this post was submitted on 17 May 2026
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Good question.
26 years ago I was a volunteer community manager for a (at the time) huge fps for a big online gaming community. That involved effectively recruiting and managing a group of admins, developing a system of monitoring and anticheat reporting. In hindsight I put way too much time into that but I have difficulty limiting.
It was tiring. 4/5 hours every night after work. No social life. All my choice.
I don't regret it. I did good, I think. With the team, we stopped a lot of really nasty racism and other abuse. Really helped inform and prevent aimbotting and similar cheating (went down a whole other rabbit hole and ended up writing several guides on the subject). Generally made the servers a nicer place to play. I was offered a job with the company, but I couldn't take it - and they've since closed doors.
Downsides: Death threats, doxxing attempts, a long running issue with another admin who didn't like me firing him. The charismatic cheaters who think they can charm their way around a ban with begging and promises. The entitled players who've never been told "No" before and get ridiculously angry. It can be a lot.
Now I try to help around the edges rather than be the main guy. I do manage a biggish facebook group, but it doesn't need a lot of input.
Yeah dude. The death threats and racism were a serious problem. I got assigned to a small volunteer battle.net mod team for a collection of StarCraft clan chatrooms back in the early 2000’s and… Jesus Christ, it was AWFUL. There was a time when every other message in the chats was a slur or a threat. That’s not an exaggeration. That used to be the norm.