How do you track growth metrics (subscribers, active users, post volume)?

Tracking a community's growth and health over time requires a combination of Reddit's native analytics tools and a discipline of regular documentation that gives moderators a historical baseline against which current numbers can be evaluated. Without historical records, it is impossible to determine whether a recent change in posting volume, subscriber growth, or engagement rate is significant or within normal variation. Reddit's Mod Stats dashboard, accessible through the Mod Tools panel, provides moderators with time-series data on several key metrics: total subscriber count, new subscribers per day, active users in the past 30 days, total number of posts submitted, number of posts approved versus removed, and the total number of comments. These metrics are available at daily granularity for up to a year, which allows moderators to observe seasonal patterns, identify the impact of specific rule changes, and measure the effect of community events on member activity. Exporting and logging this data regularly — monthly is a reasonable cadence for most communities — builds a historical record that the native interface does not preserve indefinitely. A simple spreadsheet recording the date, subscriber count, 30-day active users, monthly posts submitted, and approval rate provides enough data to identify trends that are not visible in the native dashboard's limited view window. Traffic data provides a complementary perspective. The subreddit's Traffic page shows pageview and unique viewer counts broken down by day, hour, and referral source. This data is particularly useful for identifying external traffic sources: when a subreddit's traffic spikes, the referral data reveals whether the growth is coming from Reddit's own recommendation algorithm, direct links from specific websites, or the result of a viral post being shared externally. Understanding the source of growth helps the mod team anticipate what new members expect from the community and prepare moderation resources accordingly.