(Meta) About the current state of /r/SpiceandWolf

I want to raise an argument against what I think is a wave of low-quality posts on this sub. While shitposting is fine by me and I don't like strict rules, there's been too many of them lately, and they lack effort and quality. Many of them aren't even related to Spice and Wolf at all, and now I've seen they escalate to harassing individual members of this community.

I believe this flood of low-quality posts is taking away the focus of this sub in general and we need to set and enforce a quality bar to keep the cohesion. Now, I don't want to be that guy who just points fingers, so here are some suggestions:

  • Since there's so many of them lately, why not create another subreddit for Spice and Wolf shitposts? That would allow users who are interested in this stuff to continue sharing and viewing this content, while keeping the focus of this sub on Spice and Wolf.
  • If that's not acceptable enough, create a flair that can be filtered to hide posts that some people might not want to see. I like the above better, since a flair has to be filtered.
  • Discuss with the community and set some rules to raise a quality bar and decide what is not good enough to be here.

About the rules, some problems I found are:

  • Problem: Some posts are too generic and don't have actual or low connection to Spice and Wolf. Solution: Create a rule stating that the content of the post, disregarding the title, must be directly connected to Spice and Wolf in some way. Don't allow generic jokes or content that can only vaguely be applied to Spice and Wolf. Example: Generic joke about animes not getting another season.
  • Problem: Some shitposts seem to have no effort put into them. Solution: Create another subreddit or flair for that type of content and enforce a rule against low-effort "meme formats" and general shitposting on this one.
  • Problem: The shitposts are frequent and comes from the same users. Solution: Warn the user and outright remove the posts if they are an attempt at spam. And yes, I'm aware some have been warned already.
  • Problem: Harassment against other community members and toxic behavior in general. Solution: Use your common sense and don't be a jerk. Other users should help report, and mods should remove the offending posts. You shouldn't be welcome here if your sole purpose is to generate intrigue. Remember, the focus of this sub is Spice and Wolf, not your blog nor for personal feuds and cheap provocation.
  • Problem: Posts containing spoilers marked as such, but not stating on the title which volume, chapter or episode the post spoils. Solution: This is a delicate issue since it's often a grey area and you're bound to run into spoilers sooner or later, but it's basically one of the only two rules here, and I think it should be enforced when necessary. Don't think the posts need to be removed, just ask the poster nicely first or edit it yourself if you're a mod and know where the spoiler comes from. In the end, this is a community effort.

After all, I just want to say that these things have been bothering me and, in my opinion, taking away the quality of the sub in general. I don't think I'm the only one, so I'd like us to come together as a community and discuss the matter.

Ps.: While I'm at it, just to avoid creating another meta... Must u/Holofan4life announcement about becoming a mod really be an announcement? I mean, I love the guy and it's well deserved, but it's been more than a month already and I don't think it's relevant enough to be pinned to the front page.

Posted Mar 17, 2018, 2:44 AM UTC · edited

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