress similar to crisis-line volunteers.

3. 3. Share the load

   Encourage breaks (“the server is not on fire”), rotate channel duties every couple of weeks, keep a staff channel for venting and thank people specifically.

4. 4. Limit exposure

   Show reviewers only what they need. Blurring or greyscaling images reduces strain.

5. 5. Let Kipp take the routine work

   Auto Mod, the Join Gate and auto-management handle the repetitive parts so people can focus on judgement calls.

   Kipp guide