Discord moderation: how to moderate your server well

Start with clear rules

Good moderation starts before the first sanction: short, visible rules that apply to everyone. Post them in a dedicated channel. On a Community server, Discord can also ask new members to accept them before they can chat.

• No insults, harassment or hate speech.
• No spam, advertising or unsolicited links.
• No NSFW content outside the channels meant for it.
• The possible sanctions, and who decides them.

Build a moderation team

An active server needs moderators available when its members are around. A small trusted team is better than a long list of absent moderators.

• Create a moderator role with only the permissions it needs: manage messages, time out, kick.
• Keep the Administrator permission for very few people.
• Require two-factor authentication for moderation actions.
• Give the team a private channel to discuss difficult cases.
• Agree on one sanction scale.

A progressive sanction scale

Sanction step by step, and always explain the reason to the member: a sanction that is understood is repeated less.

• Warning: for a first, minor mistake, often enough.
• Timeout: the member can’t chat or speak for a chosen time, up to 28 days.
• Kick: the member leaves the server, but can come back with an invite.
• Ban: the member can no longer come back to the server.

Automate what can be automated

Discord’s AutoMod filters keywords, mass mentions and messages that look like spam. It’s a good base, but it reads text without understanding the context of an insult, and it doesn’t read what’s inside an image.

Keep a record of every action

Discord’s audit log lists what the team does, but it doesn’t keep the content of deleted messages. A logs channel, kept for staff, tells you what happened and why a member was sanctioned.

Protect the server, not just moderate it

Moderation handles how your members behave. But some threats need dedicated protections, because they move faster than any moderator.

• Against raids: a suitable verification level, a captcha and an automatic raid mode.
• Against hacked accounts: limited permissions and an anti-nuke.
• Against scams: a filter that reads images, not just text.

Frequently asked questions