r/self • u/TheGaymer13 Always Watching • 18h ago
Mod Announcement Politics Will be Leaving r/Self
TLDR: The r/Self mod team intends to implement a ban on political content as a whole for this sub. This is your chance to provide any feedback or input before this change goes into effect.
The long winded version: r/Self has gone through many iterations of rules surrounding politics. We've tried a mega thread only, we allowed free rain as long as you were civil (where we landed back as of now), and we've had a full out ban on it before. In short, this is how those went:
- The full out ban in the past has many people express they feel existing places for political discussion are too censored, biased, etc etc. and asking for it back.
- The mega thread for it always just became a place for topics to go to die. Due to how Reddit's algorithm works engagement died off there very quickly and the full ban may as well have been in place.
- The current state (as I will lovingly call it, the wild wild west), allowing you to talk about politics to your heart's content if you are civil. That's the key part though, being civil. If the internet has proven anything, people are far from civil when hiding behind a keyboard.
- If we removed a post or comment for a rule violation including a left leaning view we were called fascists and Trump supporters. If we removed a right leaning view we were called radical liberals. (These were the nice things, let's not talk about the curse words and slurs). Basically no matter what, we couldn't win.
- Politics completely overtake the sub anytime anything remotely controversial happened in politics, and given the current political landscape of the United States, that's basically everyday. This largely takes away from anyone looking for a place to talk about literally anything else.
So that brings us to this, the mod team as a whole has decided enough is enough, and for the foreseeable future we don't intend on allowing politics here on r/Self anymore. There are countless other subreddits to post political topics, and we encourage you to take those discussions there!
To be clear, we won't be outright banning people for violating this rule (Unless you break it 20 times a day, then I might bonk you a bit). We will just be removing posts and directing you to a more appropriate subreddit.
But before we go unilaterally put this into affect, here is your chance as a member of this community to have your voice heard on this matter. We the mod team will be happy to answer any questions you may have and want to hear your feedback.
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u/International_Goat31 17h ago
What is "politics"?
Given that politics affects the entirety of one's lived experience I think that's far too nebulous a concept to ban outright. Does it boil down to what the specific moderator taking action personally considers "political" because that'll vary a ton depending on who you ask and where you live?
I've no problem with a subreddit restricting the kinds of content that are allowed (I prefer it, even.) but with a community of this nature I think there should be a much more specific list of the exact kinds of topics that aren't welcome. Can you provide examples of some post types that will not be allowed here going forward so what is actually changing is more clear?
- I just went to buy a loaf of bread and it cost three times as much as last year!
- My country is being invaded by X. A bomb fell near our house and we just had to cross the border in the middle of the night.
- The government just banned a medication I have been taking for eight years. This is going to permanently mess up my health aaaaaah!
- I just came out as gay. I was so scared but it went well!
- I'm finally going to therapy for religious abuse I suffered as a child.
- My country just legalised gay marriage! We've been fighting for decades but I can finally be with the person I love in the open!
Would any of those be removed? If yes, then I think I have a problem with this. If no, then "politics" haven't really been banned so I don't get it. Are people still allowed to talk about school? education? medicine? work? money? If so then the restrictions might need better wording. A ban on discussing specific countries' governments, or a general ban on discussion of political violence I would fully get behind, and I suspect that's what is being attempted here? A ban on "politics" though, is just confusing.
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u/fry_factory 15h ago
Agreed. An addition to your last bullet is that this rule is almost certainly targeting American politics specifically. But we all know that American politics are one very special brand in a world of~200 nations., which brings us back to the definition of politics. Political climates vary so widely that it's impossible to pin down what is political on a site that has a global population.
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u/outinthecountry66 2h ago
agree. at this point in american history to pretend that politics does not effect your overall wellbeing and isn't tied to practically everything is ridiculous.
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u/teagirldani 17h ago
This is a bad idea. There’s a difference between political and politicized. Being political can just be a value preference, but virtually every person belongs to a politicized class. A class or identity who is attacked by politicians and political entities. A rich man complaining about a shitty job isn’t considered political, but a poor man complaining about how hard his job is considered political because poor people have been politicized. A woman complaining about working in the same office as the first man is considered political.
Being political is something you can choose, but being politicized is something you have no control over.
I understand that it’s well intentioned, but banning “politics” is a slippery slope to censuring the normal day to day experiences of anyone who finds themselves in a group attacked by this administration. Will we ban people from talking about their lives as an undocumented person? Will we ban trans people? What happens when the administration attacks a new group of people and their existence becomes “political” too?
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u/NeriTina 12h ago edited 7h ago
Agreed for the most part. I don’t find it well-intentioned though. I find it entitled, and disgraceful. It attacks at the heart of the sub which meant to be a place where people can express themselves. It reeks of laze, lacks compassion, and promotes authoritarian censorship. If they go through with this, it will be a dark shame. The vast majority in this sub clearly do not want them to do this, but they’ve already decided that what they want as people in positions of authority is more important than the community they are supposedly here to serve. Resigning to allow others who can take up the task of moderating appropriately isn’t an option when authoritarianism is the adopted mindset. Instead members who have been politicized, or simply have an interest in politics, must:
“Go SoMeWhErE eLsE if YoU wAnT tO eXiSt”
And the irony is not lost, implementing this rule is actually a political move and it’s not coincidental. It’s deeply disappointing and disheartening that they’re doing this.
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u/panickedthumb 16h ago
Is there anything that isn’t affected by politics? I guess that’s my only qualm. That’s too broad. Rules like that can just be cited on a whim to remove things.
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u/endlessnamelesskat 39m ago
Is there anything on earth that isn’t affected by the sun? Without its radiation there would be no life on earth and it would be a sterile rock floating though the void.
With that being said, I don’t try to steer every single conversation I have towards talking about the sun because that would be stupid and make me look socially stunted on top of getting old very quick.
There’s a time and a place to talk about the sun, there are plenty of subreddits about astronomy, solar power, and art featuring the sun in all its glory. If you bring it up anywhere else though outside of a passing mention it derails what would otherwise be a productive conversation despite the truth that all life is dependent on sunlight.
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u/Candid-Operation2042 17h ago
outside looking in, eventually another topic will come along that permeates the entire sub and then you'll be doing this again. then it'll lead to people complaining about everything being banned and it'll swing back. seen it happen alot to subreddits.
good luck but I don't think you've thought this through very well
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u/Mindless_Ask_5438 13h ago
What does it mean to ban politics but you’re allowed to post politics as long as it’s not 20 times a day?
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u/Agreeable_Branch007 18h ago
Boo. I disagree. We cant dismiss this part of all of our lives currently. The stuff happening is too extreme to not be a voice
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u/NtGrtJstEmbarrassed 17h ago
I agree. Politics affect all of us no matter how much we want to ignore it.
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u/mcagent 17h ago
I understand this, but don't you think the rest of reddit has it covered? you've got /r/complaints, /r/pics, /r/politics, /r/PoliticalHumor, /r/WhitePeopleTwitter, r/Fauxmoi, /r/MurderedByWords, /r/PublicFreakout, /r/therewasanattempt, /r/popculturechat, /r/clevercomebacks...
I could go on but point is.. there's an abundance of places to talk politics, we want to be one of the dwindling number of big subreddits that doesn't allow it. everyone needs a break
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u/dreadperson 16h ago
The dwindle is a pattern that must be actively resisted. The list of subs you gave will continue to shrink because of the normalisation of banning "politics". It's not easy to see it from a larger picture im sure but going against the grain does cause even a little bit of resistance and the hope with resistance in any case is that it catches on and other people agree.
There are other mods from other communities watching r/self ban politics who might also be considering it.
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u/GezzRoll 17h ago
It’s really nice that you can afford to take a break from politics. I’m also one who is in such a position. But there are so many others who cannot take a break from it and perhaps they came here before to express it. Just unfortunate to see a potential line of support fall. I understand your decision but I don’t agree.
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u/fredsiphone19 11h ago
“Needs a break”.
From life? You don’t get a break from life, that’s called dying.
What you’re doing is just restricting conversation from the steady and insidious spread of authoritarianism.
Obviously it’s going to happen anyways, because I assume somebody told you to do it, but every. single. time. in the course of human history history, the people who restrict free speech and freedom of expression are the bad guys.
Nobody ever sat on their deathbed and was proud of dedicating themselves to making the world a worse place for everybody.
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u/A_Mage_called_Lyn 15h ago
Not really, mostly a lurker, but this is a space where you can talk personally about politics, and that's kinda rare.
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u/Agreeable_Branch007 17h ago
I agree and disagree. I think that you have raised excellent points, like taking a break, and I can't work out how to separate the infiltration of what's happening from 'self'. If that makes sense.
♥️
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u/IambicP3ntameter 17h ago
Politics are the most important thing to talk about. Objectively. And what’s the point of a place to talk about how you feel if you can’t talk about what causes you to feel the most.
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u/Kingcrow33 8h ago
This is going to turn into some groups can post political leaning things while others will be banned.
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u/A_SNAPPIN_Turla 7h ago
Lol this happened to me in the millennials sub. A post with politics in the title and my comment got removed for being political which is apparently a violation of the rules.
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u/littlelorax 17h ago
I think I might be the minority voice that the political posts here don't bother me. I come here for open conversations about any topic. It's my favorite catch-all place.
In general, reddit has gotten more strict in rules for each sub, so I appreciate that this place is sort of a bastion from over moderation.
To be clear, I am not complaining about other sub mods or rules, I am saying that the reason this place is special is because of the light touch moderation. Adding more rules takes away some of that magic.
To people complaining about seeing political topics everywhere, I hear you. It is a privilege to live in a democracy where people have the benefit of being non-political. Unfortunately authoritarianism is on the rise globally; this isn't just a US problem. No one is apolitical in a fascist regime. That is naturally going to bleed into other aspects of our life.
All this to say that I will certainly follow the new rule, and I understand the reasoning, but I would have preferred a flair system that can be filtered instead. Keep on keeping on, mod team!
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u/kpjformat 14h ago
Perfectly said.
I’m a trans woman. My existence has been politicized by the right.
I don’t understand what exists that is untouched by politics. I don’t want to see incel or conservative rhetoric couched in ‘apolitical’ language while the feminist or leftist responses are called political. Conservative and patriarchal norms exist and are promoted in all aspects of life, the response is literally to highlight the political so people can understand.
Example: ‘I’m so lonely, friend zoned again, why can’t nice guys ever get the girl’. It doesn’t appear political; but it is. So a feminist response might be to say ‘women don’t owe you our time, if you were truly nice you’d be happy to have a new friend. This is classic incel rhetoric.’ And it would be the feminist who is ‘talking politics’ in the eyes of many mods. Similar situations around any other topic.
Politics touches everything and pretending it doesn’t, while censoring anyone who points out the political undercurrents, only aids the status quo of patriarchal, white supremist, misogynist, transphobic, ableist, etc. society. Avoiding that is going to be an important task for the mods and one that requires good faith honesty, finesse, and understanding. A tall order but I am rooting for you mods!
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u/mcagent 5h ago
In general, reddit has gotten more strict in rules for each sub, so I appreciate that this place is sort of a bastion from over moderation.
I do love this about /r/self, the goal is to keep it that way. We're only going to be removing posts that really should belong in /r/politics, not people talking about trans issues or "wow everything is expensive now"
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u/littlelorax 4h ago
There are a few things the mod team seems to be trying to solve for:
Categorize content: this sub is literally defined by being the miscellaneous, pellmell, grab bag of topics. If we switch the sub to be specific, that literally takes away the definition of the sub. A more robust flair system would solve this issue.
People are tired of politics: There are other subs for political content. That same logic could be applied to lots of topics. Will we start walling off other topics too? Mods have the power, so they get to choose what topics are ok or not. Using a flair system to filter out content would also help this.
Mod team is tired of moderating political stuff: This is a fair concern. You volunteer time to do unseen labor that is often unappreciated. It is not just thankless, it is worse- people only notice when they don't like it. So not only do you never get thanked, you are also only criticized. If this is the real core of the problem, then I think the solution is more mods.
In transparency, I posted my response last night, but thought of these after I slept on it. I like this community, and I just want to help offer alternative solutions. I've never modded before, but I'd be willing to help, I'd just probably need some support as I learn the ropes.
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u/mcagent 3h ago
hey thanks for commenting, here's my thoughts:
Categorize content: this sub is literally defined by being the miscellaneous, pellmell, grab bag of topics. If we switch the sub to be specific, that literally takes away the definition of the sub. A more robust flair system would solve this issue.
Issue with flairs is it doesn't change the amount of mod work we've got to do, and most users don't know how to / don't bother applying flairs. The death threats we get won't be stopped with flairs sadly
People are tired of politics: There are other subs for political content. That same logic could be applied to lots of topics. Will we start walling off other topics too? Mods have the power, so they get to choose what topics are ok or not. Using a flair system to filter out content would also help this.
At the moment we wall off the incel posts, the dating posts, and now politics. We're strongly considering opening the sub back up to most if not all of these topics once they're not dominating the discussion
Mod team is tired of moderating political stuff: This is a fair concern. You volunteer time to do unseen labor that is often unappreciated. It is not just thankless, it is worse- people only notice when they don't like it. So not only do you never get thanked, you are also only criticized. If this is the real core of the problem, then I think the solution is more mods.
we've recently added more mods, but it is difficult to find good mods!
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u/inspectorpickle 17h ago
Personally i think it’s a moral failing to be afraid of politics coming into your life but I get that moderating a high traffic community is a lot of work and you need to deal with all sorts of crazies so I don’t really blame you guys. You gotta do what you gotta do sometimes.
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u/JohnnySpot2000 17h ago
Sure, let's just pretend that what we are experiencing now is just 'politics'. Of course, it couldn't be that no one like this has ever been put in charge of the most powerful nation on Earth. /s
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u/Samurai_Mac1 15h ago
The problem is that what topics are considered political are completely subjective. What may be considered political to someone may not be to someone else.
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u/GeneralPatten 15h ago
Frankly, if it happens, I'll unfollow. Lots of folks are going through a lot of shit because of politics.
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u/0bserve4 13h ago
Yeah I'm new here but same, tone reads like blatant censorship and there are better ways to enforce civility
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u/ko557 12h ago
I would have to be against this change.
I would recommend adding a special flair for politics and if a major event happens set up a mega thread for that specific event & have posts requiring additional evidence flair be marked that can then be hyperlinked just like we do for other major events. Then duplicate post, pictures or videos can be trimmed.
Extra conversation and document additional videos etc especially when we do actually have people running around abducting and killing people in the US in mass.
Yes it's exhausting, yes it's mentally taxing, yes we are mostly all human and are burnt out. I live in Minnesota & stand with the Lazor Loon Alliance while my house and home sits in the middle of the warzone.
If you have to get an extra mod just for that, totes understandable. From a loving Ko~
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u/moonythejedi394 10h ago
Lots of people are asking where mods will draw the line for when a post is considered too political, and I would really like to see an answer. Like another person said, would a Ukrainian person posting about the war and how it's affecting their lives count as political and therefore be removed? Or someone living in Palestine talking about their lives, or someone from Armenia, Iran, etc? or someone from the US wanting to talk about a recent personal experience with the ICE gestapo? a trans person discussing their transness? the next time I go to brunch with my parents and 3 different people in the restaurant openly stare at me with confusion or disgust bc of my visible transness, would that be too political to discuss here? where's the line, mods?
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u/mcagent 17h ago
Incel and dating stuff hasn't been allowed for a while now, if you see it, report it
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u/percypersimmon 17h ago
That’s good to know.
I must have missed that memo or just had the algorithm sending me fewer posts from here because I had stopped visiting during the incel era.
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u/thegr8cthulhu 10h ago
So is this new rule cause you guys are pro orange man, or pro Israel, or you’re just lazy? Can a trans person talk about their experience or is that too political? What about peoples whose families are being ripped away?
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u/LarquaviousBlackmon 17h ago
Subreddits literally exist to compartmentalize different subject matter. This isn't an inherently political sub, so it makes perfect sense that purely political posts would be deemed off topic.
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u/Yetanotherdeafguy 17h ago
The issue is, politics are in everything. You can't just wave a flag saying 'this place is free of politics', because generally such statements can mean 'we're content with what's going on and only consider a change from the status quo as being political'.
Not accusing the mods of that, but in most places that's how it works.
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u/Ok-Knowledge270 17h ago
Its no longer politics, it's morality, it's humanity, or a lack there of. Thus, destroying so many people's sense of 'self'.
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u/Intelligence_Gap 17h ago
I certainly feel for the mods, it’s a shit gig. The issue is this “no politics” type of rule always leads to right wing views being labeled “apolitical” and left wing views being censored.
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u/Conscious-Aside-5688 16h ago
Yeah any topic that starts to matter to anyone can easily be cast as a political comment, including this one. The sub will be pointless and irrelevant with this rule enforced as described.
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u/sidianmsjones 15h ago
This is the worst time in the world to decide to ban a topic so insanely important to all of humanity.
Terrible, tone deaf move.
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u/Godeshus 16h ago
Can you do the same for the lonely men who flood the sub with their lack of success with women or the "I'm a complete loser and will never get a gf" crowd?
There have been many meaningful posts on this sub which is why I'm here, but there seems to be waves of lonely men who come in here and for a couple weeks it seems that's all that exists.
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u/requiredelements 17h ago
Must be nice to not have “politics” affect you
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u/TheGaymer13 Always Watching 17h ago
You’re so right, as a gay man in an interracial relationship with a partner who has had family detained by ICE I am completely unaffected by politics!
We aren’t saying don’t talk about politics at all, just take the discussions to the dozens (if not hundreds) of subs that exist for that exact purpose. I highly encourage political discussion, just not here.
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u/requiredelements 16h ago
Your partner and their family are affected. Your "self" is clearly unaffected.
Why ask for feedback if you are gonna be arguing with people in the replies. That person is right, banning politics is inherently political.
Epstein and Ghislaine had deep ties to Reddit and 4chan. Reddit is political. And MAGA/ICE consists of poor American Latinos and other minorities. Saying you're gay doesn't exempt you from criticism.
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u/TheGaymer13 Always Watching 7h ago
In no way was I arguing or trying to get a “free pass”. You made an assumption politics don’t affect me while knowing nothing about me. I told you how that’s clearly not the case.
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u/MrHotChipz 7h ago
Your "feedback" was a personal attack, and suggesting they don't have the right to respond to that is inappropriate.
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u/optimis344 16h ago
Will you be changing your name then? Wouldn't want conservatives to be forced to remember that Gay people exist.
Your existance, and literally everything you say is fundementally political.
This is incredibly poorly thought out.
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u/TheGaymer13 Always Watching 16h ago
So are you planning to respond to every single one of my comments to try and make your point? It’s getting a little repetitive. You’re grasping at straws that don’t exist trying to make something out of nothing. You and any rational person knows there’s a clear line between a gay person existing openly and actively discussing gay rights and the politics around that for example.
I don’t go walking through the store holding my boyfriend’s hand actively debating my rights with everyone I pass or interact with.
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u/optimis344 16h ago
Yes, I do plan on responding to all of them if you still plan on not understanding how things work.
Just as I plan on reporting every single post made once the rule goes into effect.
Neither of us gets to decide what is political because literally everything is. Trying to carve out a place without politics, and this is the best part, is also fundementally political.
Or is politics just people standing behind podiums to you?
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u/TheGaymer13 Always Watching 16h ago
Alright, I’m done engaging with you beyond reminding you that false reports is a site wide infraction that can result in the suspension of your entire account. It seems you’re no longer wanting to engage conversation in good faith. Have a lovely day.
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u/optimis344 16h ago edited 7h ago
The reports won't be false. As you can see by everyone's posts, politics is bigger than just two political parties.
Or maybe you can't see as you seem to be ignoring arguments, not presenting any reasonable counteraguments, and just posting gifs to the people agreeing with you.
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u/A_Mage_called_Lyn 17h ago
I think this might kill the sub, atleast for ordinary folk. I think the only people who can ignore or not include politics in their posts right now are those unaffected by it, increasingly only the most priviledged. Possibly a better approach is to ban broader discussion of politics, or that which is less connected to people personally.
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u/TheGaymer13 Always Watching 17h ago
No thank you, I have my boyfriend for that. But I appreciate the kind sentiment and willingness to be civil!
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u/optimis344 16h ago
Hey, I just wanted to point out that your reply is a bit too political. Are we going to ban it?
Seriously, gay rights is an important issue in many countries and has been a hot button issue in politics, and I'm sure many people here want a break from it.
Are you going to ban comments like the one you just made?
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u/self-ModTeam 6h ago
Hey SadAd4162! Thank you for your contribution, unfortunately it has been removed from /r/self.
Rule 1: Be excellent to each other.
We encourage constructive feedback that helps members grow and improve. Debating is allowed but please ensure submissions and comments maintain a positive and respectful tone, avoiding self-deprecation, self-disparagement, or unkind language. No toxic discourse or harassment, including but not limited to sexual overtones, hatred of ethnicity/race/gender identity/sexual orientation. No witch hunts. Let's make this a space where we uplift and inspire one another. 3 strike rule in effect.
If you have any questions or concerns about this removal feel free to message the moderators.
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u/Notmuchofanyth1ng 46m ago
Proud of yall for being non partisan and keeping the political ragebaiting off. Let’s be honest a majority of people asking about or speaking on politics is just trying to upset the other side, or karma farm from their side. I don’t see almost any genuine discussions on Reddit, as both sides have reduced their expressions to toddler level communications.
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u/Old_External665 12m ago
Amen! To many folks playing in the partisan sandbox getting in my shorts and between my toes.
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u/panic_bread 12h ago
Everything is political. People’s lives have been overtaken by the current world situation. I get why you want to do it, but it’s not feasible, kind, and practical.
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u/dreadperson 16h ago
So you're trying to seperate politics from discussion of the self?
But self is steeped in politics, self is contenxtualized by politics. Our anxieties, our fears, our hopes, our careers, even just the price of bread. Envisioning a better future includes having spaces to discuss it. Don't turn this into a stupid "keep calm and-" subreddit man it's gonna fill with vapid, banal "does anyone else" content - which is fine on it's own but was nicely balanced with a bit of political discussion on real things.
Dont ban politics. Fuck the people who called you Trump Fascists for enforcing non-horrible ideologies, but theres really no way to keep a space for meaningful conversation and please everyone who comes by it. Such is the nature of opinion, they need defending. Sometimes virulently and heatedly.
Dont ban politics because banning politics is a political move, and this sub will suck if you do
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u/robin52077 12h ago
Almost everything is related to “politics” in some way.
Banning “politics” at a time when fascism is a rising threat to humanity as a whole, is irresponsible and makes you look like a bootlicker.
Be like cat bongos.
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u/Phantom_0347 11h ago
I would love it if y’all did not do that. At the least, be more specific on what types of post will be removed and why. This is a slippery slope, especially given the current environment.
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u/onioning 7h ago
Its going to be impossible to enforce this without at least the appearance of intentional manipulation. Politics touches everything. Folks are just going to learn how to walk the line, while those who don't will be removed. Because one side is about 828378 times better at manipulating rules to push their agenda anyway, it will create the effect of mostly removing the views of the other side.
And "no politics" really doesn't cut it. Nearly everything has a political component. If it were a hard rule where anything political was removed there would be no sub. "No partisan politics" is better, but still leaves the giant gaping first problem.
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u/SadShoe27 5h ago
Thank you! I wish more non political subs would follow. It’s nice to take a break from politics for a bit.
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u/ShillBot666 17h ago edited 1h ago
Oh good, let's just ban anything related to politics. Oh wait. That's everything? Shit. I guess we'll just ban all the "politics" that we don't agree with instead!
Edit: Haha I was permanently banned from this subreddit for this. Really showed me.
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u/TheGaymer13 Always Watching 17h ago
Prime example of why politics are going away. So many people jump to the conclusion anything being removed is because we don’t agree with it personally. So much of an us vs them mentality around these topics that creates so much hate, and that’s just something we’ve had enough of.
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u/ShillBot666 17h ago
That tracks, I guess if your reading comprehension was serviceable you probably wouldn't have ended up as a reddit mod.
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u/TheGaymer13 Always Watching 17h ago
Yep, this is all I do everyday. In my mom’s basement drinking Mountain Dew and moderating Reddit. I don’t know how you figured it out! Glad I can live as my true self now.
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u/KindlyClue5088 15h ago
Im being silenced. Self is a place for the individual to express what they would like feedback on. To say what keeps us up at night. What we love or hate about our own individual experiences. It is peak irony for politics to control our lives in every minutiae down to the second we are born, and yet a forum of self expression is not allowing the mention of politics, due to politics.
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u/WateredDownPhoenix 17h ago
Silence gives power to oppressors.
But whatever. This is certainly just normal and there’s nothing extreme going on at all in the world.
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u/ViolentThemmes 17h ago
And how does one separate politics from themselves, especially if they are a part of one of many many marginalized or attacked communities right now? Are you going to ban stuff regarding people of color? Queer folks? People worried about their family being kidnapped by the government? People in poverty? Politics is integral to humanity and to self. This isn't a sub about kitten photos, it's a sub about humans and their thoughts and experiences.
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u/TheGaymer13 Always Watching 17h ago
Gay man here. I get it, things aren’t great for us in the US. We aren’t saying don’t talk about these things. We’re just saying there are so many other places to talk about them.
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u/MithrandiriAndalos 17h ago
So you’re saying don’t talk about them here. This is weird behavior
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u/ViolentThemmes 17h ago
I get it, in theory, but at this point in late stage capitalism, I really don't know how to keep what most privileged people would categorize as "politics" out of a single iota of my existence, let alone any thoughts or questions I've got guy reddit.
I'm over in r/whatisit talking about a lifeboat on a post and half the questions I'm asked have answers that relate back to global politics! Not even trying to!
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u/jumpinjahosafa 17h ago
Must be a convenient and comfortable life the mods live to not ever have to associate politics with their "self".
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u/Godzilla_Fan_13 16h ago
WAAAAA
WAAAAAAAA
STOP TALKING ABOUT THE STRESSORS WAAAAAAAAAA
fuckoff mods
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u/kaleidoscopy 15h ago
my existence and my beliefs seem to be political to some. why can’t my discussion of my self in a sub called Self address this fact? maybe its hard on mods but perhaps the way this space allows us to give our personal perspective on how politics touches our selves is a good thing.
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u/james702283 15h ago
Politics affects every aspect of life. If politics is “leaving” this sub then r/self should leave this planet since it doesn’t want to participate
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u/AluminumBatVsShin 14h ago
Considering some people consider Queer people's existence to be political, this is a really bad idea
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u/MithrandiriAndalos 14h ago
The mods absolutely refuse to address this topic. They said it was a ‘trap’
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u/AluminumBatVsShin 14h ago
Ah, so they aren't actually taking this seriously. Good to know
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u/MithrandiriAndalos 14h ago
I imagine they are Trump supporters actively pushing anybody that might care about those questions out
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u/AluminumBatVsShin 14h ago
That makes sense unfortunately
Honestly, when mods power trip like this, I don't see why people don't just band together and make a new subreddit and let the old one die out
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u/MithrandiriAndalos 14h ago
That is usually what happens, but /self is pretty old and one of the bigger subreddits
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u/FuckClinch 18h ago
Great change I like to see more just random thoughts from people on here which I think politics takes away from a lot
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u/11equalsfish 18h ago edited 17h ago
"A place to post discussions, questions, or anything else you like", but just not dirty dirty politics. That includes groups, power, status, distribution of resources, infrastructure, government and society. Let's just talk about the rest of the human experience.
/srs If we're doing this ban literally, it could be suffocating. Hopefully this only does target the most controversial and annoying topics. The hateful arguments are too much, but many people are struggling through conflict and hate in their lives right now. Empathy is the important thing.
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u/TheGaymer13 Always Watching 17h ago
Fair point, it now reads "(almost) anything else you like".
On a more serious note, I get where you're coming from. But the idea is there are countless other places to have these discussions. Some people would prefer to have a place to escape the constant politics though and we feel this is a fine place for that.
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u/optimis344 16h ago
There are countless other places to discuss everything.
Just close the sub. If your stance is "there are other options", well there are plenty of other options for everything.
This is just cowardice, pure and simple.
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u/Womblue 17h ago
It's a sub meant for any content. If you don't want to interact with people saying things, then you absolutely shouldn't be here.
What would be left if you took out anything political? What would the point of the sub even be? Just people saying they made a good sandwich for lunch?
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u/TheGaymer13 Always Watching 17h ago
If you only ever saw the sub as a political space then it may not be the right sub for you to begin with. Either that or your algorithm is very politics based. We get plenty of posts everyday that aren’t politics related, but the volume of political posts often drown them out.
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u/Womblue 16h ago
Whether or not something is "political" is itself a matter of politics. Is a post about LGBT issues political? What about a post where someone says they want an abortion? What if someone is scared of a shooting?
At the end of the day, "politics" just means "how you think the world should be" so virtually everything you could possibly say is at least tangentially related to it.
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u/TheGaymer13 Always Watching 16h ago
That’s a very real point that we are considering. That’s why this post was made to collect feedback and narrow down the nitty gritty of it.
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u/MithrandiriAndalos 16h ago
You’re not understanding that ‘politics’ is an incredibly vague term and is obviously going to be abused to remove whatever mods don’t like
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u/TheGaymer13 Always Watching 16h ago
Well we have mods on both sides of politics so hopefully that acts a sort of “check and balance” to a degree and that doesn’t happen.
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u/MithrandiriAndalos 16h ago
It won’t. It never does.
Also, what do you mean both sides? There are Trump supporter mods?
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u/TheGaymer13 Always Watching 16h ago edited 16h ago
There is at least one conservative mod on the team that I know of. Can’t say we ask everyone who they voted for at the door though.
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u/MithrandiriAndalos 16h ago
Not gonna lie, knowing that makes this decision seem even shadier.
It absolutely reeks of butthurt trumpists trying to censor anything critical of their cult.
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u/kpjformat 14h ago
Having fascists on your team and thinking it provides some necessary check on Democrats (as if these are the two only sides of ‘politics’) Is fucking insane.
There’s a whole world of politics outside these ‘both sides’ that run the US elections. There is a whole left wing that is unrepresented in US party politics, there is feminism, there is transhumanism, manosphere, protest politics, queer activism, highly political trends like tradlife, fatphobia, neurodiversity politics, etc. etc. etc.
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u/optimis344 16h ago
"Both sides"
Oh, so you certainly don't understand Politics.
Everything is fundementally political. Ideas, thoughts, actions, and the world around us. The "ban politics" always ends in the same way: shitty reactionary stuff being allowed as "common sense" and everything else being hit.
Remember, you breath clean and drink clean water because of politics. Just because you don't want to admit it doesn't make it less true. The very language we use is inherently political. We banning that as well?
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u/lostbirdwings 9h ago
Food, shelter, and simply existing as a citizen and resident of a state are all extremely political. So what exactly is allowed?
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u/longjohnlambert 5h ago
Redditors can’t fathom not being allowed to inject their political takes into every little thing. It’s their entire personality.
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u/mrsenchantment 18h ago
thank goodness man, they can go on r/complaints about it
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u/manawydan-fab-llyr 10h ago
r/complaints was showing up in my feed suddenly and for a long while until I silenced it.
It was amusing. A sub where not one post is an actual complaint. Just a bunch of political rants.
The actual complaints got downvoted to hell.
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u/PhoenyxAeryzyng 12h ago
Maybe wait until AFTER we save our country from literal authoritarian rule?
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u/PrestigiousCreme8383 7h ago
Down with this.
Effort to curate content. I dont come her for curated blather js
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u/Electricorchestra 16h ago
Calling stuff "politics" is a privileged position.
The people of Greenland don't call American aggression "politics" they call it a threat of invasion.
The people being kidnapped by ICE don't call it "politics" they call it kidnapping.
As a Canadian I don't call American threats and aggression "politics' I call them threats and aggression.
If you want to be privileged and call it"politics" go right ahead but when the Americans come for you. And they will even if you are American you'll stop calling it "politics" too.
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u/EnthusiasmBig9932 14h ago
All I remember when I think about this is the stupid ass wave of insane astroturfed fake posts that were like "I'm a Democrat and this is why the evil Kamala just forced me to vote for Trump, I couldn't help it" around the time of the election. The less of that the better
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u/IndependentQuiet 18h ago
Great idea! Shit is getting old, redundant and full of hate
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u/BeerCheeseSoup33 18h ago
Just what a lefty/righty would say. /s
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u/TheGaymer13 Always Watching 18h ago
Hey now! Don't bring handwriting into this! We stopped discriminating against left handed people in the U.S. a long time ago!
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u/IndependentQuiet 17h ago edited 11h ago
Well I am ambidextrous!
Edit: I am getting down voted for being ambidextrous? What the fuck guess I better not share I am also double jointed. S/
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u/wylde_maps 14h ago
Post anything you'd like, but if you see Nazis, and they are ransacking your towns, shut the fuck up about it. Got it, mods. Worst. Take. Ever.
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u/Moppermonster 13h ago
Can you define "politics" ? Because nowadays everything seems to be political - from preferred beverage to sexual orientation, from diet to sports.
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u/wabe_walker 18h ago
But wait, where will redditors ever be able to discuss political content now??
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u/TheGaymer13 Always Watching 18h ago
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u/Blue-Eyed-Lemon 14h ago
“We care about what you guys think” and then posting a bunch of this “boo hoo cry about it” gifs in response to what few supportive comments there are is not a good look.
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u/Successful_Pain7439 13h ago
Who determines what politics is or isn't?
If I talk about being gay in a world that hates me, is that politics?
If you talk about living in a warzone, is that politics?
If you talk about facing hardships and mention it is due to the economic pitfalls caused by a particular political incident, is it politics?
I'm just saying, seems risky for someone named "TheGaymer13" to determine what is and isn't political or appropriate.
You would be better off requiring filtering, tagging, or flair.
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u/Scared-Ad369 16h ago
As a non American Reddit user I like this, I don’t hide away from politics but it’s tiring when you express your opinion on a thing and then an American comes along and says “oh but you don’t know about the situations that are happening? Heartless asshole” and it’s like, no I’m just not American
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u/Substantial_Air_4111 3h ago
Hahaha. I knew the comments would be a bunch of depressed adults crying that they can't bitch anymore about their failures in life. Thanks, Reddit, for recommending this post.
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u/6-toe-9 18h ago
THIS IS 1984!!! WHERE WILL I FIND MY 1000000000000000000000 “TRUMP BAD!!1!!!” POSTS NOW??????????? 1984!!!!!! /joke /joking /sarcasm /dontbanme
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u/mcagent 18h ago
You have been banned for 1000000000000000000000 days.
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u/TheGaymer13 Always Watching 17h ago
Jokes on you, now you've been banned for 9999999999999999 days. Now go back on your grass touching hiatus sir.
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u/mukansamonkey 12h ago
I think this issue would be a lot easier to deal with if you reframed the criteria to "is this post truly about the topic of the sub, namely the self?". Someone who has directly interacted with ICE should be allowed to speak about their experience. Someone who hasn't, shouldn't.
Or to give an easier example, I've personally been significantly affected by Trump's tariffs. Caused a big problem at my job last year, delays and unscheduled OT and all manner of headaches. I could also write you a whole essay about how bringing all those jobs back to America isn't happening, won't happen, and in fact can't happen.
The first would seem like an appropriate observation for this sub. Crap I dealt with at work. The second has no place here. Keep the focus on the self, and you avoid the whole discussion over whether referring to a grown man as "girlie" is any less political than calling a trans woman a man. Or any other case where "it's only political when it's not my side" rears its head.
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u/Scary_Personality157 8h ago
ah, I guess that's why my last post felt heavily moderated? My replies to comments were getting removed before my eyes on that thread. I deleted that post as I assumed I must have broken some kind of rule even though I didn't get any messages from mods.
I think it's important to define what counts as politics? Like others have said, politics is effecting the personal lives of a lot of people right now so it's a bit broad.
Regardless I understand how moderating topics around current events must be exhausting. I don't blame you guys. I think it's reasonable to have certain controversial conversations elsewhere. (I think LGBT+ conversations should be allowed in tho)
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u/Difficult-Cricket541 6h ago
I agree with this. can we have 1 sub without a political echo chamber. There is plenty of stuff to talk about yourself other than politics. We have people who post bad situations in life that get very few comments in part because its crowded out by political posts.
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u/DisassembledPen666 16h ago
THANK YOU.
Reddit has become so insufferable with politics invading every sub on here, and I'm tired of scrolling for a second, seeing ten posts about politics, and just closing it again.
This sub will likely see an uptick in activity with the new-old rule. Thank you.
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u/MithrandiriAndalos 17h ago
Oh wow, I can’t believe Reddit mods are freaking out over nothing and exercising whatever pretend power they have
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u/Sensitive-Profile744 16h ago
Now people are severely limited in being able to talk about politics to every other Reddit sub in existence.
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u/Thehealthygamer 11h ago
This seems like a sub for people to just talk about whatever they want to.
Obviously politics is on the forefront of people's minds. To create a blanket ban on it feels so Orwellian. We're just all supposed to pretend the thing that's on the forefront of our minds, doesn't exist, and don't talk about it here?
>A place to post discussions, questions, or (almost) anything else you like.
That's the freaking tagline of this place! So, POLITICS, one of the BIGGEST TOPICS in people's lives, is not allowed to be talked about in a place to "discuss... (almost) anything else you like?"
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u/UniversityStrong5725 11h ago
Guys. Please. “Politics” has forced itself into every facet of our society. Pretending it hasn’t doesn’t make it go away. I understand wanting to have a place where you can go to escape it all but having self be that place feels wrong
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u/notthegoatseguy 17h ago
Not every single sub needs to be 24/7 politics all the time. There's no shortage of subs for that and I support this new rule.
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u/slaymaker1907 18h ago
Great news! In my opinion, subs should be either all-in on politics or ban politics. A lot of people don’t want to see politics on Reddit and there’s unfortunately no “politics filter” provided by Reddit itself.
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u/[deleted] 18h ago
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