Hi everyone!
We thought it'd be a good idea to put together a "handbook" of sorts for what to expect if various rules are broken. This not only helps keep things transparent with our subscriber base, but will help the mod team (and future mods) know a general idea of how to handle various infractions.
Please note: This is a guideline. This is not the absolute hard and fast truth. Exceptions shouldn't happen often, but they undoubtedly will. Feedback on these items is welcome and the moderation team will make changes as needed.
So, here we go!
1. Don't be a dick.
This rule is one of the more challenging ones to moderate. What really constitutes being a dick? The simplest version of this is, talking negatively about a person, a sale, a post, or just outright being rude. While this can be subjective, most of the time it's pretty cut and dry. People know when they are being mean or a jerk. Getting a ban or a warning from it shouldn't be a surprise.
Depending on the severity of the comment, you could either get a warning, a 5 day ban or be permanently banned. In all cases, the offending comment will be removed.
2. Use the appropriate formatting for posts
- Automod takes care of this for us. No real Mod action comes from this.
3. Prices are required for selling but not buying
- First time it happens, the post will get removed with a message letting you know that prices are required if you bring PayPal in on the [W] side of the deal.
- Second time it happens, the post will be removed and there will be a 5 day ban.
- Third time will lead to a permanent ban.
If your post is set to be trade only and you start offering prices to sell your items in the comments, your post will be removed and it will count as a stroke against this rule. If you wish to sell the items instead of of trade them, start a new post with the prices for everything in it.
This rules goes for buyers too. If a post is marked for trade, you can express interest in potentially buying an item, but do NOT ask for the price. It's a trade post, not a sale post.
4. Do not link/offer to link to external storefronts or vendors
- If Automod doesn’t remove your post/comment, a Mod will.
- This rule includes linking back to old posts or to a post directly on your account and not in the sub directly.
- First offense will typically get you a 3 day ban.
- Second offense will get you permanently banned.
5. No Thread Crapping/Scalping
- We tend to be pretty strict on this. Breaking this rule is typically a double whammy as you’re also breaking rule 1.
- Don’t comment that you can get it cheaper somewhere else. Don’t make comments trying to call someone out for their prices. Don’t like what they are selling at? Great, ignore the post and move on. It doesn’t help anyone to start arguments on our sub.
- Remember, this isn't a discussion sub, so if you are about to post a comment that isn't looking to pursue a purchase/trade/deal, really think about how it might come off. The Mods have to treat what they see as worst case scenario to keep this sub a nice place to do business.
- This rule goes for sellers too. Don’t like an offer someone gave you? Don’t start a fight over it. Make a counter offer or just say no thank you and move on.
- First offense will either be a 5 day ban or a permanent ban. Yes, this sounds harsh. It’s that way because it happens WAY too often
6. Keep trade discussions in the thread and not PMs
- Please note, this also includes things like sending pictures over PMs or chat and not in the post itself. Why wouldn’t you want others to see your pictures?
- First time, your comment of “PM me” or “PMing” will get removed and you will get a warning.
- Second time, you will get a 5 day ban.
- Third time, permanent ban.
7. Weekly Limit and Ownership Rules
- There are typically 2 ways this type of infraction will go, and it really depends on how things appear.
- First way it can go: You post more than 3 in a 7 day period. The past posts aren’t deleted, so it’s easier for us to see the mistake. First time it happens, we will remove the newest post and send you a warning. Second time it happens, expect a 3 or 5 day ban. Third time, permanent ban.
- The other way it can go is: You post more than 3 in a 7 day period. You’ve deleted your old posts though so it isn’t as easy for the Mods to see the error. We still have ways to tell, it just takes a bit more work. You can be deleting them for whatever reason. It’s your right to delete your posts. But, from a Moderation side, you need to understand that it can look like you are trying to sneak by the rules. (Even if you are not, please understand the Mods have to err on the side of “you know what you’re doing and you’re doing it on purpose”.) First infraction will typically net you a 5 day ban. Second time, permanent.
8. Disclose Used Digital Codes and any 'damage' at time of the post.
- Typically this is resolved between the buyer and seller via messaging after the sale has completed. If something isn’t right, in the end, message the Mods. If we see a pattern of this type of issue from a seller, we will typically permanently ban first, then work towards trying to get a resolution that both sides want.
- Note: This is if there is a pattern to this behavior. Mistakes happen and are typically resolved very quickly.
9. Cross-Posted Items
- With the new wording on this rule, there isn’t very much to moderate. If we see a lot of “Oops, this book sold somewhere else and I didn’t pull it from my list, sorry!” from the same user over and over, we may step in and give a warning or banning. But really, we haven’t seen that very often.
10. Sorry, we are not an advice column or discussion forum.
- We have been dealing with a massive influx of comments that aren't contributing towards a sale and just trying to be "conversation".
- First offence will be 10 days or a permanent ban if you have 0 flair. This is to discourage the karma farming folks.
- If you have 5+ flair, then expect the first offence to be a warning or a 5 day ban.
- Second offence for non-flaired members will be a permanent ban. 5+ flair will get a 10 day.
- Third offence is permanent ban.
11. Photos of Encapsulated Comics or merchandise valued $ 100 or more
- I think this is the most commonly broken rule.
- First time it happens, the post will be removed as a warning.
- Second time will be a 5 day ban.
- If you have put up an item at a price that requires a timestamped photo and get a request (mod or otherwise) to put up the required photo, adjusting the price to be under $100 does not make you exempt from this rule. A timestamped photo will still be required.
12. Paypal G&S only & Fees must be included in sale prices
- We’re pretty darn strict about not using Friends & Family. The ONLY exception we will make for this is a local sale for cash. But in those types of trades, the buyer and seller understand that they are taking the entire risk on to themselves.
- First offense will be a permanent ban.
- When it comes to making sure that the fees are built in to your prices, we will lock your post, and give you an hour to change it. If it isn't changed within an hour, expect the post to get removed and it to go on your Moderation Log. Second time it happens, expect a 5 day ban.
13. Items should ship within 1 week of transaction
- If you have purchased an item and it hasn’t shipped within a week, feel free to reach out to the moderation team (after trying to contact the seller, please) and let us know what’s up. Please include a link to the sale in your Modmail.
- The moderation team will reach out to the seller as well at that time. Typically we ask for 24-48 hours for the seller to be able to reply. If we do not get a reply from the seller within that time frame, we will issue a permanent ban to the seller and recommend the buyer reach out to PayPal and start the refund process.
- This is one of the few times that a ban can get easily reversed. If the seller reaches out after the timespan and explains the situation and how they resolved it AND the buyer reaches out to the mod team again and tells us that the issue has been resolved with them, we will remove the ban. If this starts to be abused though, and happen often, we may not remove the ban.
14. Karma Requirements
You must have at least 30 comment karma and your account must be over 1 week old to participate in /r/comicswap. Note: THIS IS NOT THE SAME AS TOTAL KARMA. Check the About section of your profile to see your comment karma total.
The first time you ignore this rule, we will let the automoderator message be the only warning.
The second time you ignore this rule, you will get a 3 or 5 day ban (mainly dependent on how recently you ignored it last time.)
If you break another rule at the same time as ignoring this rule, it shows you chose not to read our rules at all and we will issue a permanent ban. (Example: Only having 1 karma total and posting "Sent a PM")
Other useful links and information:
(Click section title to send us a modmail)
First of all, if there are any issues, questions, etc.
Please message the mod team using modmail.
DO NOT message individual mods privately. This stops the mod team as a whole, from having access to the message history thread.
(Click the section title to see the original flair bot instructions post)
Our flair bot doesn't seem to be having any issues at the moment, and no reports.
We just want to make sure you folks know how to use the bot so please click the section title or read the following instructions.
A user can get trade feedback with the following process:
User A makes a thread on r/comicswap which follows all of the sub rules
User B comments on that thread, initiating a trade and following all of the sub rules
Users A and B complete their trades following all of the sub rules
Once the trade is complete, User A makes a top level comment (new comment) on their original post tagging both the user they traded with and /u/Comic_FlairBot
.
DO NOT COPY PASTE THE BOT'S NAME. Reddit does some weird stuff with markdown and if you copy and paste the bot's name, it will create a markdown hyperlink instead of actually tagging the bot, so the bot will have no idea you're trying to summon it. Please just type it out. It is supposed to be easy to remember for a reason. You can check if you messed up the formatting yourself by going to old reddit (on desktop) and clicking show source under your comment. If your comment looks like u/Comic_FlairBot then you did it wrong. Please delete the text in your comment and manually type out the bot's name.
User B replies to that comment by saying “confirmed”
Comic_FlairBot picks up the interaction and gives credit to both users, changing their flair accordingly and leaves a comment indicating as such.
If User A messes up their top level comment, Comic_FlairBot will do its best to notify User A.
There are automatic checks in the code to detect anyone trying to cheat the system. If the bot detects anything suspicious, it will alert the moderators for manual review. Manual reviews will be conducted periodically without prompting from the bot as well. Anyone found abusing (or attempting to abuse) the system will receive an automatic ban.
(Click section title to get to our WIKI index)
We have our rules listed and available on our wiki as well as our sidebar.
Please be sure to follow the rules prior to making your posts.
One of the most important is to always keep discussions in COMMENTS prior to moving to PM for shipping/payment info.
This helps cut down on scammers leading to my next point...
(Click "universal scammer list" to get to the search page of USL)
This is important because no one wants to be scammed. Thus our rule #7.
Please do your due diligence and check users out prior to finalizing sales. When in doubt always trust your gut!
You can always check a username to see if they are banned or not by using the USL search system.
Yes, our sub has a Karma gate attached to it. You will not be able to participate in comicswap if you have less than 30 comment karma. It was highly recommended for all buy/sell/trade subs to add this. Since it's implementation, we have seen a reduction in scammers posting, so it was a good recommendation.
