Moderating a Reddit subforum

velvettrucker52 said:I actually enjoy Reddit and its various threads. 😍
I feel bad about the state of this Reddit subforum because it really used to be a great space; I truly hope they clean up the clutter and bring it back to its former glory.

There is a specific reporting function for a reason.
Users shouldn't try to act as moderators, regardless of how qualified they think they are for the role.
Personally, I find posts that don't belong here just as irritating as the posts that call them out.

If you want to complain about the moderation team, there's a formal channel for that. You shouldn't do it in random threads, as that ruins the quality of those discussions just as much as the posts you're complaining about.
The only thing I don't understand is why these public call-outs aren't being penalized themselves. 🤷

It’s probably because they weren't actual call-outs, more like requests to take action, and maybe because those people aren't even the ones moderating anyway.

I'm not sure if there were any call-outs on the random threads, but on the Reddit thread—where all the "incidents" actually happened—there definitely were.

Honestly, tracking the history of the Trash pdf is pretty straightforward.

1. The Facebook thread was shut down because people wouldn't stop attacking each other personally.
2. Then there was Reddit, which folded for several reasons: things started being posted that weren't actually trash, and frankly, people found it too hard to take the criticism. Plus, I'm fairly certain some posts were just targeted personal attacks.

So, what's left? Trash was the only pdf on this entire site that maintained that tiny grain of humor and self-criticism every community needs. That’s largely why that thread blew up. It was the only place on the whole site where you could find it. Why specifically there? That's a different question entirely.

velvettrucker52 said:I actually enjoy Reddit and its various threads. 😍
I feel bad about the state of this Reddit subforum because it really used to be a great space; I truly hope they clean up the clutter and bring it back to its former glory.

There is a specific reporting function for a reason.
Users shouldn't try to act as moderators, regardless of how qualified they think they are for the role.
Personally, I find posts that don't belong here just as irritating as the posts that call them out.

If you want to complain about the moderation team, there's a formal channel for that. You shouldn't do it in random threads, as that ruins the quality of those discussions just as much as the posts you're complaining about.
The only thing I don't understand is why these public call-outs aren't being penalized themselves. 🤷

Uhm, I'm going to say my piece and try to stay alive! 😳😁
I was actually pretty surprised today when I checked out the main Reddit thread for the first time and saw several posts calling out moderators for finally doing their jobs! I thought it was just some inside joke, but I guess I was wrong. 😁

That isn't how you do things. By acting like this, you're just dragging the moderators down. If I were a mod—not that we're talking about that 😳—I'd have banned you all already, and honestly, it won't make anything better! I also saw the warnings on the thread where other users were being told—not very nicely, mind you—to use quotes instead of links. I think that's what the mods should be handling. If you spot posts like that, just report them! Don't try to play moderator yourself. And if a mod isn't doing what they're supposed to, use the PŽK! You shouldn't be telling mods how to do their jobs in the general chat thread. 🤷

Anyway... just hire more mods!!! 🙂

I might as well weigh in here before I head off to get some peace and quiet.

Regarding those controversial threads about Reddit and Facebook, they honestly haven't served their purpose on this PDF for a long time now.
It was actually quite a while ago that analoglynx23 and I agreed we should pull that topic, and we were planning to wait until that milestone tenth-thousandth post, but I guess things just came to a head today.
The links piled up in that thread aren't even worth much anymore because most of those topics are total trash, and the whole thing has turned into a place where people just go to make fun of someone else—which really has nothing to do with what "trash" should be.
That thread would only still be worth keeping visible if we took the time to sort through the useful links and scrub out all the petty mockery, but that’s a massive job that hasn't been done yet.
It’s honestly a shame that whenever anyone mentions "trash," everyone immediately thinks of the Reddit thread; unfortunately, that seems to be the trend lately.

Anyway, moving on—and I don't mean to sound personal, trying to match your style here—but how many other threads on the trash section do you guys actually find interesting, and how many do you actually write or read besides that one Reddit thread?
How many threads have you started in the trash section? Do you have any actual ideas on how to make the whole concept better? Etc, etc, etc...

Now, I'm not trying to brag, but the threads for trash nicknames and trash home decor were my ideas, even if they were opened by people I coordinated with.
There are others, but that's not really important right now.

As for punishments, I'm of the opinion that on a PDF meant for entertainment, nobody should be playing big shot or acting like a drill sergeant.

Let's circle back to that legendary "Reddit" thread. If you miss it that much, feel free to start a new one in Off-topic or somewhere else, but it won't be staying in the trash section, at least not as long as I'm moderating there. No, I'm not making threats; I just don't want our entire trash section to be reduced to just that one thread while everything else gets ignored.
We'll let the old one stay as a memory, kept clean as a whistle.

Personally, the trash section was at its best when Vajli, Azriela, and the legendary Pero Perić were active, and then Kowa joined in, and so on, and so forth... I won't list everyone.
Back then, we were constantly dreaming up new ideas, and it was absolute chaos in the best way possible. 🙏 😢

If this huge uproar is happening solely because of that one specific thread, then maybe we don't need a trash section at all and we can just throw the whole thing away. 👎

So, the floor is yours, admins.

Oh, and analoglynx23 is backing me up on all of this, just so no one thinks I'm taking this too personally or that I'm worked up, because I'm really not. Life is actually treating me pretty well in all aspects right now. He's just being too lazy to write anything himself.😢

So, you're actually willing to step down from moderation on Reddit? ☕

Alright, I’ll say one last thing and then I’m heading out. 😁

I’m not actually calling for anyone to be stripped of their moderator status.
I’ve been hanging around Reddit for a long time; I get my fair share of warnings and bans, and I’ve never complained about it. I earned them, plain and simple.

It’s just a shame that the thread was deleted.
Maybe there was a way to handle it that would have helped keep the discussion focused.
I don't know, perhaps a rule could be implemented prohibiting comments on posts originally pulled from Reddit, which might prevent all that unnecessary chatter that so often veers off course. 🤷 It would make it much easier for the moderators to maintain order by just scrubbing the stuff that isn't actually trash...
If there’s a genuine need for more moderators, then maybe that’s something worth looking into.

The reality is that Reddit has gone quiet lately, and something definitely needs to shift.

That’s just my take on things; I figured it was fine to weigh in since I follow certain threads on that subforum. 😁

I had absolutely no intention of badmouthing the Trash moderators. I actually think Kowa is a great guy.
My comments in the Trash chat weren't an attack on the mods, just me sharing my perspective. If anything, I didn't even focus on the moderation itself, but rather on the general vibe of the subforum.

To me, this is supposed to be a chill subforum, and I feel like being overly aggressive or heavy-handed with moderation kills the whole point of the community—though that doesn't mean rules shouldn't be followed.

Edit: Wow, look at how many of you jumped in here. Guess I type a little too slow. 😢

velvettiger10 said:I might as well weigh in here before I head off to get some peace and quiet.

Regarding those controversial threads about Reddit and Facebook, they honestly haven't served their purpose on this PDF for a long time now.
It was actually quite a while ago that analoglynx23 and I agreed we should pull that topic, and we were planning to wait until that milestone tenth-thousandth post, but I guess things just came to a head today.
The links piled up in that thread aren't even worth much anymore because most of those topics are total trash, and the whole thing has turned into a place where people just go to make fun of someone else—which really has nothing to do with what "trash" should be.
That thread would only still be worth keeping visible if we took the time to sort through the useful links and scrub out all the petty mockery, but that’s a massive job that hasn't been done yet.
It’s honestly a shame that whenever anyone mentions "trash," everyone immediately thinks of the Reddit thread; unfortunately, that seems to be the trend lately.

Anyway, moving on—and I don't mean to sound personal, trying to match your style here—but how many other threads on the trash section do you guys actually find interesting, and how many do you actually write or read besides that one Reddit thread?
How many threads have you started in the trash section? Do you have any actual ideas on how to make the whole concept better? Etc, etc, etc...

Now, I'm not trying to brag, but the threads for trash nicknames and trash home decor were my ideas, even if they were opened by people I coordinated with.
There are others, but that's not really important right now.

As for punishments, I'm of the opinion that on a PDF meant for entertainment, nobody should be playing big shot or acting like a drill sergeant.

Let's circle back to that legendary "Reddit" thread. If you miss it that much, feel free to start a new one in Off-topic or somewhere else, but it won't be staying in the trash section, at least not as long as I'm moderating there. No, I'm not making threats; I just don't want our entire trash section to be reduced to just that one thread while everything else gets ignored.
We'll let the old one stay as a memory, kept clean as a whistle.

Personally, the trash section was at its best when Vajli, Azriela, and the legendary Pero Perić were active, and then Kowa joined in, and so on, and so forth... I won't list everyone.
Back then, we were constantly dreaming up new ideas, and it was absolute chaos in the best way possible. 🙏 😢

If this huge uproar is happening solely because of that one specific thread, then maybe we don't need a trash section at all and we can just throw the whole thing away. 👎

So, the floor is yours, admins.

Oh, and analoglynx23 is backing me up on all of this, just so no one thinks I'm taking this too personally or that I'm worked up, because I'm really not. Life is actually treating me pretty well in all aspects right now. He's just being too lazy to write anything himself.😢

Why didn't you guys wait for the 10,000th post? ☕
Why did this happen specifically today? ☕

🤣

I still don't see the issue with doing your actual job—putting things in Grain of Humor and leaving the trash on Reddit.

Just because the old crew from the trash section isn't around anymore doesn't give anyone an excuse to wreck the PDF for the people actually reading it and contributing to it right now.

Sorry, mods, but this entire mess of a post above is just an excuse for laziness and avoiding work. It's clearly driven by a fear of backlash from the users posting in that thread.

And no, I don't think the Trash PDF will ever bloom again. How many people even visit that specific PDF? You can count the regulars on Reddit on one hand... okay, maybe two hands. But for a massive forum like this, that’s a tiny number.

You don't need to play dictator or throw insults at people. I never expected that kind of behavior from Reddit, and honestly, I've praised that PDF several times for being different.

THIS is what playing dictator looks like. And just to be clear, I'm not looking for a fight, but I feel bad for that thread.

I like Kowa too. But good people make mistakes. And this is a big one.

First off, I’m not being a hypocrite here. That whole thing about the moderator was just me messing around, okay? I’m not asking anyone to step down from the mod team, but I am demanding that you actually start moderating the Reddit sections properly, or just hire someone else to help out. Honestly, I’d suggest Africa Pepper for the job, since she spends half her life hanging out in the trash anyway.

Regarding the complaints that we should have posted about the lack of moderation over on the trash boards instead of here—well, why would we launch an all-out attack right away? It felt stupid to start whining and firing shots immediately, so I waited a few months. But now, things have gone way too far, and I’ve finally decided to bring this to the PŽK. One reason I sat on this for so long is because I actually care about both of those users, and I didn't want to cause unnecessary friction.

It wasn't my intention to demand an iron fist for every single tiny violation, but there really should have been at least a warning here and there, rather than just letting things spiral out of control.

Simple, you’re bragging about starting two threads. Oh, excuse me, you’re BRAGGING about two threads on your own subforum that you didn't even actually initiate. Mods are supposed to lead and keep the subforum active, but clearly, that’s not happening.
As for the fact that analoglynx23 supports you but "can't be bothered" to write anything—that is the perfect summary of how he treats his own subforum. He just can't be bothered.

gentlehound9 said:First off, I’m not being a hypocrite here. That whole thing about the moderator was just me messing around, okay? I’m not asking anyone to step down from the mod team, but I am demanding that you actually start moderating the Reddit sections properly, or just hire someone else to help out. Honestly, I’d suggest Africa Pepper for the job, since she spends half her life hanging out in the trash anyway.

Regarding the complaints that we should have posted about the lack of moderation over on the trash boards instead of here—well, why would we launch an all-out attack right away? It felt stupid to start whining and firing shots immediately, so I waited a few months. But now, things have gone way too far, and I’ve finally decided to bring this to the PŽK. One reason I sat on this for so long is because I actually care about both of those users, and I didn't want to cause unnecessary friction.

It wasn't my intention to demand an iron fist for every single tiny violation, but there really should have been at least a warning here and there, rather than just letting things spiral out of control.

Simple, you’re bragging about starting two threads. Oh, excuse me, you’re BRAGGING about two threads on your own subforum that you didn't even actually initiate. Mods are supposed to lead and keep the subforum active, but clearly, that’s not happening.
As for the fact that analoglynx23 supports you but "can't be bothered" to write anything—that is the perfect summary of how he treats his own subforum. He just can't be bothered.

Those particular ones mean something to me, so I made sure they got noticed. 😍

Regarding how many threads I actually have active—I only have one single thread open on the entire site, which was over at Help Forum. I’m just not the type to go around opening threads, and this certainly isn't my first rodeo on an online community.

Secondly, in my opinion, someone who fails to see the significance of a Reddit thread regarding the Trash pdf cannot possibly be a moderator. Sure, those stepping into roles there right now don't grasp what Trash is all about, but that is precisely why you moderators exist—to guide them.

I didn't understand the concept of Trash at the start either, until kowa sat me down with a few boxes—three pages worth of boxes, to be precise—and taught me.

And no, I couldn't care less about what kind of day you had, nor does it matter what my day was like. What matters is that your personal mood shouldn't dictate your moderation... yet you've proven the exact opposite.

velvettiger10 said:I might as well weigh in here before I head off to get some peace and quiet.

Regarding those controversial threads about Reddit and Facebook, they honestly haven't served their purpose on this PDF for a long time now.
It was actually quite a while ago that analoglynx23 and I agreed we should pull that topic, and we were planning to wait until that milestone tenth-thousandth post, but I guess things just came to a head today.
The links piled up in that thread aren't even worth much anymore because most of those topics are total trash, and the whole thing has turned into a place where people just go to make fun of someone else—which really has nothing to do with what "trash" should be.
That thread would only still be worth keeping visible if we took the time to sort through the useful links and scrub out all the petty mockery, but that’s a massive job that hasn't been done yet.
It’s honestly a shame that whenever anyone mentions "trash," everyone immediately thinks of the Reddit thread; unfortunately, that seems to be the trend lately.

Anyway, moving on—and I don't mean to sound personal, trying to match your style here—but how many other threads on the trash section do you guys actually find interesting, and how many do you actually write or read besides that one Reddit thread?
How many threads have you started in the trash section? Do you have any actual ideas on how to make the whole concept better? Etc, etc, etc...

Now, I'm not trying to brag, but the threads for trash nicknames and trash home decor were my ideas, even if they were opened by people I coordinated with.
There are others, but that's not really important right now.

As for punishments, I'm of the opinion that on a PDF meant for entertainment, nobody should be playing big shot or acting like a drill sergeant.

Let's circle back to that legendary "Reddit" thread. If you miss it that much, feel free to start a new one in Off-topic or somewhere else, but it won't be staying in the trash section, at least not as long as I'm moderating there. No, I'm not making threats; I just don't want our entire trash section to be reduced to just that one thread while everything else gets ignored.
We'll let the old one stay as a memory, kept clean as a whistle.

Personally, the trash section was at its best when Vajli, Azriela, and the legendary Pero Perić were active, and then Kowa joined in, and so on, and so forth... I won't list everyone.
Back then, we were constantly dreaming up new ideas, and it was absolute chaos in the best way possible. 🙏 😢

If this huge uproar is happening solely because of that one specific thread, then maybe we don't need a trash section at all and we can just throw the whole thing away. 👎

So, the floor is yours, admins.

Oh, and analoglynx23 is backing me up on all of this, just so no one thinks I'm taking this too personally or that I'm worked up, because I'm really not. Life is actually treating me pretty well in all aspects right now. He's just being too lazy to write anything himself.😢

I’m still riding this absolute wave of euphoria—just in that total post-coital headspace after visiting the Pope—so, yeah... anyway.
I mean, let's be real—kings always have their own scribes. ☕

What are we even fighting about now? Seriously—we're all getting worked up over deleting a thread that’s been absolute trash for ages and was basically dancing on the edge of the rules anyway. Honestly, what a waste of energy.

So, regarding everything that’s been going down over on Reddit lately—let’s do a little honesty check, shall we? I want everyone to go ahead and race over to their own post history. Put your hand on your heart—or your chest, whatever's bigger—and be real with yourselves: looking back at the last few months, how many of those posts were actually meaningful contributions to the conversation, and how many were just straight-up trolling or mindless rambling? Surprised by your own tally? I thought so.

What dead accounts? What was supposed to be banned—well, it got banned. If we were actually going by the rules, out of 12 new posts every single day—which is a pretty respectable number, don't you think?—at least 8 of them would get tossed in the trash for being off-topic. That includes the old-timers who are supposedly full of a grain of wisdom, but let’s be real—they’re just trolling, just like always.

If the whole point of this entire circus is just to give someone a blacked-out username because they’re too chicken to face finals week—or maybe they just don't have anything better to do with their lives—then you really shouldn't have messed with my zen in the first place.

The king had spoken. Haugh.

analoglynx23 said:I’m still riding this absolute wave of euphoria—just in that total post-coital headspace after visiting the Pope—so, yeah... anyway.
I mean, let's be real—kings always have their own scribes. ☕

What are we even fighting about now? Seriously—we're all getting worked up over deleting a thread that’s been absolute trash for ages and was basically dancing on the edge of the rules anyway. Honestly, what a waste of energy.

So, regarding everything that’s been going down over on Reddit lately—let’s do a little honesty check, shall we? I want everyone to go ahead and race over to their own post history. Put your hand on your heart—or your chest, whatever's bigger—and be real with yourselves: looking back at the last few months, how many of those posts were actually meaningful contributions to the conversation, and how many were just straight-up trolling or mindless rambling? Surprised by your own tally? I thought so.

What dead accounts? What was supposed to be banned—well, it got banned. If we were actually going by the rules, out of 12 new posts every single day—which is a pretty respectable number, don't you think?—at least 8 of them would get tossed in the trash for being off-topic. That includes the old-timers who are supposedly full of a grain of wisdom, but let’s be real—they’re just trolling, just like always.

If the whole point of this entire circus is just to give someone a blacked-out username because they’re too chicken to face finals week—or maybe they just don't have anything better to do with their lives—then you really shouldn't have messed with my zen in the first place.

The king had spoken. Haugh.

I think it’s perfectly clear to the admins now just how much effort the moderators actually put in over there. ☕

... screw you, guys, i'm goin' home.

You don't get it: the issue isn't about off-topic posts, trolling, or the thread "losing its soul." It’s about the fact that it was "on the edge of the rules." That is the entire philosophy here.

Thanks, Kowa, for moving that to a different section as the reason, acting like it's less important. I knew all along you were 007. Specifically, Roger Moore. 😁

You know what, it doesn't matter. Just wipe the threads—delete the entire PDF too.

The quality content on Reddit died out long ago anyway, and it’s clear that those of us who actually put in the effort were just wasting our time.

It’s pathetic that you didn't take this as constructive criticism—that you, as moderators, actually have the power to shift the atmosphere on the PDF—and instead took it as a personal attack. How many members does Reddit even have left? Five?

Kowa, you’re still over here bragging about how you can't even moderate eight out of twelve posts... sometimes it's better to just stay quiet.

Kate Foster12 said:You know what, it doesn't matter. Just wipe the threads—delete the entire PDF too.

The quality content on Reddit died out long ago anyway, and it’s clear that those of us who actually put in the effort were just wasting our time.

It’s pathetic that you didn't take this as constructive criticism—that you, as moderators, actually have the power to shift the atmosphere on the PDF—and instead took it as a personal attack. How many members does Reddit even have left? Five?

Kowa, you’re still over here bragging about how you can't even moderate eight out of twelve posts... sometimes it's better to just stay quiet.

That was the entire point of all this, but clearly, it went right over your heads. I really did try...

I'm done with the trash; let it rot in the weeds.

Kate Foster12, it’s pretty obvious that hollowtrucker77 isn't going to pick you to moderate Reddit.
I guess we could just merge Reddit and the jokes section into one subforum and call it a day. Maybe put two moderators in charge and everyone will be happy.

briskmoose90 said:Yeah, but Africa is too.
Doesn't matter. Look, is it really impossible to find mods on this entire site who would actually deal with this thread? Why does the Politics sub have five moderators (don't get me wrong, I have nothing against that specific PDF), while Reddit, which is its own special case, can't manage to have at least three people looking after it?

Are you seriously asking that with a straight face?😕
There are times when even ten of us wouldn't be enough, given how fast troll threads pop up in a single day or the sheer volume of posts flying in every hour.

I don't see any massive surge in post counts or new threads since my days as a moderator over at Reddit, so I really don't think they need three mods there.

Besides... there's the report button (or the option to send a PM). People aren't supposed to tag moderators directly in threads, even in a chat thread.

And as for the Trash forum theme... good grief, that was a hot potato even ages ago. I remember Azriel and I constantly having to brainstorm ways to manage it, almost as if that specific thread were its own separate PDF. It was just constant, constant, constant complaints from people about it.🙄 I'm honestly not surprised it finally reached a breaking point for someone.

Trash used to be one of the most entertaining corners of Reddit... but honestly, I eventually just got bored and drifted away.😢
It mostly happened because people started posting stuff that had absolutely nothing to do with what made the original trash threads great in the first place.
And don't even get me started on those moderator excuses. Like, oh my god, you have no idea how hard it is, blah blah blah... all this stuff exists, yet all that other stuff is missing... and it's not just happening in the trash section. Look, if it's really that incredibly difficult for you—if managing a single sub-forum is such a massive burden, regardless of its size—then just let it go. Just step down with some dignity.😁

I actually feel bad for the Trash section.😢

slywolf45 said:Are you seriously asking that with a straight face?😕
There are times when even ten of us wouldn't be enough, given how fast troll threads pop up in a single day or the sheer volume of posts flying in every hour.

I don't see any massive surge in post counts or new threads since my days as a moderator over at Reddit, so I really don't think they need three mods there.

Besides... there's the report button (or the option to send a PM). People aren't supposed to tag moderators directly in threads, even in a chat thread.

And as for the Trash forum theme... good grief, that was a hot potato even ages ago. I remember Azriel and I constantly having to brainstorm ways to manage it, almost as if that specific thread were its own separate PDF. It was just constant, constant, constant complaints from people about it.🙄 I'm honestly not surprised it finally reached a breaking point for someone.

No, you misunderstood me. I know exactly why sites like Reddit or major news outlets have dozens of moderators. If a massive media PDF needs five active mods just to keep up with the workload, I don't see why a small site like Trash couldn't handle two or three if anyone actually bothered to dedicate the time. It feels like everyone is avoiding the issue—and when I say everyone, I mean both the users and the mods—dealing with that specific PDF. In reality, it requires less effort than other forums; it just needs consistent maintenance and someone willing to oversee that "controversial" topic.

Since that thread was borderline controversial and drew massive traffic, it deserved its own dedicated moderator. It’s obvious people are going to complain about it on Reddit. It was a headache for the staff and a total circus for everyone else.
I don't care who it is, as long as someone actually looks after her. I honestly thought that was possible. 🤷

That was the point. I thought I made it clear that I wasn't criticizing the FDA, but just using them as an example. 😁

It doesn't sit right with me that this whole thread has turned into a debate over whether or not someone should moderate Trash, because that’s not actually the issue here. Somehow, people decided Trash needs moderation too, and now we've ended up in this situation where one edgy, borderline topic in a tiny, unpopular PDF is being wiped out. It feels pointless.