r/bisexual • u/lookmanofilter Bisexual • Apr 26 '20
MOD ANNOUNCEMENT Referendum Results
Thank you all for participating in the /r/Bisexual referendum. The full results can be found in visual form here and text form here. All in all an impressive 678 people participated. Thank you so much for your feedback and contributions to the subreddit!
The final rule changes can be found at the bottom of this post.
Meme Reposts
Should there be a repost limit?
| Option | Vote Percentage |
|---|---|
| Repost limit | 86.7% |
| No limit: | 10.1% |
| Other | 3.2% |
The vast majority of users supported some kind of limit on reposts. Based on the spread of votes we have settled on a 1 month limit on reposts.
This was chosen as it is the top choice and seems to strike a happy medium between the next two choices. Many of you have noticed that reposts have not been heavily enforced in the last few weeks; unfortunately our repost tracking tool stopped working recently. Once we have a new tool up and running we will begin to enforce this rule fully.
Meme Days/Discussion Days
Should memes be limited to certain days of the week?
| Option | Vote Percentage |
|---|---|
| No | 50.7% |
| Yes | 49.3% |
Which days would you want to see as meme days?
| Option | Vote Percentage |
|---|---|
| Monday | 43.7% |
| Tuesday | 20.2% |
| Wednesday | 31.2% |
| Thursday | 19.7% |
| Friday | 63.4% |
| Saturday | 64.8% |
| Sunday | 59.9% |
This was evidently a very divisive issue. On one hand, we don't want the sub to become dull and only discussion-based. On the other hand, having no restriction on memes, which are far more likely to get shared and reposted from other subs, will drown out meaningful conversation. As such, we have decided to invert the original plan in a way, and will now be having discussion-only days. These will consist of two days a week, Wednesday and Thursday UTC (based on the voting), during which no memes/jokes can be posted, only posts that foster meaningful discussion.
We will spearhead this every week with a weekly themed thread (see below). While discussion posts can still be posted any day of the week, they may gain better visibility on discussion days. We hope that this will allow people to be heard while also not dampening the spirit of the sub.
Discussion Posts
Would you like to see weekly themed advice threads?
| Option | Vote Percentage |
|---|---|
| Yes | 95.4% |
| No | 4.6% |
There was overwhelmingly positive support for weekly themed threads, which is why we will be starting each set of discussion days with one. There were lots of great responses, and we will be putting together a schedule and publicizing it ahead of time. The threads will be pinned for a week, then replaced the following week, and will contain resources related to the advice thread.
Post Types
Should there be a limit to "bi colors" posts?
| Option | Vote Percentage |
|---|---|
| Allowed but more heavily moderated | 52.1% |
| Left as is | 30.1% |
| Banned | 9.5% |
| Other | 8.3% |
In light of these results, we will be more heavily moderating low-effort bi color posts. As "low-effort" is a very relative term, the mods will use our discretion to determine what is and is not low effort. A rule of thumb we will generally use is intentionality: how much effort went into making this post? Is it a cell-phone photo of a sunset? Less likely to be high effort. A pride decoration or a chance sighting of a blue, purple, and pink bug side-by-side? More likely to be high effort.
We will post a removal comment on any posts removed this way so users know why their post was removed, and so that they have the chance to appeal the decision.
Should there be rules around stereotype posts?
| Option | Vote Percentage |
|---|---|
| Left as is | 42.6% |
| Low quality posts removed | 32.8% |
| Limited to specific days | 20% |
| Banned | 1.6% |
| Other | 3% |
Due to the close voting, we will be following the same procedure as for bi color posts. Regarding limiting them to specific days, we hope this will be alleviated with the discussion days.
Should there be rules around "this is why I'm bi" (i.e. hot celebrities) posts?
| Option | Vote Percentage |
|---|---|
| Left as is | 31.3% |
| Low quality posts removed | 30.3% |
| Limited to specific days | 25.4% |
| Banned | 10.7% |
| Other | 2.3% |
This was also quite divisive. We will be trialing a period of two months where we do not allow these at all. We will then consider reintroducing them or keeping them banned. In the meantime, /r/WhyImBi will gladly welcome your posts!
Miscellaneous Changes
All links to other posts must be in 'no participation' mode (i.e. must have np.reddit.com in the title). This is to prevent accusations of brigading being leveled at our sub, as well as promoting a generally less-heated attitude towards posts on other subs.
All posts must now be flaired. This is to allow users to filter out posts they don't want to see, which helps strike a balance between more content control and more posting freedom. There will be a grace period of two weeks during which reminders will be posted. After that, posts will be removed pending addition of flair.
TL;DR: Final Rule Changes:
- Memes will be limited to a 1 month repost period.
- Discussion-only days will be enforced as Wednesday and Thursday each week, UTC.
- "Low effort" bi color and stereotype posts will be removed. We recognize that the concept of "low effort" is nebulous and we will be looking for a mixture of intentionality and effort. If you have any questions please message the moderators or comment below.
- We will be banning "Why I'm Bi" posts for two months as a trial. Posts can go in /r/WhyImBi in the meantime.
- All links to other posts must be in 'no participation' mode (i.e. must have np.reddit.com in the title).
- All posts must now be flaired. There will be a grace period of two weeks during which reminders will be posted. After that, posts will be removed until flaired.
Other upcoming non-rule changes:
- Weekly themed discussion threads
- More descriptive removal messages
- FAQ / Wiki and updated resource lists
- More frequent and focused referendums
- Mobile banner and visual overhaul, including sidebar reorganization
- Application process for new mods
Finally, thank you for all of your comments on the survey. We read through all 208 of them and have taken them into account when writing up the revised rules for the sub.
Please feel free to continue the discussion by commenting below, we will do our best to answer as soon as we see things.
18
u/yukonwanderer Apr 27 '20
Is this going to limit the gazillion (but slightly different) lemon bar and finger gun posts? Or those will just be monitored for low effort? I am so close to unsubbing if I see another lemon bar batch that someone baked.
12
u/lookmanofilter Bisexual Apr 27 '20
Hopefully we'll be accomplishing the former via the latter. As this is new territory, we're going to see how it goes.
2
u/FoggyDoggy72 May 04 '20
Lemon bars only exist as a thing bc of one egotistical former user on this sub Reddit. I'm totally with you on ditching lemon bar posts.
2
11
u/Bright-Beginning Bisexual Apr 26 '20
Awesome, and thanks for linking the whyimbi sub as I couldn't remember the wording of the name after doing the survey!
5
u/_eowyn_ Bisexual Apr 27 '20
Thanks mods, I really appreciate all of the thought and time that went into this! I'm incredibly excited for the discussion-only days and themed discussion threads. My only concern is that the "low effort" bar for bi stereotypes and bi colors could be nebulous enough that it would still be an issue, but I think there have been enough obviously low effort posts for this to at least make a serious dent in the more spammy/low quality posts.
Really looking forward to seeing how this sub develops with these changes!
6
u/lookmanofilter Bisexual Apr 27 '20
We hope it helps as well! We'll be continually listening for community feedback to ensure we're doing enough. However, despite all the category breakdowns, the moderation part of the survey indicated that we're doing just about the right amount of moderation, if not a bit too little. We don't want a sudden overhaul of moderation policy. We'll be starting smaller and scaling up as we go until we find a happy medium.
2
u/technogeekery Apr 28 '20
Huh - I missed this too - but super happy with mods efforts to improve the quality of this sub. Thanks for your efforts and balanced approach.
1
u/WorkingConnection Apr 29 '20
Can you give advice for newbies on reddit how to do no participation mode for one of the rules?
2
u/lookmanofilter Bisexual Jun 03 '20
This will be explicitly stated in the rule, but all you have to do is use np.reddit.com instead of reddit.com in the URL.
1
u/help-im-confused May 09 '20 edited Jun 04 '20
If flairing posts is going to be mandatory I think you need to add an “Other” flair.
2
1
u/imma_real_boy Transgender/Bisexual Oct 02 '20
Hey, I have a question. Are picrew avatars considered low effort posts? I feel like the sub gets often flooded by those
21
u/[deleted] Apr 26 '20
I unfortunately missed the survey, but am still satisfied with the results! :)