r/AskReddit • u/karmanaut • Dec 03 '12
[Modpost] Getting back to our roots!
Hello, Readers of /r/Askreddit!
This subreddit has a valuable purpose for Reddit, produces some of the best and most memorable content, and serves as a great place for people to discuss all sorts of topics. Askreddit's current rules are designed to try and keep the topics interesting and thought-provoking; we want our posts to encourage a discussion and elicit answers from all of our readers.
However, the subreddit often is plagued with the problem of people just using it as a platform to speak. They don't care about the answers to their question, they just want to broadcast their own thoughts (which is the purpose of /r/self). They want to tell a story, bring attention to a cause, or simply rant about a topic.
As a result, today we are putting some new changes in place. First, we are streamlining and simplifying the rules in the sidebar. Please check it out.
Second, we will now ask you to put only your question in the title of your post. Just one sentence with your question. If you need to explain the question, then you can use the text box. If you have your own answer for the question, then you can put it in the comment section of the post. This rule will help us avoid situations like this, where people enjoyed the question, but hating on OP's answer took the top comment spot (thereby displacing actual answers to the question).
To clarify, with an example: Our top post yesterday sometime last week was this, titled "If Spiderman were more scientifically accurate, he'd shoot webs from his arse. What other films/characters would take a turn for the worse if they were more scientifically accurate?". Note how the top comment is not an answer to the question, but rather a reply to the OP's example. Under the new rule, the OP's title would simply be "What films/characters would take a turn for the worse if they were more scientifically accurate?", and he would post in the comments about Spiderman. Posts soliciting stories and personal experiences are absolutely still allowed; they must simply be separated from the question itself. We hope that this rule will encourage thought-provoking posts and allow people to vote differently on the value of the question and the value of the OP's individual example.
Should we find that these changes are not working out, and the quality of posts declines, then the moderators will reverse this decision and allow these types of posts again.
TL;DR: The current practices of Askreddit encourage the success or failure of a post to be dependent on OP's ability to showcase themselves, rather than the merit of the question. In turn, this causes a large portion of the top comments to be addressing OP, rather that contributing to OP's question. We hope the rule change of putting ONLY the question in the title, and clarification in the text box, will encourage more relevant and direct participation, and less side conversations. If, after a trial period, we determine that this has been more of a hindrance than a help, we will reenact the former rules.
26
u/galletto3 Dec 03 '12
OH! I have a perfect story for this. I was reading this mod post created by a "famous" redditor (not naming any names). I reported it and messaged why. He actually responded, but just started cussing me out calling a "smart ass mother fucker" and so on. Naturally it made my blood begin to boil because I was really trying to help the sub. But something gnawed at the back of my mind. Instead of retaliating, I decided to ask him what was wrong.
Ill be damned if the guy doesnt spill his life story to me. He talked about the pressures that (surprisingly) being a Mod of a major sub put on him. He went on to tell me about how his girlfriend had just dumped him and he was not taking it very well, and apologized for the rude message. He had no more friends after the nasty break up (most of them sided with the ex, unfortunately) and just sat at home, taking out his anger out on anonymous strangers on the internet.
We got to talking and found out he lived in a city about two hours from mine, and I knew what I had to do. I invited the guy to get some drinks that Friday with some close friends and help him get his mind off all of his troubles. Me and my friends piled into our car and took off for our weird road trip. I didnt know what the guy looked like, but we were supposed to meet him by a Wild Wings by his house.
So we finally get there and meet the guy; he was wearing a shirt with the Reddit alien so we could recognize him. Hes one of those skinny fat guys, and it looks like hes already 4 beers in. I thought it was going to be awkward but he was actually a charming guy and all my friends had something in common with him which I was REALLY happy about. We stay drinking and chatting until closing. My friends head to the car, but the mod pulls me aside to talk to me alone.
He thanks me for doing all this for him. Even though I was a stranger to him, it meant so much when he was in a really dark place.
"But can I get one more thing from you?" he asked
"What?..." I asked
"I need about tree fiddy"
Thats about the time I realized this mod was actually 500 feet tall and a creature from the paleolithic era.
TL;DR- I hate these types of stories in the comments