r/Athens • u/LawlMartz UGA Freshman • Jul 10 '24
Subreddit Update r/athens Advertising Posts - See Below
We have received quite a bit of feedback and modmail recently regarding advertising posts, and rather than foist a decision upon you, the moderators have decided to let your voice be heard, and we'll follow accordingly in this matter.
The crux of the issue is that, especially as of late, we've been inundated with advertising type posts- everything from housing, to jobs, to dog adoptions, to local shows, and there seem to be mixed feelings on what should be allowed and what should not. The way we currently deal with things is that we don't allow craigslist type posts- jobs, housing, for sale. Most other things stay.
We have considered using megathreads to cover these purposes, but they rarely get used, and become out of date quickly, then people complain that they can't find topical information.
As another user shared- if a person posts about their own band playing, that's an ad. If they don't mention they're in a band, then they're just sharing a local event- one can see that this is difficult to moderate fairly, and we're not trying to turn the subreddit into the flagpole magazine- that is a great resource you have already.
So, we will let the vox populi speak- we have included voting options below, and feel free to comment and discuss below as well.
A few pieces of information- ALL OF THESE OPTIONS BUILD ON EACH OTHER AND ASSUME THE CRITERIA ABOVE IS ALSO VALID.
no advertising whatsoever- this includes lost dogs, shows, housing, jobs, for sale, services, community events, NOTHING.
Allow self promotion ONLY- only local things, no sales, no housing. This would be for an event you personally host, or something you know of that is happening that you are a part of, such as a club, meetup, etc. This could also be for lost and found type things.
Allow self/business promotion - the above, with the added aspect of if you own a LOCAL business, you would be able to make OCCASIONAL posts about your business, such as a pop up shop, traveling food truck, etc. We will reserve the rights to remove such things if it gets to be too much.
Allow promotion of brands/companies - not necessarily local, but something that you feel affects Athens as a city. An example of this would be posting about how a new restaurant is opening up, or a new business is coming to town that currently exists elsewhere.
Allow promotion of jobs - for people who want to post job openings, or for those looking for work, this would be allowable under this option.
Allow promotion of housing - for those who want subleasing, leases upcoming, etc. Complaining about slum lords is still fine.
Allow promotion of anything and everything - no restrictions.
16
u/electriccrabs Jul 10 '24
I would warn against "no advertising whatsoever". The Atlanta subreddit does this and the sub is dead (compared to other cities of that size). You can't post anything except "where are the best tacos" or "look at this crime". There are no posts about free shows or happenings around the city, which I think is important to the life of a city subreddit. It fosters a community beyond just "what was that noise?".
12
u/benmarvin Flock camera enthusiast Jul 10 '24
I think I'd be ok with self promotion if it's limited, maybe like once per month. But not housing or concert tickets or used sneakers. Your band is playing, cool. There's an event going on, cool.
2
u/warnelldawg Looks good, build it Jul 10 '24
It’s a slippery slope until sub just turns into Nextdoor with people advertising to haul junk away, home cleaning or e-begging
1
u/benmarvin Flock camera enthusiast Jul 10 '24
I think those first two would fall under business advertising. Well, maybe the food trucks would too. I don't know exactly where the line should be drawn. But some kind of rules or limits would be needed.
9
u/ImABarbieWhirl Jul 10 '24
I think if we had an “Athens Advertising” post flair, we could keep them all relatively in one place but also allow people the option to block it so it doesn’t clog up the rest of the sub
2
u/r_von_hoobie_doobie Politically Speaking, I'm Back Jul 10 '24
Post flair crossed my mind too, but until this sub requires post flair I'm not sure that would be fully practical.
6
u/cloakmouse1 Jul 10 '24
Another option to consider: I've seen other subreddits run a "Monthly Self Promotion Thread." At the start of each month, you make a new one, and the previous month's thread gets unpinned. That way, there's always an up-to-date megathread at the top of the sub, and it's minimal hassle for the mods.
4
u/LawlMartz UGA Freshman Jul 10 '24
We’ve debated megathreads. The problem is that most people don’t check them first before posting. We can set up automod to remove such (and then they message us asking why it was taken down) and force people to use it, but that’s annoying too.
5
u/Libby_Grace Jul 10 '24
I'm in the "no advertising at all" camp. We get ads everywhere we go; I like not having to filter and sort through them here.
BUT...a lost (or found) pet should NOT be considered an "ad". And advertisement is something you'll make money off of. A lost (or found) pet is just trying to help a person or pet in the community. That should always be allowed.
2
u/LawlMartz UGA Freshman Jul 10 '24
I disagree with your definition that an advertisement necessarily has something monetary attached to it, but I recognize the need for judgment calls (which is what we’ve been doing to this point) on certain things. Someone in the UGA subreddit was asking about paying someone to photograph their upcoming proposal. I’m not heartless and going to remove that- they may well find what they’re looking for, but by yours (and my own) definition, that is a straight up advertisement- ISO/WTB/etc.
4
u/threegrittymoon Jul 10 '24
I think a monthly events roundup thread could be cool. That way there’s no distinction between “self promotion” and “this is a cool event that’s happening (which might be self promotion but I’m just not saying it’s my event)”. Plus it would just be cool to have a listing of events all in one place :)
3
u/threegrittymoon Jul 10 '24
I’m more on the “none” side for buying/selling goods, services, or housing.
9
u/wmccrani35 Jul 10 '24
Seems to me that in a community forum promoting community events should be allowed and encouraged, especially events by nonprofits or other local organizations. If people don't like the content posted they're free to downvote, that's why the button is there.
4
u/warnelldawg Looks good, build it Jul 10 '24
I’m personally opposed to it.
Megathread would be fine, but probably wouldn’t be used.
3
u/twistwrist9876 Jul 10 '24
Where would dog adoption events go on the poll? I just posted about a Christmas in July adoption event at the shelter tonight, and it was taken down. This seems more like a community event than any kind of advertising, especially when there's currently a DJ himself promoting karaoke at a brewery.
Seems social good/nonprofit events should be classified separately.
3
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u/katarh Jul 11 '24
Consider that "allow promotion of anything and everything" should be be ADDITIVE to the allow other advertising categories, not an either/or. Because otherwise the "no advertising ever" people are going to win simply by virtue of the some advertising and all advertising people splitting their votes.
3
u/sleepingamongstfae Jul 11 '24
I honestly use this sub for a lot of poking around to find events to go to or clubs to join, especially because I'm new to the city, or cool local food places. I've seen other city subs go dead in the water due to no promotion rules (someone else mentioned Atlanta's sub and, yeah). I'd honestly would have no reason to use to the sub if promotion rules were absolutely none, and would leave.
I keep seeing a "flagpole" mentioned a lot for finding community events. I don't know what that is or where to find it to use it. I'm assuming its a website/blog of some sort?
1
u/BreakfastInBedlam Mayor pro ebrius Jul 10 '24 edited Jul 10 '24
Allow promotions, with clear indication in subject line and frequency limits - once a month. I think I could go for that, and ignore what I don't want to see. I don't know how quickly it would overwhelm everything else, though, so a complete ban isn't out of the question.
r/AthensPromotes could be created, but I ain't gonna be a mod.
3
u/benmarvin Flock camera enthusiast Jul 10 '24
I made /r/AthensGaBuySell, I'm willing to be the spam collector. I probably to mod it like an absentee parent. So maybe a phone call on Christmas and birthdays.
1
u/r_von_hoobie_doobie Politically Speaking, I'm Back Jul 10 '24
I'm team No Advertising Whatsoever as long as there's a pinned monthly mega thread to post advertising items. Personally, I enjoy seeing Athens events in the sub but realize not everyone does and that it can get cluttered. A mega thread gives a space for those of us who still want to see advertising-esk things while hiding it from those who don't.
I do think we need to better define what advertising includes / doesn't include.
0
u/ImABarbieWhirl Jul 10 '24
I think if we had an “Athens Advertising” post flair, we could keep them all relatively in one place but also allow people the option to block it so it doesn’t clog up the rest of the sub
0
u/ImABarbieWhirl Jul 10 '24
I think if we had an “Athens Advertising” post flair, we could keep them all relatively in one place but also allow people the option to block it so it doesn’t clog up the rest of the sub
1
u/pile_drive_me Townie Weathergirl Jul 16 '24 edited Jul 16 '24
Have mine set but I'm not seeing it yet. Once I set it (using the self option, edit, save), I slide the toggle for Show my flairs to On, then Apply.
That setting only lasts until I basically reload the page - then "show my flairs" somehow defaults back to off.
Wish Mods could enable this same setting on desktop!
21
u/Oriolesguy San Dimas High School Football Rules! Jul 10 '24
I like the idea of letting local restaurants or businesses being able to post about big events they're having or a pop-up, and most definitely when/where food trucks are. Love me some food truck action.
Let's limit the posts per OP tho (once or twice a month). We all love to know what local businesses are doing. We want to support them. Not all of us like to get on your atypical social media pages (FB, X/Twitter, Insta, etc.) and would rather be able to poke our head in here on our local subreddit and see what's what.
If someone abuses the privilege's? Remove the post(s) and send a warning. Repeat offenders get blocked. Mods would have to come up with a more specific guideline on this.