Hyprland’s moderation and the state of the community has been a touchy subject for a while. Today, I would like to address this comprehensively. While I believe the community has improved significantly, I also acknowledge that it is not yet perfect. This post covers previously raised pain points alongside my personal comments, our response, and the future direction of the Hyprland community.

This will be a somewhat unusual post, as it is both a heart-to-heart message aimed at improving the community and a status report. Let me begin by highlighting the steps we’ve taken so far, along with our efforts to improve moderation. You may or may not agree with these actions, but please understand that they were taken in good faith, with the genuine intention of bettering the community.

Previous Attempts

Some time ago, I requested that Vaxry appoint me as the “Community Manager” to help share the burden of feedback and criticism that Vaxry personally receives. My goal was to address issues from a different perspective and bring more balance to the moderation process. This has certainly been… an experience for me, but unfortunately, it has not been as effective as I initially hoped.

Although we came a very long way, my attempts to communicate on or resolve existing issues have failed time and time again, which is why I think the general narrative around the Hyprland community is wildly inaccurate: the feedback comes in the form of rants, and never a constructive, two sided process of communication.

From the perspective of someone who actively engages with the community, I must say I do not see any instances of problems present in most common comments found online, especially the accusation that Hyprland community hosts nazis and transphobes. Let me go on to say that this is wildly incorrect as for the longest time those who spread hateful ideology, such as, but not limited to the previously mentioned groups, have been dealt with swiftly. Those groups of people are NOT tolerated, and they will NEVER be tolerated. Let me make that very clear.

Moving on to more visible issues, a frequently raised concern is the lack of communication from the moderation team. This is true. Although we have a relatively large moderation team, only a few members are consistently active, while the rest are barely engaged. As a result, I often find myself the primary recipient of complaints, and I acknowledge that I have not been able to handle them all effectively. In some cases, I have been insufferable and unresponsive. For that, I apologize, and promise to be more approachable in future communications regarding moderation.

Similarly, I can only apologize for my inability to resolve all the issues within the Hyprland community. That is why I am asking you -whoever you may be- to talk to me. If you feel harassed or attacked as part of the community, please reach out. You can use the mod-mail feature we implemented some time ago, or contact me directly via Matrix or email. I am open to discussing any and all concerns you might have about the community.

For those wanting to address Vaxry’s behavior, that is not my place, nor is it the purpose of this post. Vaxry is his own person, and I will not comment on his actions. However, Vaxry has asked me to tell you that you can contact him directly if you have concerns. He is open to civil discussions.

Next Steps

As we look toward improving moderation, I invite all of you to reach out with any concerns. You can contact me via email or, preferably, on Matrix at @raf:notashelf.dev. In the coming days, we will be hosting a form to collect your anonymous comments and critiques on moderation. If you’re part of the Discord community, I encourage you to participate in the voting process.

Additionally, I will be working on reworking the moderation team and improving our communication methods. If you have any suggestions, please don’t hesitate to let me know through the channels mentioned above.

Best, raf