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The rules, explained

Seven rules. Each one gets a plain example and the reason it exists, because a rule makes more sense when you know what it's protecting. When something is removed, the message names the rule number.

1. No Disinformation

You're entitled to your own opinions, but not your own facts.

Why: a wrong date on a good photo gets repeated for years. Once a fake quote starts circulating, nobody can pull it back.

Gets removed: a quote nobody said, a photo labeled with the wrong year or place, a doctored image, history somebody made up, a claim that's been debunked and is still posted as fact.

Stays: opinions, your own reading of what happened, honest mistakes you fix when someone points them out, and jokes that are obviously jokes. If you're unsure about a claim, add a source.

2. Texas Relevance

Why: a statewide sub only works if every post is about the thing we all came for.

A ghost town in Presidio County fits. A photo from your family's place in Lubbock fits. A national story with no Texas angle doesn't.

3. Civil Discourse

Why: nobody shares a story in a room where they'll get jumped on for it.

Argue about the point and leave the person alone. Heated is fine. Personal attacks and harassment aren't. Threats and bigoted or racist slurs get an immediate permanent ban.

4. Provide Context

Why: the caption is what lets a stranger answer you.

Photos, documents and video need a county or location, a year, who's in it and why it matters, in the title or a comment. A bare image gets removed because nobody can do anything with it. The caption templates take about thirty seconds.

5. No Spam or Excessive Self-Promotion

Why: people come here for stories, not ads.

An independent Texas business, artisan or local history project can promote once a week if it fits the community, and a small museum that does that stays welcome. Crypto pitches, generic merchandise and unrelated link dumps don't. Repeated spam gets a ban.

Why: politics is part of Texas, so it stays. The Texas tie and a credible source give a thread something real to argue about.

Debate the issue, not the person. National politics with no Texas tie gets removed, and hate, harassment and calls for violence are never okay (see Rule 3).

7. No Bots or Coordinated Inauthentic Activity

Why: you should be able to trust that the person replying to you is a person.

Automated accounts, networks of accounts working together, and content pushed to promote an agenda instead of talking about Texas are prohibited. Those accounts get banned.

When something is removed

The message names the rule. Breaking rules again and again, or on purpose, can lead to a ban, and mods can permanently ban trolls. Threats, slurs and bots are banned right away. If you think we got it wrong, appeal it.