Yesterday I was talking to a friend of mine, a psychologist who's working on his doctorate on social media behavior and relationships. Since I'm involved with Discord on a daily basis, I asked him a question that's been bothering me for a while: What motivates people to take on moderating 8, 10, or sometimes even 15 servers at once? At one point, I moderated three servers simultaneously, and I know how much effort and personal time it takes. So much so that I eventually had to give up one of them. His answer was so interesting that I decided to share it with you.

From a purely logical and physical perspective, proper moderation of so many communities simultaneously by one person is simply impossible. There are only 24 hours in a day.

So how does it work in practice?

If we first look behind the technical scenes, this "super-moderation" is usually a fiction. Very often, such people become so-called ghost moderators. Their nicknames proudly glow in colorful hues on the user list, but all the dirty work is done for them by advanced bots and junior, role-hungry helpers.

On smaller servers, the work of these "collectors" is limited to checking in once every two days, while on giant servers, they only step in when the entire chat is on fire.

Web3, crypto, or commercial influencer projects are also often involved, where people simply accumulate "jobs" to rake in profits or free benefits, drastically reducing the quality of their work.

They're everywhere, which means they're actually nowhere.

But instead of criticizing them for their logistical sham, my friend drew my attention to a much deeper aspect – what's lurking in the subconscious of such a person. What compels them to take on more and more servers until their profile starts bursting at the seams?

If we strip away the technological layer and look at it purely psychologically, very profound processes are taking place in the subconscious of such a person. What appears from the outside as "resourcefulness" or "passion" is often a defense mechanism underneath.

In psychology, this behavior—a subconscious compulsion to be everywhere and take on new roles—is explained by several key phenomena:

1. A desperate need for validation (confirmation of one's worth)

Deep down, such a person may struggle with low self-esteem in the real world. Their subconscious suggests the simplest solution: "If in 10 different places people need me, welcome me in chat, ask my opinion, and thank me for my help, then it means I'm valuable and important." Each successive moderator rank is a powerful, immediate hit of dopamine (the reward hormone) for the brain. It acts like an addiction—one server is no longer enough; more attention is needed from subsequent locations.

2. Fear of emptiness and escapism (escape from reality)

Being overwhelmed by responsibilities is a classic psychological escape from oneself. When a person is left alone with their thoughts, difficult emotions can arise: anxiety about the future, loneliness, family or professional problems. If such a person fills every minute of their life with notifications from 10 servers, their brain is in a state of constant alert and focused on other people's problems. The subconscious message is: "I'm too busy saving the servers to focus on fixing my own life."

3. Compensating for a lack of control

If someone feels powerless in their private life (e.g., they have a toxic home environment, a demanding boss they can't change, or health problems), their subconscious seeks an area where they can regain full control. On the servers, they set the rules, decide who can speak and who is banned. This digital power and sense of agency compensate for the feeling of helplessness they feel in the real world.

4. The Illusion of Deep Belonging and the Fear of Rejection

Humans are herd creatures who subconsciously fear being left out. A person moderating 10 servers often confuses the quantity of interactions with their quality. They think that the more communities they "embrace," the stronger their support network and the less likely they are to be alone. The paradox is that while they're everywhere, they're never truly anywhere, which means their relationships remain superficial, and their sense of loneliness subconsciously grows, fueling the need to find another server.

Subconsciously, such a person often harbors a hunger for attention, a fear of silence, and a powerful need to feel important, which the virtual world allows them to satisfy much faster and more easily than the real one. In a world that has so heavily shifted to screens, it's sometimes easier to collect ten digital badges than to face reality.

What do you think of such rank collectors? Do you encounter them on your servers, or have you ever fallen into the "being everywhere" loop yourself?

The comments section is yours ✍