Table 2.

The table shows the number of coding instances and example quotes on WebMD users’ discussions around moderators’ departure.

Coding instances (frequency of code application) and example quotes
Code name	Example quotes
Figuring out that moderators are gone
Receiving the news	I emailed about the absence of the moderators as well... I know many have been missing them and wondering where they went. This is the answer I got: WebMD has decided to shift the focus of the communities from being WebMD-managed to now being more member-managed, allowing members to shape their conversations and their communities in the direction that suits their needs. We have seen this as a growing trend among other social networking sites or message boards and feel it will better facilitate interaction among our members. Even with this change, we will continue to invite experts to keep answering member questions as they have been in the past. Along with this, we have also recently made some significant updates to our Answers tool (answers.webmd.com) and we hope you will make use of this resource as well. [Diabetes] I think it is a shame that WebMD did not communicate better with the members here [Fibromyalgia]
Attempting to understand reasons for why moderators left	I guess WebMD went through a change and decided that these people were no longer needed...I think though this is how companies do things like this these days. The less we know the better it goes is what they think, maybe. [Fibromyalgia]
Discussing solutions to moderators’ departure	We need to stay strong for each other and the new ones that come here for our help. [Breast Cancer] ... As far as I know there aren’t any live moderators on but if there is a problem with a post, such as spam, etc, we all use the “Report This” link to bring it to one of the offline mods’ attention. [Depression]
Patient members’ experience with moderators
Moderators were not useful: Peer support is more important	WebMD’s policy has always been to simply delete any thread that anyone ever complains about, which is ridiculous... I really can’t think of more than a handful of times over the years I’ve posted here that I saw a post including clearly inappropriate slang language. This is the one area in which the reduced moderator presence these boards is a feature, not a bug, IMHO. [Sex and Relationships] I have always maintained that the successful treatment of diabetes is 90% patient and only 10% doctor or caregiver [...] a lot of the ivory tower advice being given by those not affected by the disease may or may not apply to a particular patient. [Diabetes]
Moderators provided pragmatic help	Remember the good-ole-days when our Mods would assist and watch over us and delete such nonsense? [Breast Cancer] Some of you may recall I left the WebMD communities for several months earlier this year. I decided to come back and try again. Sadly, I can no longer continue supporting any organization or website that condones rude posts filled with vulgar language and free unethical advertising. While this does not happen often in the Back Pain Community, it is happening in other communities that I visit. Posts are reported but are not deleted in a timely fashion as they were when there were moderators in each forum. The attacks are getting more serious and are staying around for days before being deleted. I have decided to contact WebMD and have this account deleted. I can still read, but will no longer participate. I pray you all find effective ways to manage your back pain issues. Click on my username or avatar picture to read my story. Blessings - [Poster name anonymized] [Back pain] Why is no one removing the spam that is saturating this board????? [Bipolar Disorder]
Established personal tie with moderators	I just liked having her here and getting to know her and see her little ones pictures on here I will miss them also [Breast Cancer] Miss them all [Bipolar disorder]