Two layers of rules
The Reddit Rules apply across the whole site and are enforced by Reddit's administrators. On top of them, every community sets its own rules, enforced by volunteer moderators. Something can be fine under the sitewide rules and still be removed by a community, and the reverse.
Reddit's transparency report says volunteer moderators perform the majority of community moderation actions without involvement from Reddit, Inc. Moderators are expected to follow Reddit's Moderator Code of Conduct.
Who enforces what
- Moderators: remove content, ban users from their community, and set community rules. A moderator ban applies only to that community.
- Administrators: enforce the Reddit Rules sitewide, remove content, suspend accounts, restrict or ban communities, and decide appeals of their own sanctions.
Rules change
In August 2024 Reddit added language to its harassment policy under Rule 1 to make clear that sexualising someone without their consent violates it. In June 2020 it revised its content policy and banned about 2,000 communities. Any advice built on an old version of the rules can be wrong, so we work from the current text.
Rules are not opinions
Reviewers apply a rule. They do not decide whether something is fair, only whether it breaks the rule. That is why "this is unfair" and "this is false" and "this is private" lead to very different outcomes.
The eight rules in practice
The Reddit Rules are short, and that is part of why people misread them. Each rule is a principle, and moderators and administrators apply it to the facts in front of them. The summaries below explain what each one is usually about and how it tends to be used. They are paraphrased, so read the official text for the exact wording.
Rule 1: Remember the human
Reddit does not allow harassment, bullying or threats of violence, and it does not allow attacks on marginalised or vulnerable groups. Harassment is usually described as abuse aimed at a person or a group, following them around the site, or encouraging others to do it. Disagreement is not harassment, and neither is a downvote. The test is conduct directed at someone, not how blunt or unwelcome an opinion is.
Rule 2: Abide by community rules
Users are expected to post authentic content and to follow each community's own rules. This rule also covers spam, vote manipulation, ban evasion and other forms of disruption. It is the reason a community ban can be taken seriously: a person who creates another account to get around a ban is breaking a sitewide rule, not only a community one.
Rule 3: Respect the privacy of others
Instigating harassment, for example by revealing someone's personal or confidential information, is not allowed. The rule also covers sharing intimate or sexually explicit media of a person without their consent, including AI-generated imagery of a real, identifiable person. In practice, it is the rule most often used against doxxing.
Rule 4: Protect minors
Sexual or suggestive content involving minors, and predatory behaviour towards them, is strictly prohibited. Reports about this should go to Reddit, and in serious cases to the authorities.
Rule 5: Be authentic
You do not have to use your real name on Reddit, but you must not deceptively impersonate a person or an organisation. Fake accounts posing as a business, a public figure or a private individual fall under this rule, as do coordinated efforts to mislead people about who is speaking.
Rules 6, 7 and 8
Content and communities must be labelled properly when it is graphic or adult (Rule 6). Content that is illegal, or that solicits or facilitates illegal transactions, is not allowed (Rule 7). And the site itself must not be interfered with or disrupted (Rule 8). These rules come up less often in reputation cases, but Rule 7 is sometimes relevant to fraud, scams and copyright.
How moderators and administrators differ
Community moderators are volunteers. They set a community's rules, review reports, and remove content that breaks those rules. Reddit's Moderator Code of Conduct sets what Reddit expects of them. They have wide discretion inside their own communities, which means two communities can treat the same post differently.
Administrators are Reddit employees. They act on the sitewide Reddit Rules and can remove content, suspend accounts, and ban communities. They are not involved in day-to-day decisions inside communities. Reddit's transparency reports show that moderators and administrators each remove a meaningful share of content: in the second half of 2024, 1.42% of content posted was removed by moderators and 1.24% by administrators.
That is why the first question on any case is which layer applies. A post that breaks only a community rule is for that community's moderators. A post that breaks a Reddit Rule can be reported to Reddit.
Why a rule-based report works better than a complaint
A reviewer has a job: decide whether content breaks a rule. A report that helps them do that is easier to act on than one that explains how unfair the post is. The best reports are brief, factual and organised around the rule.
- Say which rule applies, and use the rule's own language where you can.
- Quote the exact lines that break it, rather than summarising them.
- Show the pattern if there is one: dates, usernames and links make harassment visible.
- Keep the personal story short. The reviewer does not need to hear the whole history.
- Report each item separately. A single report covering twenty links is harder to act on than twenty clear ones.
The same principle runs through the statistics. Reddit received 16.07 million user reports in the second half of 2024 and administrators took action on 9.3% of them. Most reports concern content that is lawful or does not break a rule, which is one reason precision matters.
What the rules do not cover
It is just as useful to know what the rules do not do. They do not protect people or businesses from honest criticism, from unflattering opinions, or from accurate but embarrassing facts. They do not require Reddit to remove something because it is old, because you disagree with it, or because it affects your reputation.
A negative review written by a real customer is generally allowed to stay, even when it is harsh. A post that is civil, truthful and about your conduct is usually a matter for a public reply, not for a report. A fake review written by an account pretending to be a customer, or a post that publishes your private address, is a different matter, and both can fall under the rules.
How the rules are enforced
Reddit describes a range of responses, from a warning to removal of content, restrictions on accounts or communities, account suspension, and banning of communities. Which one applies depends on the violation and the history. Repeated or serious violations lead to stronger action.
Most of Reddit's enforcement is spam removal. In the second half of 2024, spam made up 63.2% of admin removals, with 36.1% for other Rules violations. A reputation complaint competes for attention with that volume, and a clear report is the best way to be noticed.
Common mistakes
Quoting a community rule to Reddit
Community rules are for that community's moderators. Reddit admins act on the sitewide Reddit Rules.
Reporting under the wrong rule
A post that shares your address belongs under the private-information rule, not the harassment rule alone. Pick the rule that fits best.
Expecting removal for a bad review
Honest negative reviews are generally allowed. The rules cover how something is said and what it exposes, not whether it is flattering.