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Writing subreddit rules that people can follow

Moderator guide · Updated Nov 6, 2026 · about 3 minutes to read

Create clear rule names, descriptions, and report reasons — and know what auto-enforcement can and cannot do.

SubMouse Editorial guide — independent and not affiliated with Reddit. Steps cite public Reddit Help pages; menu labels can change.

Scope

This guide is for moderators authoring community rules. If you are about to submit a post, How to choose which subreddit to post in has a reader-side checklist. Reddit moderators explained covers what mods can and cannot do in general.

Updating rules typically requires the settings/config-style permission described in Reddit’s moderator permissions Help — coordinate with a full-permissions mod if you cannot open the Rules tool.

Create a rule

Per Rules Help (updated 2026-11-05): open Rules in mod tools → Create Rule / New Rule.

Fill in:

  • Rule name — short label members will recognize.
  • Description — what the rule means in practice.
  • Report reason — what reporters see when flagging.
  • Applies to — posts only; comments and chat; or posts, comments and chat (wording varies slightly by surface).

Reorder with drag handles so sidebar order matches enforcement priority. Edit with the pencil control; delete with the delete control (Help’s desktop wording).

Write rules people can apply

Help’s own tips for enforceable wording (especially where auto enforcement exists) translate well for human mods too:

  • Be detailed — community-specific context beats vague “be relevant”.
  • Be specific — “no low quality” needs examples (blurry photos, one-word titles, etc.).
  • Focus on content attributes mods (or tools) can observe — not account age/karma history unless you enforce that elsewhere.

Hypothetical contrast (not a Reddit quote): “Keep posts relevant” is hard to teach. “Tech support questions belong in the weekly megathread — standalone help posts are removed” gives members and reporters a shared test.

Rules hub auto-enforcement (where available)

Help describes Rules hub for many new public/restricted communities and beta participants: optional LLM-assisted auto enforcement with actions such as Report (queue), Remove for review, Remove, or Only show guidance. Not every rule type is eligible; a greyed option does not mean the rule is invalid.

Documented limitations include weak performance on sarcasm/culture, user-attribute rules, complex conditionals, comment enforcement (still expanding), video posts, and reading external pages behind links. You can run Rules hub beside Automod; Help says you do not need to dismantle Automod.

Use Insights and human overrides. Do not publish a public promise that automation “always” catches a behavior Reddit’s own Help lists as a limitation.

Hypothetical rule set

Illustration for a hobby Q&A community (not a real subreddit’s rules):

  1. Search before posting — link the community’s search help; remove clear duplicates.
  2. Use the weekly help thread for troubleshooting — remove standalone “how do I fix X?” posts.
  3. No marketplace posts — buyers/sellers redirected to a trading community.
  4. Be civil — remove harassment; report sitewide violations upward when needed.

Each line would get a matching report reason so members and the mod queue speak the same language.

Checklist

  • Every rule has a name, description, and report reason that match.
  • Scope (posts vs comments/chat) matches how the community actually breaks the rule.
  • Order puts high-severity and high-frequency rules first.
  • Auto-enforce (if present) uses a cautious default and is monitored — or is off.
  • Removal reasons in the queue cite these rule names (see mod queue guide).

Related on SubMouse

  • Working the queue after rules exist → guide Mod queue workflow.
  • What mods can/cannot do → article Reddit moderators explained.
  • Poster checklist before submitting → article How to choose which subreddit to post in.
  • Comparing two communities’ public focus (not their private rule text) → compare tool pages.

Sources

Reddit Help Rules article (updated 2026-11-05) including Rules hub tips/limits; permissions context from User Management Help (2026-04-02). SubMouse is not an official Reddit property.

More on SubMouse

Reddit Help sources