Saying Farewell in Retirement to Susie South Porter, A Chat Room Moderator Pioneer
Some may have heard already, but the incredible Susie South Porter is retiring from her role at ModSquad. She leaves a legacy of experience, creativity, and warmth. Susie was one of our original Mods, but her story as a moderation pioneer began long before ModSquad’s genesis in a virtual sports bar.
Susie started her online career way back in 1994 as a systems operator in a chat room for CNN’s groundbreaking television program TalkBackLive. CNN had partnered with CompuServe to provide an online forum on the show’s hot button topics, like the sensational O.J. Simpson murder trial, and Susie was the chat room’s lead administrator and moderator. In addition to showcasing viewer comments, Susie and her team would host online chats with prominent newsmakers of the day. This impressive list of Who’s Who included U.S. Presidents Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush, presidential candidates Bob Dole, Al Gore, and John McCain, lots of Hollywood movers and shakers, best-selling authors, and even some astronauts who were still up in outer space (pre-Starlink!). With such a diverse range of passionate opinions on display in this early forum, Susie helped design the template of a contemporary Mod: lowering the tone of the room, making friendly jokes with someone who is about to explode, patiently explaining and enforcing the rules, and shifting moods in a way that didn’t reveal her own biases.
Her love for working in the digital world led her to Second Life, and a friendship that would reshape her career. At the iconic Thirsty Tiger, the online bar where it all started, Susie would unwind with our founder and other moderator co-workers.
Now introduced to the Metaverse, the group quickly realized the need for content moderation and community engagement was just as great (if not more so) in 3D spaces like virtual worlds and MMOs. A literal call to action took place, when ModSquad founder Amy reached out to discuss her idea of forming a company around this concept. And so began Susie’s role at ModSquad. Along the way, she excelled as Chief Moderator, managing a variety of high-profile projects with safe and engaging online environments for users.
Susie’s creativity, and more importantly her heart, shone through in her work. She helped bring iconic characters to life, created word filters, and began programs like Mod of the Month to celebrate the best Mods. She later made significant strides in People Ops, where her enthusiasm and commitment to the team can’t be understated.
Throughout her career, Susie has been known for her cheerleading spirit, her kindness, and her ability to inspire those around her. Despite being compared to Lorelai Gilmore from Gilmore Girls, she remains uniquely her own person, bringing a genuine touch to everything she does.
Outside of work, Susie is the same force for community and togetherness. Her family boasts four children, 13 biological grandchildren, four step-grandchildren, and her new husband. Every member of this impressive family is loved deeply, and Susie describes them as great human beings. With the future ahead of her, she describes wanting to be a full-time grandmother. She already has big plans for riding away to see friends, family, and the Nebraska Cornhuskers on her husband’s Harley-Davidson three-wheeler.
Throughout her career, Susie’s dedication to kindness has brightened the lives of those around her. We love to talk about how ModSquad doesn’t feel at all like an online space, and that sense of community here has been cultivated in part thanks to Susie’s contributions. She will be dearly missed, but we all wish her a long and happy retirement. May it be filled with the same joy she brought to all that knew her here.
Before we close, some of her closest friends and associates have their own goodbyes to give.
I met Susie 17 years ago when both MSQ and I were just babies. Over those 17 years, she watched me and my family grow up. (She's super old and I was -ahem- am super young) But for most of those 17 years, we just laughed. So much laughter over the years — laughter I wouldn't trade for anything. I've been so lucky to not only call her my colleague but my friend. In 2022, I was FINALLY able to meet her in person. There may have been some shenanigans (because that's what we do), but also the hug that I waited 15 years for. I will miss you here at work, W, but I will still find a way to get you to type an actual cuss word.
It's hard to believe my relationship with Susie goes back 17 yrs now! The first couple years were a wild ride! [Metaverse]ModSquad was just getting started, and I was learning what it meant to be an online moderator. Susie was essential in teaching me all the best practices for managing online communities. Her knowledge was vast. Not only was she moderating for the likes of CNN and the WB, she was, after all, one of the very first best internet trolls. Over the years we went from colleagues to friends, and quickly became family. What started as a gig wrangling Gossip Girls and keeping the Upper East Side PG, turned into virtual happy hours and the longest running group chat ever. I was lucky to meet Susie for lunch in 2016 and then attend her wedding (mostly upright) in 2022! That’s a story for another day. While our friendship won’t change, it’s important to acknowledge Susie is a huge part of what makes ModSquad what it is, and she is going to be missed! Especially during those meetings that are running just a bit too long!
My time here at MSQ (over a decade now) goes right back to those early days with Susie. I was a Mod under her on a few different projects, one specifically where escalations involved calling her in the middle of the night to alert her to the issue. I can recall having quite a few early a.m., half-asleep, but totally humorous conversations with her, that I would bet she didn't even remember the next day. Susie is such a foundational block of this company, and almost all of my early memories of MSQ, and probably a part of why I'm still here today, involves her influence first as one of my PMs and later as a colleague. I'll miss your sense of humor; not many people will chuckle at all my corny jokes but I could always count on you! I'll miss the warmth you bring to spaces you're part of. I can't imagine thinking of MSQ and not having you be an active part of it. But I am sending you all the best wishes and love for your next chapter and I hope it is so relaxing and full of all those grandbabies' hugs every day!
Susie is a radiant joy to work with, she always has a delightful sparkle in every conversation. I cherish the moments when she shares tales of her love life, family, and travels, each story filled with warmth and laughter. Her unwavering positivity, even in the midst of stressful days and hectic times, is a constant source of inspiration to me. Susie’s light shines brightly, lifting the spirits of everyone around her.
In 2004 I happened across a TV show called WB Superstar USA and it changed my life. I was a lawyer in Sacramento and was so intrigued by the premise of it that I went online to find out what other people thought. That was when I found my first message board ever. The WB.com. It was like the best dinner party you ever went to, with everybody having such interesting things to say. That was also where I experienced my first ever “ban” from the famous moderator, Susie South. I was a troll, but she was a secret troll too. Despite my several bans, Susie and I have now been friends for over 20 years. She threw an online baby shower for me where all my message board friends sent gifts and blew up the chat. That baby I just sent off to college. We talk every day. We have been through hell and high water. Births, deaths, excitement, despair. She is the wisest woman I know. I’m lucky that I won’t miss her in retirement, because she is truly one of my best friends. And a W.