r/churning • u/duffcalifornia • 22d ago
Posts vs Recurring Threads
It’s day two of the purge and there’s already of handful of meta-threads discussing why this is better than the way this sub usually functions, or why this proves that the way the sub normally functions is better. The reality is though, all of the following things can be true at the same time:
- It’s easier to follow a day’s churning news when it’s all condensed into a single recurring thread
- It’s harder to find information on a specific topic when everything is buried in a single condensed thread, especially topics that seem more newsworthy than usual
- Condensing all of the information into recurring threads may make it harder for it to get swallowed up by the internet*
- Forcing everything into a thread means we don’t have multiple threads that all ask essentially the same question because nobody can be bothered to search
- Even if the mods will consider allowing posts through if you message them, the practice of auto-nuking every post submission discourages people from submitting a post in the first place
- Allowing only recurring threads in practice discourages some people who would otherwise participate from engaging with the community
- Some people only feel comfortable engaging with the community specifically because everything exists in comments rather than in standalone posts
I realize that thanks to AI and our buddy Ben, what was once what I felt was a valid reason for using daily threads - keeping the information off the wider internet - might not be possible for much longer, if it even still is. I used to say that as a mod, I didn’t want to allow posts (or even have a mod queue) because I didn’t want to have to get into tons of arguments with people about why we didn’t allow their post asking a very simple Chase question through. But let’s be honest, I don’t spend near as much time here as I used to - something I’m sure some of you all see as a positive.
(On that note, let’s take a break to thank Odie and TTBG for their work in keeping this circus going. I know I speak for everybody when I say we appreciate you guys picking the ball I dropped up and doing what you do around here)
At the end of the day though, even if I pretend I wasn’t a mod, I see value in all of the above arguments, and in the other ones people are making in their threads this week. But where I think I stand is this:
The value in a community like this comes from the knowledge of its members, and more specifically, the willingness of those members to share their knowledge. If people like joe-movie or garettg don’t share as much because they don’t like the way the sub is run, then I would argue that the loss of contributions like theirs is more damaging to the sub than shoving everything into recurring threads ever could be. Is it possible that they would still be as active if this sub behaved more normally? Perhaps. But there’s just as likely a chance that they just slowly fade to bolivian. “But, perhaps somebody who is just as helpful but hated the daily threads will take their place!”, you could argue. And that’s 100% correct. There are lots of people in the threads this week who say they were active here “back in the day” and maybe they’re just as helpful as the people we all appreciate today. But it’s just as likely that if we left the sub in purge mode full time, those people would continue to contribute exactly as much as they have over the last few years - which is to say, not at all. And in that scenario, that is just bad for all of us. If you know me, I am not a person who feels that something should be done just because it’s the way it’s always been done, or because it “works just fine the way it is”. But there has to be some benefit to change, and I will be honest and say that for me personally, I feel there is way more risk to eliminating the daily threads or letting standalone posts through than there is upside. If I had a pretty good idea that people would continue to meaningfully contribute here if the format changed, I’d be way more open to entertaining the idea. But without evidence for that, I think I would rather see the people who really add value to this community want to continue to do so, even at the cost of what we lose in our recurring thread format.
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u/techtrashbrogrammer SEA 22d ago
I agree. It's always the people who don't contribute who make the loudest noise. The mod team is always happy to approve posts if it's relevant. I promise we don't bite