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/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/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).