Behavior Change in Response to Subreddit Bans and External Events

TL;DR

This study examines how subreddit bans and external events influence user behavior, revealing that bans lead to slight user attrition and external events have varied effects, informing moderation strategies.

Contribution

It provides empirical analysis of the impact of subreddit bans and external events on user activity, highlighting their differential effects on online communities.

Findings

Most subreddit bans cause a small but significant user exit.

External events have varying impacts depending on their nature.

Bans and external events influence user engagement differently.

Abstract

As more people flock to social media to connect with others and form virtual communities, it is important to research how members of these groups interact to understand human behavior on the Web. In response to an increase in hate speech, harassment and other antisocial behaviors, many social media companies have implemented different content and user moderation policies. On Reddit, for example, communities, i.e, subreddits, are occasionally banned for violating these policies. We study the effect of these regulatory actions as well as when a community experiences a significant external event like a political election or a market crash. Overall, we find that most subreddit bans prompt a small, but statistically significant, number of active users to leave the platform; the effect of external events varies with the type of event. We conclude with a discussion on the effectiveness of the bans and wider implications for the online content moderation.