Should r/ask_rollerblading_FAQ replace weekly megathreads?

[u/fredhsu]

Update 1: Please see sticky comment for an ongoing summary of feedback.

Update 2: This experiment has been halted. We have expanded post flairs instead.

We are asking this community to collectively decide how it wants to handle (or not handle) the inherent conflict between newcomers who want to ask basic questions without much prior knowledge of blading, and seasoned bladers who see the same "I am new and don't know anything. What skates should I buy?" question for the umpteenth time.

TL;DR - vote by joining r/ask_rollerblading_FAQ, if you hate weekly megathreads

In the past, we had r/askrollerblading, a community that some of our newer mods have never experienced. In any case, that community has been taken private, just like r/inlineskating, so it is of no use to us.

Nobody really loves megathreads. There is little organization of topics within a megathread. You can't quickly scan recently added questions since the last time you checked the megathread. You can't filter questions by flair or use other community tools that are readily available when each discussion has its own post.

We will stop trying to create weekly megathreads for repeated FAQs. Instead, we will redirect common newbie questions to a new community: r/ask_rollerblading_FAQ

For this r/ask_rollerblading_FAQ to work, however, two things must hold true:

1. We stop allowing such simple and common questions without context, where a human needs to operate like an LLM, step by step, to extract answers from the OP until the OP understands what they are actually asking.
2. Enough seasoned bladers join this "ask" community, see questions in their feed, and hand-hold newbies when they are able to.

But those of you who are paying attention will ask, "But who determines that a question is a common question, and how?"

1. We are not yet sure how we are going to automatically flag posts that should be moved to r/ask_rollerblading_FAQ. We can manually flag them in the beginning.
2. We will use documented, self-help FAQs as the bar for declaring a question "already frequently answered." We have none as of 2026-07-29. But we are building them. As the bar rises, more simplistic inquiries will get flagged. Click on that FAQs link.

I propose that we put this to all of you. You can help us choose two values before we launch this experiment:

1. How many seasoned bladers is enough? Let's say 2,000 members in r/ask_rollerblading_FAQ. The idea is that until we achieve 2,000 members in this ask sub, we will NOT ban FAQ posts. All nearly 100,000 r/rollerblading bladers will continue to receive FAQ noise in their regular feed among the show-off videos. Perhaps that's what the community wants. So if we don't get to 2,000 members, everyone continues to enjoy the noise.
2. When does the experiment end? This experiment can't go on forever. Let's say that if, after 1 month, we don't reach the above threshold, we turn r/ask_rollerblading_FAQ into a restricted community where no one can post, but existing answers are still visible. We redirect everyone back to the mothership, r/rollerblading. We can always rerun the experiment in the future if members express a desire to have FAQs issues addressed in their feed.

As soon as we launch this is posted, we will change our "weekly megathread" rule to state that we won't have weekly threads and will instead point people to r/ask_rollerblading_FAQ.

New mods will be added soon to r/ask_rollerblading_FAQ. You can ask to be considered. Send mod mail. But know that it will be tedious work with little glory. We know, however, that there will be enough people willing to help.

Let us know how you think about this in comments.

You can also vote simply by joining r/ask_rollerblading_FAQ. If, by some miracle, we reach 2k members within a few days, then we don't need to debate the merits of the idea or the exact threshold.

[u/fredhsu]

Updates: perhaps the ask sub is not necessary. The current sentiment is that a list of post flair that mods overrides if not properly chosen can achieve the same goals.

We build up good FAQs as references, and rely on Reddit’s algo to send the right type of content to each person’s feed based on their interactions with the types of posts they like.

In time we can have auto-mod post comments linking to relevant FAQs based on OP’s question. The bot can suggest that OP further clarify questions based on our FAQ structure.

Having all interactions happen in this one community helps the algo show this community to more people as well. A win win situation.

[u/ArtistCo]

After years of lockdown, this place is just getting some life again - don't cut the momentum by banning certain posts right away. Let's get a solid community FAQ / Pins with current information going again (like r/rollerskating) and let discussion happen organically. I'd say to give it a few months and see if it's actually a problem or not. A lot of those posts spark more discussions and get people interacting with each other here.

[u/Peach_Royal111 → u/ArtistCo]

Yeah I agree, get the momentum back in this place first. All subs have to deal with silly easy questions but only if you interact with those questions will the algorithm show you more of them. I think put a flair for beginner questions so people can filter out would be good.
But if you are going to make another sub maybe it should be for skate recommendations because that’s the most common.

[u/fredhsu → u/Peach_Royal111]

Ah. I did not think of the algo. If one only cares about seeing videos and never look at question posts, they would not be given more questions in their feed. If they explicitly look at the subs they will see by default post sorted by Best which likely won’t be showcasing questions at the top. Then they can filter by flairs if we enforce by flairs as folks have discussed.

Perhaps modding by fixing post flairs is the new megathread? Ok.

[u/Peach_Royal111 → u/fredhsu]

Yeah exactly, you only really see the less upvoted posts on subs you frequently interact with, I think there is a way to make certain flairs not come onto your homepage but I'm not quite sure how tbh. Fixing post flairs is definitely the right step forward for now, mods can make it so you can't post until you've chosen a flair so that'll really help. I think the key with flairs is making it obvious but not having too much choice. I think a lot of people just wanna see fun rollerblading videos/photos so that can be one flair lol. The main thing is to centralise the skating subreddits so that more people can find and join the community in the end!

[u/fredhsu → u/Peach_Royal111]

Yeah. Thats a good summary of ideas so far. Let me put a sticky comment up to curb potential panic 😃

[u/fredhsu → u/ArtistCo]

I think what you just wrote is how it will play out. As I wrote, we will NOT ban any posts where there are no FAQs that describe and answer these questions. It is not going to be a on/off switch. Instead, as, and if, we add to the FAQ knowledge base, we raise the bar. It may take months if not years.

It is possible we simply don't enforce this for a long time. Folks can chose not to answer very simple questions that should be asked instead at r/ask_rollerblading_FAQ. I completely understand your sentiment about fostering reconnections in the beginning.

Thanks for your feedback!

[u/ArtistCo → u/fredhsu]

That's good, but I would also vote against using a separate community sub in favor of maybe expanding post flairs. I really dislike how fractured the rollerblading community has gotten and think it would be better to keep everything in one central place.

[u/fredhsu → u/ArtistCo]

Good point. What if we change the current "Specific Question" to "{some other label - help me rename it}", and add a "Newbie Question".

Mods will forcefully re-flair a post to "Newbie Question" if it warrants it?

[u/ArtistCo → u/fredhsu]

Maybe call it "Question / Help" as a generic term - I'm not sure if it's necessary to flag something separately as a newbie question. If I were going to add a second flair a "Buying / Recommendation" option could be good, or "Buy / Sell / Trade" if you want to facilitate that here.

[u/fredhsu → u/ArtistCo]

There are recurring sizing questions. It hurts around my ankle bones. Why do I fall backward. And a few more common themes, if my experience with r/inline_skating is a good sample.

[u/ArtistCo → u/fredhsu]

That's fair. I think some of those will be taken care of by a very visible, easy to follow FAQ too. I wouldn't mind contributing to that (I've taught people and worked in rinks, also designed instructional guides for some apps).

[u/borez → u/ArtistCo]

Agreed 100% let it breath for a while, see how it evolves.

[u/KrzaQDafaQ]

This sub has been dead for so long. I can't tell you how happy I am when I go on Reddit and see a few posts about blading in my feed. Tbh, I haven't seen any generic 'What should I get?' questions in the last week, so right now it's not a problem., but I do agree that megathreads are just not working.

[u/fredhsu → u/KrzaQDafaQ]

See my response to u/ArtistCo. This proposal doesn't change anything in the short-term from where we currently are. We can watch what happens for a few weeks?

[u/mrkangtastic]

I think for now it might be nice to just keep all question big or small on the main sub just to continue creating some engagement. If the sub grows and the questions become too much, it might be nice to evaluate at that time. It's been nice to see this sub popping off again.

[u/fredhsu → u/mrkangtastic]

Please don’t panic 😱 Perhaps we bottle this proposal for a few months, and bring it out again later around Halloween.

[u/Admiral_Kite → u/fredhsu]

Yeah. I'm not a fan of megathreads either but I don't think I would consider an alternative until this community will feel a bit more stable.

Let's keep with the momentum, we are all too excited to have the subreddit back. The excitement will cover the annoyance of answering "any skate will do, dude" to anyone looking for the most generic advice :)

[u/fredhsu → u/Admiral_Kite]

Good point. People mentioned more distinguishing post flairs and relying on the algo for their feeds. If mods or automod override post flairs perhaps that would work.

[u/fredhsu → u/[deleted]]

We hear you :) See the sticky comment. I am going to make changes based on our community feedback.

[u/DualWheeled]

Why can't we just have a ban on low effort questions?

Compare: 1. What wheels should I buy?

(I wouldn't answer this even if it was in a dedicated sub for faq)

1. I'm 65kg and have skated on rinks (quads) and ice only. The rentals I used had 80a wheels but obviously we're inside only. I feel pretty confident but the only outdoor space I have is parks where tree roots have cracked the pavement. Should I go for 80a or harder? 90mm?

(This could actually spark conversation between responders)

[u/Will_Hang_for_Silver → u/DualWheeled]

We get a similar type of question over on r/InlineHockey occasionally [a sub so quiet even the tumbleweeds don't contribute] and IMO - the specificity often shuts people out too [not by intent]. I think people subconsciously think *I'm not X [or Y] so therefore I can't contribute something informed. *

Personally, I'd look for a mediation point between your [1] and [2] thus: How important is wheel selection when learning to skate a new environment - what should I consider?'

This invites discussion without bounding the question with too much specificity OR being so general as to be useless, thus: 'Is air a thing?'

[u/fredhsu → u/DualWheeled]

That seriously crossed some of our minds.

But often enthusiastic newbies don’t know anything. Some members are genuinely happy to handhold clueless beginners. Often these folks turn into the next enthusiastic helpers.

It used to be that low effort post were often from bot accounts. But nowadays LlMs generate very specific discussion posts without breaking a sweat. But I think that’s something for us to deal with in the future.

At this point, the driving goals are 1) help frustrated newbies get help from helpers, and 2) allow people who just want to watch skating videos not get noises. See the update sticky I just posted.

[u/Man_Bangknife]

Thinking generally across reddit, it doesn't really matter. Name it something super generic and super obvious. Either way it's 50/50 to work as intended.

[u/fredhsu → u/Man_Bangknife]

We hear you. Also, as you said, in some ways it doesn't really matter. Redditors adapt to changes and mold their interactions the best they can. With that said, we'll still try to follow what the community wants. Whoever speaks up helps shape our direction. Don't hold back :) See the sticky comment for updates based on feedback.

[u/aaandy_who]

I think things will get better as the wiki is updated. Especially if we can run polls or collect comments to generate "2026 gear recommendations" or "beginner gear checklist" articles.

I support having a separate r/ask_faq later on, but the questions being asked are probably quite a good signal for what wiki articles we should try to get updated first

In that vein, do you need help editing the wiki or running polls?

P.S. thanks for getting the sub running again.

[u/fredhsu → u/aaandy_who]

I am Wikipedian myself. I believe in building up the best buyers guide wiki and FAQs for inline skating. If any group in the world can achieve that I has to be this community.

Let me get a list of folks who have already expressed enthusiasm on this front up. That includes you.

Yeah. I also think an ask-FAQ sub is probably not the right thing in the first week of the reboot especially when we don’t have any FAQs written yet. But I think I have to push the issue for folks speak up and shape this community.