Web3 in a Nutshell #01: Shillers, Yappers, Moderators

This is Episode 01 of Web3 in a Nutshell—short, practical breakdowns for founders, PMs, and community leads. Today: the three characters that decide whether your community feels alive or unbearable.

Scene: a pre-mint Discord

It is 48 hours to mint. One channel is a waterfall of moon emojis (shillers). Another is debating tax law (yappers). A moderator is closing tickets at 1 a.m. Which of these three actually moves the needle—and how do you keep the chaos productive?

1) The Shillers — hype engines

They post threads, spin narratives, and jump on spaces. Done right, they accelerate discovery. Done wrong, they overpromise and set you up for churn.

• Give them disclosure rules: #ad/#sponsored in tweets; no fabricated numbers.
• Hand them trackable links: UTM links or ref codes so you see who actually converts.
• Bound the claims: A two-line “what we are / what we are not” script.
• Reward on outcomes, not volume: conversions, activated wallets, retained users.

2) The Yappers — ambient energy

They talk all day, ask half-formed questions, and derail threads. They are also free market research if you funnel them well.

• Create “daily prompt” rituals: one pinned question; synthesize answers weekly.
• AMA cadence: 30 minutes weekly with prepared FAQs. Record and timestamp.
• Feedback lanes: dedicated #bugs and #ideas with forms; close the loop visibly.
• Noise guardrails: slowmode during launches; emoji-only cooldowns for raids.

3) Moderators — guardrails and tone

Mods decide whether newcomers feel safe. They are the first responders and the last line before chaos.

• Escalation map: what gets muted, what gets ticketed, what pings founders.
• Response SLAs: e.g., 10 minutes for wallet help during mint windows.
• Tone guide: concise, patient, never sarcastic. One-line macros for common issues.
• Wellness: staggered shifts; backup mod for long events; rotate to avoid burnout.

A simple flywheel

Shillers bring newcomers → Yappers surface objections → Mods resolve and document → You ship fixes/content → Shillers get a better story. Close this loop weekly.

Metrics that matter

• Activation: new joiners who connect a wallet or complete first action within 24h.
• Retention: 7/30-day returning users, not just DAU spikes. (DAU = daily active users)
• Support health: median ticket time, CSAT after mod interactions. (CSAT = customer satisfaction score)
• Referral quality: shiller-specific conversion vs. churn.

Red flags & fixes

• Astroturfed hype: require screenshots or proofs for big claims; prune fake volume quickly.
• Overbearing mods: if deletes exceed welcomes, retrain tone; post public mod reports.
• Raid fatigue: use slowmode + staged announcements; recap in one pinned post.
• Yapper fatigue: harvest questions into a living FAQ; reward good reports.

If you only do three things

1. Ship a one-pager for shillers: claims, links, disclosures, and what “success” means.
2. Give mods macros, SLAs, and an escalation tree. Publish it internally. (SLA = service level agreement)
3. Collect yappers’ noise into weekly insights and show you acted on at least one.