102 votes

Daily Tildes discussion - new groups added, please subscribe to them if you're interested

A few updates related to groups today:

First of all, we now have our first actual sub-group with ~tildes.official . I've automatically subscribed everyone to it, and I'm currently the only one that can post in it. So if you'd like to make sure that you're seeing the official announcements and daily discussions but don't want all the suggestions and bug reports and such clogging up your home page, you can subscribe to ~tildes.official and unsubscribe from ~tildes. Subscribing to ~tildes will still give you the posts from both (regardless of whether you subscribe to ~tildes.official or not). I'll be moving the previous announcements and such into ~tildes.official eventually.

Also, as mentioned a few days ago, it's time to add a few more groups. As part of this, I've updated the groups list page a tiny bit to add the Subscribe/Unsubscribe button onto that page, so that you can easily tell which ones you're already subscribed to and change your choices. These are the new groups:

I know that there are a number of other ones that people are clamoring for as well (including sub-groups of existing ones), but I think it's important to go pretty slow with this. At this point I think we already have more groups than reddit did for years (and Digg ever had), but the site's population is lower than even a tiny single subreddit would be. Having things organized more is nice, but we don't want to fragment too quickly into a bunch of inactive groups.

One more thing I could use some help with: the short group descriptions on the groups list are pretty close to placeholders that I wrote very quickly. If anyone wants to suggest some new ones for any of the groups we could use to help make their purpose more clear, I'd love to update them with better ones.

Thanks, let me know what you think.

111 comments

  1. [12]
    apoctr
    Link
    This is a very minor thing, but: every group so far is plural except ~hobby. This irrationally annoys me.

    This is a very minor thing, but: every group so far is plural except ~hobby. This irrationally annoys me.

    31 votes
    1. [11]
      Deimos
      Link Parent
      That's very true, I'll change it.

      That's very true, I'll change it.

      29 votes
      1. [10]
        apoctr
        Link Parent
        You shouldn't have done that. Now I'm mad with power knowing I can cause site wide change ;)

        You shouldn't have done that. Now I'm mad with power knowing I can cause site wide change ;)

        45 votes
        1. [8]
          flaque
          Link Parent
          Awhile ago @whom got his named changed just by asking. We definitely should all know that and flood @Deimos with requests like that.

          Awhile ago @whom got his named changed just by asking. We definitely should all know that and flood @Deimos with requests like that.

          10 votes
          1. [3]
            cfabbro
            Link Parent
            IIRC @whom is a she.

            IIRC @whom is a she.

            10 votes
            1. [2]
              Whom
              Link Parent
              Your memory serves you well!

              Your memory serves you well!

              7 votes
              1. Tang_Un
                (edited )
                Link Parent
                Was your original username @Whomstd've ?

                Was your original username @Whomstd've ?

                9 votes
          2. [2]
            Whom
            Link Parent
            I take no responsibility for any filling of @deimos' inbox that occurs here!

            I take no responsibility for any filling of @deimos' inbox that occurs here!

            8 votes
            1. Duke
              (edited )
              Link Parent
              Should've changes it to Who, like the one from powerpuff girls Edit: Him, not Who ><

              Should've changes it to Who, like the one from powerpuff girls

              Edit: Him, not Who ><

          3. asdf
            Link Parent
            I can confirm this is true, I got my username changed by asking as well.

            I can confirm this is true, I got my username changed by asking as well.

            5 votes
          4. [2]
            Comment deleted by author
            Link Parent
            1. ZaphodBeebblebrox
              Link Parent
              Whom's username used to be something else. He changed it to whom.

              Whom's username used to be something else. He changed it to whom.

              4 votes
  2. [11]
    rob
    Link
    Quick question, will there be subscription limits on groups? Reddit IIRC has it set to 50 and 100 with gold, will there be similar restrictions on Tildes?

    Quick question, will there be subscription limits on groups? Reddit IIRC has it set to 50 and 100 with gold, will there be similar restrictions on Tildes?

    14 votes
    1. [6]
      Deimos
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      This is a bit of a tricky topic. Reddit doesn't really have a limitโ€”you can subscribe to as many subreddits as you want. But if you have more than the "limit" (which is 100 for everyone now, I'm...

      This is a bit of a tricky topic. Reddit doesn't really have a limitโ€”you can subscribe to as many subreddits as you want. But if you have more than the "limit" (which is 100 for everyone now, I'm pretty sure), it will pick a random subset of your subscriptions to make up your front page, and re-pick every half hour.

      This is a pretty terrible system, because it means that even if you subscribe to something, there's no guarantee that you'll actually see the posts from it, no matter how popular those posts are. This is very bad for news-like topics, and especially if you have a lot of subscriptions, it can eventually become very uncommon for you to see the posts from any individual subreddit. However, the reason they did it is because of the way reddit's front page algorithm works:

      1. 100 random subreddits from your subscriptions are selected. This set of selected subreddits will change every half hour, if you have more subscriptions than the 100 limit.
      2. For each of those subreddits, take the #1 post, as long as it's less than a day old. Order these posts by their "hotness", and then these will be the first X submissions on your front page, where X is the number of subreddits that have a #1 post less than a day old. So you get the top post from each subreddit before seeing a second one from any individual subreddit.
      3. The remaining submissions are ordered using a "normalizing" method that compares their scores to the score of the #1 post in the subreddit they're from. This makes it so that, for example, a post with 500 points in a subreddit where the top post has 1000 points is ranked the same as one with 5 points where the top has 10.

      Because of this, it would mean that if they didn't put a limit and you had 500 subscriptions, you'd have to go 500 posts down in your front page before you even see a second post from the same subreddit. That's not a very good experience and would mean you'd probably only ever see the #1 post from some subset of your subscriptions anyway. So they came up with that "random subset" method instead, which improves some things but makes other things worse.

      All of that didn't really answer your question though. In the end, I don't really know. I'm hoping that we can do better by having more flexible methods of displaying what you want to see based on the group hierarchy and tags and such. I'd also definitely like to support some kind of "group collections" where you can set up different sets of groups instead of needing to have everything mashed into one front page (like multireddits on reddit). There are a lot of options, we just need to figure out what will work for Tildes's systems.

      49 votes
      1. Emerald_Knight
        Link Parent
        In short: they had a form of optimization problem that doesn't really have a workable perfect solution (if one exists, it's likely far too inefficient to run for all of the users on the website),...

        In short: they had a form of optimization problem that doesn't really have a workable perfect solution (if one exists, it's likely far too inefficient to run for all of the users on the website), so they settled on a heuristic so they can have a sub-optimal but somewhat decent solution.

        16 votes
      2. rob
        Link Parent
        Very informative, seems like you've given it a lot of thought. Thanks for the reply!

        Very informative, seems like you've given it a lot of thought. Thanks for the reply!

        6 votes
      3. [3]
        Awoo
        Link Parent
        This really bothered me. I am near certain that this is not how it always worked, and that previously you could get multiple posts from one subreddit in your feed. And I preferred it that way....

        For each of those subreddits, take the #1 post, as long as it's less than a day old. Order these posts by their "hotness", and then these will be the first X submissions on your front page, where X is the number of subreddits that have a #1 post less than a day old. So you get the top post from each subreddit before seeing a second one from any individual subreddit.

        This really bothered me.

        I am near certain that this is not how it always worked, and that previously you could get multiple posts from one subreddit in your feed.

        And I preferred it that way.

        After this change was made every single subreddit on reddit became a situation where 1 post per day is where the vast majority of activity in the subreddit would occur. And not much would happen elsewhere in the subreddit.

        If your post was not that 1 post per day at the top, your post gets hardly any community attention.

        The old system of reddit where multiple posts could show up in a feed at the same time created MUCH healthier communities with activity spread across the community properly.

        I understand there's a difficult decision to be made here, because in terms of casual users then showing variety with 1 post from every subreddit is potentially better. But in terms of health of communities I strongly strongly preferred the system that existed prior to this.

        You can correct me if I'm wrong Deimos, I might be wrong and it might be a slightly different thing on reddit that led to this effect occurring, but nevertheless the effect occurred.

        4 votes
        1. [2]
          Deimos
          Link Parent
          I'm really not sure, it might also have just been changes to the size of the subset (for example having it go from 50 to 100) or the number of subscriptions you had that made it feel different. I...

          I'm really not sure, it might also have just been changes to the size of the subset (for example having it go from 50 to 100) or the number of subscriptions you had that made it feel different. I can't really remember a time when it didn't work this way, and from a quick look at the github history, the "normalized hot" system has always been there (it came in at the "initial checkin" at the bottom), so I suspect it's always worked fairly similarly.

          5 votes
          1. Awoo
            Link Parent
            Hmm. Well, at some point or another something happened that moved subreddits towards having 9 roughly average posts per day and 1 post that is wildly successful. Whereas previously most posts...

            Hmm.

            Well, at some point or another something happened that moved subreddits towards having 9 roughly average posts per day and 1 post that is wildly successful. Whereas previously most posts would have a fairly similar number of votes.

            Does that make sense? The difference in number of votes (and participation) would typically be fairly incremental. So in a subreddit you'd get activity on posts looking something like this:

            1 100
            2 90
            3 80
            4 70
            5 60
            etc etc

            But on the reddit of today, things look more like this:

            1 300
            2 30
            3 20
            4 10
            5 5
            etc

            Obviously I'm fudging the numbers. But I'm fairly sure something occurred to move communities away from an even distribution towards the more all-activity-in-one-post distribution. Communities themselves were healthier and more active when the distribution was spread well across a community.

            Perhaps it was a change in the sorting itself? Keeping certain posts higher in the top10 for longer? I'm guessing as I don't know exactly what the change was that caused it, but know I noticed the effect. I'm pretty sure I even asked the team at one point or another what had happened to cause it a few years back.

            5 votes
    2. [3]
      Jedi
      Link Parent
      Wait, there's a limit to how many subreddits you can subscribe to?

      Wait, there's a limit to how many subreddits you can subscribe to?

      6 votes
      1. Algernon_Asimov
        Link Parent
        Nope. There's a limit to how many subreddits will be included on your front page at any given time. @Deimos explains it in much detail here.

        Nope. There's a limit to how many subreddits will be included on your front page at any given time. @Deimos explains it in much detail here.

        12 votes
    3. [2]
      Comment deleted by author
      Link Parent
      1. rob
        Link Parent
        It wasn't a hard limit, you could add them to your subscriptions but it would pull posts from 50 (now 100) at random to create your front page. More info here:...

        It wasn't a hard limit, you could add them to your subscriptions but it would pull posts from 50 (now 100) at random to create your front page.
        More info here:
        https://www.reddit.com/r/changelog/comments/664qqq/increasing_the_amount_of_subscriptions_on_the/

        To be honest it's pretty trivial, was more curious than anything.

        8 votes
  3. [9]
    sxo
    (edited )
    Link
    I'm not sure I like the additions, it really feels like it's fragmenting too fast already. Have there really been that many food posts? Or LGBT ones? It seems to me like we're heading away from...

    I'm not sure I like the additions, it really feels like it's fragmenting too fast already. Have there really been that many food posts? Or LGBT ones?

    It seems to me like we're heading away from the usenet style partitioning. It's already getting confusing, should the vegan/vegetarian topic be in lifestyle or food?

    I don't really have any solutions but I do think that the top categories are going to be really important later on. I'll write more when sober, I seem to be repeating myself already already already.

    e: How big should the top categories be? Like should we go all the way to ~arts&entertainment.movies|books|music ? I think with the tag system it would make sense to have them be as broad as possible.

    13 votes
    1. [5]
      Deimos
      Link Parent
      No (especially for food), but part of this is that there's a chilling effect when people feel like there isn't a "correct" place to post something. Posting in ~misc just doesn't feel great,...

      Have there really been that many food posts? Or LGBT ones?

      No (especially for food), but part of this is that there's a chilling effect when people feel like there isn't a "correct" place to post something. Posting in ~misc just doesn't feel great, compared to a group where you know that the users were specifically interested in that topic. So we can't go entirely based off what's already being posted about.

      If the groups don't do well though, it's always an option for us to effectively fold them back into other ones. For example, if ~food doesn't seem to be worth it, we could always just move everything back into ~misc and tag it with "food". There's a fair amount of flexibility here.

      It's already getting confusing, should the vegan/vegetarian topic be in lifestyle or food?

      I'm not sure, and it probably depends on the exact topic. There will always be some confusion though, it's just reality that things won't cleanly split into perfect categories or a hierarchy. We'll try to figure out ways to deal with it though, for example maybe there could just be a way to post the same topic into both groups.

      13 votes
      1. [4]
        Awoo
        (edited )
        Link Parent
        Struggling with this in ~games I think and I don't know what the solution is. I kind of want to populate it with content but am internally held back because I don't think the content is good...

        No (especially for food), but part of this is that there's a chilling effect when people feel like there isn't a "correct" place to post something.

        Struggling with this in ~games I think and I don't know what the solution is. I kind of want to populate it with content but am internally held back because I don't think the content is good enough. If that makes sense?

        Individual game content exists that could be posted there. But it's for individual games, and that's not necessarily very interesting at a "top level" general group for games in a small community. But I also fundamentally understand the reason for not yet having games split up into individual ones.

        What's also a little touch-and-go is how new ~ themselves will open up in the future and how those will be populated with content and such. New subreddits for games tend to get made the very moment even the rumour of a game's name exists, and the community starts building on the back of that rumour. When an official name occurs down the line then the community may or may not be overwhelmed by the newly named community, or the mods had the foresight to sit on 5-10 names. Or two different opposing mod teams exist with different ideologies and they go into a behind the scenes mod battle with the opposing mod team.

        Either way there's going to be plenty of games content as of tomorrow as the showfloor construction is starting at E3. Contractors will be getting info from all the developers/publishers so the leak party will pretty much turn into a flood. At the very least leak content is going to be interesting enough to post to it.

        EDIT: Oooo another interesting one is handling guilds/clans/servers. These are typically specifically owned by the communities they're for. In a sense the way Tildes is aiming to go almost makes these impossible in the Tildes setting. However I would in fact be really sad if that occurred because I've run quite a few and all of them had successful subreddits, some servers were literally subreddits that then became servers, one a handful of us started still exists as a server community in a subreddit for Minecraft.

        How to consider groups for youtubers and streamers and such is another similar thing. Some are owned by the streamers themselves on reddit, some are not and are more like fanclubs.

        6 votes
        1. [3]
          boredop
          Link Parent
          I'm experiencing the same with ~sports. I'm a baseball fan, and there are a ton of baseball stories happening right now, but 95% of it is only going to be interesting to other baseball fans. For...

          Struggling with this in ~games I think and I don't know what the solution is. I kind of want to populate it with content but am internally held back because I don't think the content is good enough. If that makes sense?

          I'm experiencing the same with ~sports. I'm a baseball fan, and there are a ton of baseball stories happening right now, but 95% of it is only going to be interesting to other baseball fans. For example, I wouldn't post a story about Clayton Kershaw's back injury or Max Scherzer's pinch hit to ~sports, because if you're only there for soccer or NBA news, you don't care about any of that. But I would definitely post those things and much more to ~sports.baseball, if it existed.

          I doubt we have enough users yet to support subgroups for individual sports, but until we do ~sports will continue to see very low activity. It's only getting four or five posts per day at the moment.

          4 votes
          1. zowesiouff
            Link Parent
            Why not try out those "specific" posts? It's relatively frictionless to create a new post: if it tanks, it tanks, if folks are interested, it'll stay at the top: simple as that. I think one of the...

            Why not try out those "specific" posts?
            It's relatively frictionless to create a new post: if it tanks, it tanks, if folks are interested, it'll stay at the top: simple as that. I think one of the reason to create new sub-tildes should be that there is enough activity already to support it? How will we know if there are many baseball fans if no one takes the step to create those early posts?

            ( European here, so not a baseball fan ;) but it's always interesting to see the "depth" of each sport: all the little things that you would never come across unless you were actively in that universe )

            4 votes
          2. Awoo
            Link Parent
            Yeah. Exactly. The balancing act is a difficult one and the site needs to go through carefully selected interims that are certainly going to be active and well thought-through "catch-alls" for...

            Yeah. Exactly.

            The balancing act is a difficult one and the site needs to go through carefully selected interims that are certainly going to be active and well thought-through "catch-alls" for things that don't fit into their place higher up. But not too niche to be pointless.

            The trick is to catch ALL the content that currently isn't being posted because it's too specific, but only by adding as few things as possible to catch that content. With the intention of having that place later stop being used in favour of better categorization.

            Increase activity now with imperfect places while avoiding the spread-thin issue. Replace imperfect places with better ones when spreading thin is no longer a threat to the service.

            1 vote
    2. [3]
      Comment deleted by author
      Link Parent
      1. [2]
        TheyThemDawn
        Link Parent
        Maybe this is alluding to a way to form intersections? Like cross positing but maybe in a way that brings communities together around common topics/tags?

        Maybe this is alluding to a way to form intersections? Like cross positing but maybe in a way that brings communities together around common topics/tags?

        9 votes
        1. not
          Link Parent
          The idea of there being links between tildes that fit in topics was brought up by Deimos. So ~lifestyle.vegan could "redirect" to ~food.vegan

          The idea of there being links between tildes that fit in topics was brought up by Deimos.

          So ~lifestyle.vegan could "redirect" to ~food.vegan

          4 votes
    3. Vibe
      Link Parent
      People have already started making posts in the new groups. I think @Deimos is right about the chilling effect it was having on the discussion of those topics.

      People have already started making posts in the new groups. I think @Deimos is right about the chilling effect it was having on the discussion of those topics.

      3 votes
  4. [2]
    Ten
    Link
    Subbed to ~lgbt . Thank you @deimos Time to spam it with Trans talk ^^^/s. (aww no subscript)

    Subbed to ~lgbt . Thank you @deimos

    Time to spam it with Trans talk ^^^/s. (aww no subscript)

    13 votes
  5. [2]
    elf
    Link
    Nice! I agree with you about not wanted to fragment the site too much. How to you plan on organizing "default" groups that new users will start out as subscribed to? EDIT: Also, is there a plan...

    Nice! I agree with you about not wanted to fragment the site too much. How to you plan on organizing "default" groups that new users will start out as subscribed to?

    EDIT: Also, is there a plan for deprecating underused groups? Would you combine a group that isn't working out with another one, archive it, or just leave it be?

    12 votes
    1. cfabbro
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      @deimos already answered your edit... (found it) Basically, yes... unused groups/subgroups can always be folded back in to the ~misc group or back in to the top-level group they originated from.

      @deimos already answered your edit... (found it)

      Basically, yes... unused groups/subgroups can always be folded back in to the ~misc group or back in to the top-level group they originated from.

      11 votes
  6. Halfdeaf
    Link
    Exciting times. I totally agree about subgroups. We should not add these any time soon. Nothing feels cluttered at the moment and thing are likely to stay that way for some time.

    Exciting times. I totally agree about subgroups. We should not add these any time soon. Nothing feels cluttered at the moment and thing are likely to stay that way for some time.

    11 votes
  7. [16]
    Hypersapien
    Link
    Instead of ~tv and ~movies being top level ~s, how about ~entertainment.tv and ~entertainment.movies. We can put ~entertainment.books there too.

    Instead of ~tv and ~movies being top level ~s, how about ~entertainment.tv and ~entertainment.movies. We can put ~entertainment.books there too.

    10 votes
    1. [14]
      Deimos
      Link Parent
      Yeah, deciding the difference between top-level groups and sub-groups is tough. I think we don't want to over-nest either though, half the groups on the site could probably technically be under...

      Yeah, deciding the difference between top-level groups and sub-groups is tough. I think we don't want to over-nest either though, half the groups on the site could probably technically be under "entertainment" (games, sports, music as well as the ones you mentioned).

      11 votes
      1. [13]
        tomf
        Link Parent
        I think keeping a depth similar to usenet is perfect -- ~tv.gameofthrones is plenty. No need for genres or anything to over-complicate it. For books it would be good to have...

        I think keeping a depth similar to usenet is perfect -- ~tv.gameofthrones is plenty. No need for genres or anything to over-complicate it.

        For books it would be good to have ~books.%author%.%title%.

        I love the careful consideration you've put into the structure of the communities.

        7 votes
        1. [12]
          cfabbro
          Link Parent
          Usenet was actually way too deeply nested IMO. But it was sort of necessary for them from an administrative and technical limitation standpoint. I think ~ should try its very best to avoid going...

          Usenet was actually way too deeply nested IMO. But it was sort of necessary for them from an administrative and technical limitation standpoint. I think ~ should try its very best to avoid going much more than 4-5 levels deep at most unlike Usenet which could go 10 levels deep or more to find a niche subject... which was especially true in the alt hierarchy. It will be a bit of a strange balancing act to achieve that here though, and one that will probably require a great deal of refinement and restructuring as the system and community develops.

          6 votes
          1. [11]
            tomf
            Link Parent
            yes! I definitely agree about the limit of 4 - 5 levels. If we strip alt. from the main newsgroups, most were well within this range. The deepest I could see this going is with music genres, but...

            yes! I definitely agree about the limit of 4 - 5 levels. If we strip alt. from the main newsgroups, most were well within this range. The deepest I could see this going is with music genres, but even then five should be plenty -- especially in combination with tags.

            3 votes
            1. [10]
              cfabbro
              Link Parent
              Yeah, I definitely think tags will be ~ saving grace here, especially once filtering by tags comes in to play.

              Yeah, I definitely think tags will be ~ saving grace here, especially once filtering by tags comes in to play.

              2 votes
              1. [9]
                tomf
                Link Parent
                If there will be an option to toggle tags, this will be a godsend for the TV communities, where you can easily hide spoilers before watching the show, but simply flip them on afterwards. I've said...

                If there will be an option to toggle tags, this will be a godsend for the TV communities, where you can easily hide spoilers before watching the show, but simply flip them on afterwards.

                I've said it a few times, but I really love the structure you've all put in motion. Its so logical and, at least at this time, looks like it will scale perfectly.

                4 votes
                1. [8]
                  cfabbro
                  (edited )
                  Link Parent
                  Yeah, proper spoiler tags and the ability to filter them out are something that is no-doubt going to be supported natively. I will make damn sure of that by constantly pestering @deimos about them...

                  Yeah, proper spoiler tags and the ability to filter them out are something that is no-doubt going to be supported natively. I will make damn sure of that by constantly pestering @deimos about them (when he has the time to actually implement them). I need them badly since I tend to wait til shows (even ones I am really interested in watching) are several seasons in before binging and rarely ever go to the movie theater. :P

                  1 vote
                  1. [7]
                    tomf
                    Link Parent
                    haha. You're stronger than I am. I tried that with this last season of Atlanta and made it about ten minutes after the episode was released.

                    haha. You're stronger than I am. I tried that with this last season of Atlanta and made it about ten minutes after the episode was released.

                    1 vote
                    1. [6]
                      cfabbro
                      Link Parent
                      LOL, I am not that strong... there are about 5-6 shows I simply can't wait for the seasons to finish and so watch week-to-week... Atlanta is one of them. It's just too damn good!

                      LOL, I am not that strong... there are about 5-6 shows I simply can't wait for the seasons to finish and so watch week-to-week... Atlanta is one of them. It's just too damn good!

                      1 vote
                      1. [5]
                        tomf
                        Link Parent
                        crap. I should have chosen TeddyPerkins for my nick! haha All in all, the upcoming structure will be excellent for media discussions. I mod a few subs on reddit and am thinking of getting some...

                        crap. I should have chosen TeddyPerkins for my nick! haha

                        All in all, the upcoming structure will be excellent for media discussions. I mod a few subs on reddit and am thinking of getting some more help since I seem to be spending more time here. :)

                        1 vote
                        1. [4]
                          cfabbro
                          (edited )
                          Link Parent
                          Hmmm... time to abuse my unlimited supply of invite codes and snatch that up as an alt for myself! ;) /jk LOL I know the feeling... I just gave up my baby, /r/coversongs, a couple of weeks ago to...

                          crap. I should have chosen TeddyPerkins for my nick! haha

                          Hmmm... time to abuse my unlimited supply of invite codes and snatch that up as an alt for myself! ;) /jk

                          I mod a few subs on reddit and am thinking of getting some more help since I seem to be spending more time here. :)

                          LOL I know the feeling... I just gave up my baby, /r/coversongs, a couple of weeks ago to some new mods. I just don't have the time/patience/desire to do anything on reddit anymore now that there is ~

                          I am 100% emotionally done with reddit and reddit HQ now after years of the original and most dedicated users being ignored and watching the place go to shit as a result. It feels a bit like walking away from an abusive relationship, TBH. :( Good riddance.

                          1 vote
                          1. [3]
                            tomf
                            Link Parent
                            For me, 90% of my reddit time is spent doing mod stuff. My main one is /r/pizza, which I'll keep, but the smaller ones that aren't automated, like /r/ikeahacks, would benefit from some other mods....

                            For me, 90% of my reddit time is spent doing mod stuff. My main one is /r/pizza, which I'll keep, but the smaller ones that aren't automated, like /r/ikeahacks, would benefit from some other mods. I mean, I only took that sub over because they had a lot of spam... and then I thought it'd be fun to run an ad for it... and before long I had 26,000 more subscribers and a somewhat thriving community.

                            The main issue I've had with reddit over the years is the reliance on the community to create the tools to mod. We were expected to help them create the #3 site without any help from them. And really, a big hat tip to @Deimos for automoderator. Without AM and a few other tools, there would be absolutely no joy in being a janitor for the site. Its actually because of his work with AM that I decided to check this place out and dig through the documentation.

                            2 votes
                            1. [2]
                              cfabbro
                              Link Parent
                              New ~ slogan: ;)

                              New ~ slogan:

                              Give us your tired (moderators), your poor (victims of online abuse), your huddled masses yearning to breathe free (of hate speech).

                              ;)

                              4 votes
                              1. tomf
                                Link Parent
                                Oh my god. That's perfect!

                                Oh my god. That's perfect!

                                1 vote
    2. elf
      Link Parent
      Having a combined ~tv and ~movies seems reasonable to me, since that's how 4chan does it (though I suppose on ~ anime discussion would also go on ~tv.)

      Having a combined ~tv and ~movies seems reasonable to me, since that's how 4chan does it (though I suppose on ~ anime discussion would also go on ~tv.)

      2 votes
  8. [2]
    whyarentihigh
    Link
    Don't really have anything to add, just wanted to give my thanks for all your hard work @Deimos and the other admins :>

    Don't really have anything to add, just wanted to give my thanks for all your hard work @Deimos and the other admins :>

    7 votes
    1. cfabbro
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      @deimos is the only admin, the rest of us are just friends of his and volunteers who have been trying (and sometimes failing) to help him. I suspect we often probably make more work for him and...

      @deimos is the only admin, the rest of us are just friends of his and volunteers who have been trying (and sometimes failing) to help him. I suspect we often probably make more work for him and kick up more trouble than we reduce it... but we're just trying to help, honest. :P

      5 votes
  9. [7]
    Lazarus
    Link
    No Geo groups? :( I want local topics. Thatโ€™s one thing Reddit started to suck at - engaging local people Ed: by local I mean your town/city, not continent

    No Geo groups? :(

    I want local topics. Thatโ€™s one thing Reddit started to suck at - engaging local people

    Ed: by local I mean your town/city, not continent

    6 votes
    1. [6]
      TheyThemDawn
      Link Parent
      Wouldnโ€™t a population of 2,000 users make that practically useless?

      Wouldnโ€™t a population of 2,000 users make that practically useless?

      14 votes
      1. [5]
        Lazarus
        Link Parent
        Not necessarily. I know of at least 5 other folks from my city on here.

        Not necessarily. I know of at least 5 other folks from my city on here.

        1 vote
        1. [4]
          TheyThemDawn
          Link Parent
          Adding it when enough people from a certain area ask for it makes sense, then. What city, if you donโ€™t mind me asking?

          Adding it when enough people from a certain area ask for it makes sense, then. What city, if you donโ€™t mind me asking?

          1. [3]
            Lazarus
            Link Parent
            Chicago! So...thereโ€™s a lot going on here Iโ€™d like to know about.

            Chicago! So...thereโ€™s a lot going on here Iโ€™d like to know about.

            1 vote
            1. [2]
              TheyThemDawn
              Link Parent
              That makes sense, yโ€™all could have your own internet. (Iโ€™be visited few times for all the museums and I love it there<3)

              That makes sense, yโ€™all could have your own internet. (Iโ€™be visited few times for all the museums and I love it there<3)

              1 vote
              1. Lazarus
                Link Parent
                Omg itโ€™s so true. Youโ€™re always welcome back. We love visitors. ;)

                Omg itโ€™s so true.

                Youโ€™re always welcome back. We love visitors. ;)

                1 vote
  10. [12]
    Vibe
    (edited )
    Link
    Just for clarification, will new users be auto-subscribed to the new groups or will they have to manually subscribe as well? edit: typos

    Just for clarification, will new users be auto-subscribed to the new groups or will they have to manually subscribe as well?

    edit: typos

    5 votes
    1. [11]
      Deimos
      Link Parent
      New users will continue being auto-subscribed to everything except ~test for now. As I've said before though, I probably want to stop doing this before too long and start making people...

      New users will continue being auto-subscribed to everything except ~test for now. As I've said before though, I probably want to stop doing this before too long and start making people specifically opt in to subjects, instead of needing to opt out.

      10 votes
      1. [10]
        unknown user
        Link Parent
        Honestly, if the number of top-level groups stays reasonably small, I think there's something to be said for automatically subscribing new users to all of them. I've subscribed to all but two of...

        Honestly, if the number of top-level groups stays reasonably small, I think there's something to be said for automatically subscribing new users to all of them. I've subscribed to all but two of the new groups, not because I have a particular interest in them, but because it means I get to see more varied content, which I think can only be a good thing. (The other two are topics I am explicitly disinterested in - but I'll probably still check them out once some content has been posted, and I might change my mind.)

        7 votes
        1. [9]
          Deimos
          Link Parent
          There are some good parts (which is why we're doing auto-subscriptions for now), but I mostly disagree and think groups being opt-in is important as the site grows. This is an old post I wrote on...

          There are some good parts (which is why we're doing auto-subscriptions for now), but I mostly disagree and think groups being opt-in is important as the site grows. This is an old post I wrote on reddit about why /r/gaming (which I was moderating at the time) could never be a high-quality subreddit due to the fact that everyone was auto-subscribed to it: https://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/ipqq2/how_being_a_default_subreddit_affects_rgamings/

          I ended up creating /r/Games specifically to be a separate, higher-quality gaming subreddit that was opt-in instead of opt-out.

          8 votes
          1. [7]
            Halfdeaf
            Link Parent
            I remember that. What happened to r/gaming was the same thing that is happening to Reddit as a whole. So in a sense, we are r/games right now :D Are you thinking that the way forward is to have...

            I remember that. What happened to r/gaming was the same thing that is happening to Reddit as a whole. So in a sense, we are r/games right now :D

            Are you thinking that the way forward is to have new users have no subscriptions at all so they have to go and look at what they are interested in? Maybe a prompt to select a few top-level groups when the first log on?

            8 votes
            1. Awoo
              Link Parent
              This is the most encouraging thing about the site right now.

              I remember that. What happened to r/gaming was the same thing that is happening to Reddit as a whole. So in a sense, we are r/games right now :D

              This is the most encouraging thing about the site right now.

              4 votes
            2. [5]
              Deimos
              Link Parent
              Yeah, probably something along those lines. I think a sort of quick "welcome" page telling people to subscribe to things and giving some other info would probably be useful (and better than the...

              Are you thinking that the way forward is to have new users have no subscriptions at all so they have to go and look at what they are interested in? Maybe a prompt to select a few top-level groups when the first log on?

              Yeah, probably something along those lines. I think a sort of quick "welcome" page telling people to subscribe to things and giving some other info would probably be useful (and better than the current welcome message I'm sending everyone).

              4 votes
              1. [3]
                ZaphodBeebblebrox
                (edited )
                Link Parent
                Perhaps a welcome page that lists all of the top ~s with a few sentences describing what each group is about would be useful? For example: ~tildes Edit: How does one begin a line with spaces in...

                Perhaps a welcome page that lists all of the top ~s with a few sentences describing what each group is about would be useful? For example:
                ~tildes

                ~tildes is for discussion of ~ design and possible features. It also contains posts about users of ~, meta-posts and the daily discussion threads.

                Edit: How does one begin a line with spaces in markdown?

                3 votes
                1. [2]
                  Deimos
                  Link Parent
                  Hmm, I don't think you can. You'd probably have to use a list to fake it, or put it into a code block.

                  Edit: How does one begin a line with spaces in markdown?

                  Hmm, I don't think you can. You'd probably have to use a list to fake it, or put it into a code block.

                  3 votes
              2. Halfdeaf
                Link Parent
                That would probably be the best solution.

                That would probably be the best solution.

                2 votes
          2. elf
            Link Parent
            Huh, I didn't realize you were the one who created /r/games. I think I had already unsubbed from /r/gaming when that sub came out, but it was definitely everything I wanted out of a gaming sub...

            Huh, I didn't realize you were the one who created /r/games. I think I had already unsubbed from /r/gaming when that sub came out, but it was definitely everything I wanted out of a gaming sub that just /r/truegaming couldn't deliver.

            4 votes
  11. Gyrfalcon
    Link
    Honestly I feel like the descriptions that you selected for the new groups are pretty good and probably should stay for now. They are vague enough that they can fit many posts, but also not so...

    Honestly I feel like the descriptions that you selected for the new groups are pretty good and probably should stay for now. They are vague enough that they can fit many posts, but also not so vague that people don't know what should go in each.

    I do think that once ~ has moderators and everything, that they should have at least some control over their subs' description.

    5 votes
  12. [3]
    acr
    Link
    Can we possibly get a watch feature? There's certain threads I'd like to get an alert when there's a new top level post

    Can we possibly get a watch feature? There's certain threads I'd like to get an alert when there's a new top level post

    5 votes
    1. [2]
      Deimos
      Link Parent
      Yeah, that would be good. Thanks for the suggestion, I added it to the issue tracker: https://gitlab.com/tildes/tildes/issues/107

      Yeah, that would be good. Thanks for the suggestion, I added it to the issue tracker: https://gitlab.com/tildes/tildes/issues/107

      3 votes
      1. acr
        Link Parent
        Thanks so much!

        Thanks so much!

        2 votes
  13. [2]
    Zeerph
    Link
    Some questions and ideas for future consideration. How will we be able to sort through all the various subgroups? e.g. I want to find discussions about the Game of Thrones final season. How would...

    Some questions and ideas for future consideration.

    How will we be able to sort through all the various subgroups?
    e.g. I want to find discussions about the Game of Thrones final season. How would I get there?
    I would assume it would be in something like:
    ~tv.fantasy.gameofthrones.spoilers

    But what route would I go about to get there? Is it just in the list that is only bound to grow?

    or

    Would we be able to sift through a drop down menu of different subgroups?
    Like so:

    • tv
      • fantasy
        • show1
          • spoilers
        • show2
        • gameofthrones
          • spoilers
            • fantheories

    Also, can we have something like subtle colored lines on the bottom of the post (the ones on the side to denote official posts and unread comments work very well) or personalised colours to denote group or subgroup posts?
    That is, top groups can have a certain colour, first level subgroups another, and so on.
    Or even a specific colour for certain groups that you want to pay attention to?

    4 votes
    1. Deimos
      Link Parent
      I don't know specifically how it will work outโ€”like so many other things, this is something that I want to figure out gradually from how the site actually evolves, instead of pre-planning a...

      I don't know specifically how it will work outโ€”like so many other things, this is something that I want to figure out gradually from how the site actually evolves, instead of pre-planning a complex system that may not work out at all in practice when we finally need it.

      One of the main benefits of the hierarchy is that it will make "discovery" much easier though, so I'm sure we can figure out some good methods, and being able to have it as a "tree" where you can expand and look through different sections would probably be great.

      12 votes
  14. [5]
    Hypersapien
    Link
    I'm wondering if ~lgbt should be a sub~ under ~lifestyle.

    I'm wondering if ~lgbt should be a sub~ under ~lifestyle.

    4 votes
    1. [2]
      tvfj
      Link Parent
      A big part of the conversation I had with @deimos was about determining what should be under what. In the case of ~lgbt, its content wouldn't mix with the other content found in ~lifestyle, so...

      A big part of the conversation I had with @deimos was about determining what should be under what. In the case of ~lgbt, its content wouldn't mix with the other content found in ~lifestyle, so it's a bad pairing.

      Though more importantly, calling it a "lifestyle" is something people have done for decades to paint being LGBT as a choice, so it would be a really bad pairing.

      17 votes
      1. Hypersapien
        Link Parent
        I see where you're coming from. I can't claim to understand the experience of lgbt people.

        I see where you're coming from. I can't claim to understand the experience of lgbt people.

        3 votes
    2. [2]
      Algernon_Asimov
      Link Parent
      Fuck no! There's already way too much misunderstanding about "The Gay Lifestyleโ„ข" which feeds into misrepresentations about homosexuality (and other diverse sexualities and genders) being a...

      Fuck no! There's already way too much misunderstanding about "The Gay Lifestyleโ„ข" which feeds into misrepresentations about homosexuality (and other diverse sexualities and genders) being a choice. Let's not feed that misinformation.

      5 votes
  15. [12]
    Awoo
    Link
    I've got a couple of suggestions @deimos - not because I'm personally interested in them but because I know how successful they are from experience in our community. Original Art Non-Original Art...

    I've got a couple of suggestions @deimos - not because I'm personally interested in them but because I know how successful they are from experience in our community.

    Original Art
    Non-Original Art

    Would probably go beneath ~creative but I wouldn't be certain. In my small community of a couple thousands we have dozens of original art posts daily, and dozens of non original art posts. A place for them wouldn't hurt. Perhaps non-original wouldn't fit here on Tildes just yet, or would later need to become something else, but it works as a catch-all in our community.

    A place for anyone to share original artwork is really great for building up a pool of artists, often people who do neat things like mascots, fanart, and other such stuff. You know the drill with all the things artists create for an overall community that they feel a part of. Without somewhere for them to lay their roots they aren't going to become visible here, and I feel that the high-quality text-based discussion of the site will specifically be putting off art submissions, even if they're as valid and valuable because they're the artist themselves participating. So a place for OC would be useful.

    I think what I'm noticing so far with Tildes is that there's a bit of uncertainty in where to post content vs where to post discussion. Appropriateness. If you understand me.

    2 votes
    1. [11]
      elf
      Link Parent
      This could probably just be fixed by having better group descriptions. I know @deimos was asking for suggestions for those, so perhaps you should dm him. Also, I think in general if you want to...

      This could probably just be fixed by having better group descriptions. I know @deimos was asking for suggestions for those, so perhaps you should dm him.

      Also, I think in general if you want to discuss some topic in some group... just post a topic in that group! Boundaries and customs and such are going to inevitably be somewhat user defined in this primordial social networking stew that is early stage ~. Because ~ bumps by activity, a single topic can serve as a sort of long term general thread for a given subcommunity.

      2 votes
      1. [10]
        Awoo
        Link Parent
        I'm not so sure it's a description issue. It's an odd thing but there's just some sort of level of discomfort that comes with posting your art to a mixed discussion+art location compared to...

        I'm not so sure it's a description issue.

        It's an odd thing but there's just some sort of level of discomfort that comes with posting your art to a mixed discussion+art location compared to posting it to a completely dedicated location.

        A bit like I don't really want to post individual game news like "There will be a Destiny update" to ~games despite the fact that posting about the latest update is perfectly valid there. It just doesn't feel right to put it there whereas I would put it very happily into a Destiny subgroup. Not saying I want that game group (I don't play the game), just the first thing that came to mind as it's the last article I saw.

        There's a careful balance of figuring out general groups that would be highly-used before the more specific niche niche groups that would spread activity too thin. OriginalArt would get a bunch of use from arty people, whereas 10 different groups "animeart, pencilart, waterbasedart, etc etc" would be a horrible thing spreading activity too thinly.

        There's a space in between. The site has to go from general groups, to some carefully selected highly busy groups, to some niche groups. Eventually the very niche groups I mentioned above would make sense. And eventually the "original art" group would no longer make sense because things should be in the more niche and specific locations that fully describe them, but in the interim it would increase activity and fill the role.

        Which brings up the thought, what's the next step for games? Genres? Individual games would be a horrible idea too, but I don't know what the correct interim step is. Genres doesn't really work because of multi genre games.

        Messy messy. Anyway that's all pretty besides the point of the art suggestion, since it isn't being posted and I'm damn certain that there will be some talented artists amongst the 2500 people here so far. We get fanart in our community of 2500 people(which I adore and am humbled by) so I see no reason for artists not to be here.

        2 votes
        1. [9]
          Algernon_Asimov
          Link Parent
          The groups and sub-groups will arise out of what people post. I'm reminded of a story a colleague once told me. A brand-new university with multiple buildings did not build paths between the...

          The groups and sub-groups will arise out of what people post.

          I'm reminded of a story a colleague once told me. A brand-new university with multiple buildings did not build paths between the various buildings. Instead, they waited to see where people walked, by observing the worn grooves in the grassed areas around the buildings. They then paved those grooved bits because that's where people actually walked.

          If a lot of people post in ~games with a "video" tag, it would make sense to create ~games.video because there's a demand for it. Similarly, if there are a lot posts with a "computer" tag, it would make sense to create ~games.computer. If it so happens that lots of posts get tagged with "destiny", that demonstrates a demand for a group like ~games.destiny.

          So, part of the purpose of you being here, as an early user, is to demonstrate the demand for groups and sub-groups. Walk on the grass and make a pathway for Deimos to pave later. If you don't post (and tag your posts appropriately), then the groups you need won't be created.

          TL;DR Post your bloody Destiny updates and your art pieces! :P

          5 votes
          1. [5]
            Awoo
            Link Parent
            You're missing the point. People aren't posting them, and don't want to post them. If they aren't posted, the groups and sub groups won't happen. No amount of saying "just post it" will stop the...

            You're missing the point. People aren't posting them, and don't want to post them.

            If they aren't posted, the groups and sub groups won't happen.

            No amount of saying "just post it" will stop the fundamental issue of people not wanting to post it. It is a feeling that people have, and they don't like going against that feeling. I don't want to post things that don't feel right, and the same will be occurring in these others. Being told to stop feeling that way won't stop people feeling that way.

            It's not reliable to only build out the site based on what is already being posted. Elements of understanding the nature and psychology behind the way users interact with the site and the things they choose not to post even though they might want to post is of high importance.

            I could literally post 50-100 things per day. But that wouldn't be good either in a community that is small and building itself up. Finding content is easy peasy. Especially valid gaming news content. The issue is that it's not the right time, not the right place, and many other different "feelings" that go into it.

            3 votes
            1. Algernon_Asimov
              Link Parent
              But it is right. If you want to post an article about a computer game, then post it in ~games. That's exactly what that group is for. Similarly, if you want to post art, post it in ~creative, or...

              I don't want to post things that don't feel right,

              But it is right. If you want to post an article about a computer game, then post it in ~games. That's exactly what that group is for. Similarly, if you want to post art, post it in ~creative, or even ~tv or ~games, depending what franchise the art is connected to. If you think the group name is too general, that's what tags are for. Use tags to show the specific information about what your post is about.

              I don't understand how you can think that an article about a computer game is not right for a group about games, including computer games. That's exactly what that group is for. All posts about games go in ~games. <shakes head>

              The issue is that it's not the right time, not the right place

              Bullshit. This is exactly the right time. This site needs content. It needs activity. It needs people like you to post interesting stuff. That's why you're here. We're all here to make this site active. And the right place is available: there are a few high-level categories, and there's ~talk and ~misc for everything else.

              There are not going to be dozens of groups here in the near future. Use the groups we've got. Use tags to show people what groups we'll need in the future. You are here to help build the website and the community.

              6 votes
            2. [3]
              elf
              Link Parent
              I guess there's a difference between what's the right course of action on the individual level (just post what you want to see posted) and what's the right course of action on the site level (I...

              I guess there's a difference between what's the right course of action on the individual level (just post what you want to see posted) and what's the right course of action on the site level (I don't claim to know how to get people to post things they aren't posting.) Even in the latter situation though, the best thing I can suggest is for mods/enfrachised users/whoever to just seed certain groups with the topics they think users want but aren't posting themselves.

              Ultimately most people are going to be most comfortable posting the kind of content they see in a group already... and there's really no way around needing to bootstrap the process by "just posting it."

              One advantage of ~ is that sort-by-activity lends itself to the creation of "containment topics" (like my weeb topic) that keep discussion of niche interests in a single spot so as not to bother other users.

              4 votes
              1. [2]
                Awoo
                Link Parent
                Containment topics seems to be the best starting step yes, in lieu of the perfect places. For as long as sort by activity is default at least. I'd test the waters by making an original art thread...

                Containment topics seems to be the best starting step yes, in lieu of the perfect places. For as long as sort by activity is default at least.

                I'd test the waters by making an original art thread myself but.... That requires original art to post to start it off haha.

                1 vote
                1. elf
                  Link Parent
                  That does tend to be a problem ๐Ÿ˜†

                  That does tend to be a problem ๐Ÿ˜†

          2. [2]
            Natanael
            Link Parent
            That story can be found in reddit's /r/desirepaths. Another topic probably too narrow for this site? https://www.reddit.com/r/desirepath/comments/8nihbj

            That story can be found in reddit's /r/desirepaths. Another topic probably too narrow for this site?

            https://www.reddit.com/r/desirepath/comments/8nihbj

            1 vote
            1. Algernon_Asimov
              Link Parent
              I'm in Australia. It was an Australian university. But it's interesting to know it happened elsewhere! That's why there's a ~misc group. :)

              That story can be found in reddit's /r/desirepaths.

              I'm in Australia. It was an Australian university. But it's interesting to know it happened elsewhere!

              Another topic probably too narrow for this site?

              That's why there's a ~misc group. :)

          3. elf
            Link Parent
            That's a good way of putting it.

            That's a good way of putting it.

  16. [2]
    Petril
    Link
    What do you think about moving your other admin posts to ~tildes.official?

    What do you think about moving your other admin posts to ~tildes.official?

    2 votes
    1. Deimos
      Link Parent
      I will, but I need to implement a redirect from the old addresses first. There are lots of links to those posts in comments and such, and I don't want them all to break when I move the posts.

      I will, but I need to implement a redirect from the old addresses first. There are lots of links to those posts in comments and such, and I don't want them all to break when I move the posts.

      5 votes
  17. [3]
    Archimedes
    Link
    I'm not sure auto-subscribing people to ~lgbt is the best idea once the number of users expands.

    I'm not sure auto-subscribing people to ~lgbt is the best idea once the number of users expands.

    2 votes
    1. [2]
      Deimos
      Link Parent
      Agreed (though I don't want to auto-subscribe people to anything for long). I wonder if I should stop auto-subscribing people to that one already, though then there would probably be a lot of...

      Agreed (though I don't want to auto-subscribe people to anything for long). I wonder if I should stop auto-subscribing people to that one already, though then there would probably be a lot of people that just never realize it exists.

      1 vote
      1. Archimedes
        Link Parent
        As long as there is page or tool to find what tildes exist, I think the people who want to subscribe should be able to find it.

        As long as there is page or tool to find what tildes exist, I think the people who want to subscribe should be able to find it.

        1 vote
  18. [3]
    trwork
    Link
    Just as general thoughts - why is there no ~images? That would be perfect for a sub of sub-tildes and at the moment there's not much image content, which is going to be something that keeps people...

    Just as general thoughts - why is there no ~images?

    That would be perfect for a sub of sub-tildes and at the moment there's not much image content, which is going to be something that keeps people coming back. Not that we're trying to replicate Reddit, but 90% of people are there for pictures.

    1. Algernon_Asimov
      Link Parent
      Many pictures would count as "fluff" content, and it seems that "fluff" content won't really be welcome here. If you have an image to post, you'll have to find the right group for it depending...

      Many pictures would count as "fluff" content, and it seems that "fluff" content won't really be welcome here.

      If you have an image to post, you'll have to find the right group for it depending what it's a picture of, because I don't think we're going to see the equivalent of /r/Pics here any time soon.

      5 votes
    2. [2]
      Comment deleted by author
      Link Parent
      1. trwork
        Link Parent
        It's fair to say that it's too vague, but would easily be split with sub-tildes for more specific categorie. It'd be a shame if images were less supported, IMO.

        It's fair to say that it's too vague, but would easily be split with sub-tildes for more specific categorie. It'd be a shame if images were less supported, IMO.

  19. 666
    Link
    Is it possible to stay subscribed to all new groups that are created, or alternatively to have something like ~all to display all groups? While a website is small I like to be able to participate...

    Is it possible to stay subscribed to all new groups that are created, or alternatively to have something like ~all to display all groups? While a website is small I like to be able to participate in all kind of discussions that I find interesting and currently my only way to do that is to subscribe to everything and watch for new groups being created.

  20. [4]
    Boelens
    Link
    Could we get a ~drugs group for all drug related content/discussion (recreational or pharmaceutical) or do you have no interest in adding such a group?

    Could we get a ~drugs group for all drug related content/discussion (recreational or pharmaceutical) or do you have no interest in adding such a group?

    1. [3]
      endash
      Link Parent
      This could land them in some thorny territory because part of Tildes current Terms of Use is to not post content that breaks the law, and they seem to operate at least in the EU, US, and Canada....

      This could land them in some thorny territory because part of Tildes current Terms of Use is to not post content that breaks the law, and they seem to operate at least in the EU, US, and Canada. Outside of alcohol and tobacco, most drug use is still illegal on a federal level in the US, and aside from decriminalization in Portugal, the EU seems to hold similar restrictions.

      2 votes
      1. [2]
        Boelens
        Link Parent
        Posting about drugs or drugs you have done/possess is not illegal though. Drug posession (and maybe usage? I'm not sure about the US) is illegal but talking about it is not afaik.

        Posting about drugs or drugs you have done/possess is not illegal though. Drug posession (and maybe usage? I'm not sure about the US) is illegal but talking about it is not afaik.

        1. endash
          Link Parent
          Gonna preface this with the disclaimer that I am pro-legalization and decriminalization, find the research results of psychedelics in medical therapy methods promising, and think the "war on...

          Gonna preface this with the disclaimer that I am pro-legalization and decriminalization, find the research results of psychedelics in medical therapy methods promising, and think the "war on drugs" was/continues to be a massive policy failure.

          Posting about drugs or drugs you have done/possess is not illegal though.

          Certainly. But despite Tildes' disclaimer (you agree not to use the platform for financial/medical/serious decision-making advice), the proposed group would have to tread carefully to ensure the platform does not get subpoenaed or targeted by law enforcement, among other things.

          From my understanding, the trust system-in-progress is meant to counter the potential for bad actors and their actions (trolling, brigading, flaming, spam) that arise when registration to a public forum is not tied to identifying details, said forum prefers a minimal approach to data storage, and is geared to be pro-privacy. I could see how those same features could attract and create a grey marketplace through private messages, even if the subgroup mods placed a giant "DO NOT POST ABOUT MAKING, SOURCING, SELLING, OR BUYING DRUGS" banner above it.

          The other major consideration is the bias of accounts that get posted publicly. Not on drug policy, but overall experience - a casual lurker can get the wrong impression of what to expect from experimentation from seeing a bunch of threads about people who used with no/positive effects, or a negative account can get buried in replies that downplay the risks. With conventional pharmaceuticals, the line between discussion and giving unbacked medical advice is easily fuzzed and crossed.

          Add to this the offline pressure placed by changing legal standards on online communities. SESTA and FOSTA caused several sites to pull the plug over night, while gun/homebrewing exchanges were pushed off Reddit to avoid legal liabilities. Unfortunately neutral information posted about drug use ("well, I started with xx mg of psychedelic Z") is often construed as "condoning/encouraging illegal activity". As frankly terrible as that line of thinking is, I'd rather not see Tildes opening that can of worms only for Deimos to have to deal with the legal eagles and buzzards swooping in.

          What could a constructive solution be? I can't say because I would not be part of that subtilde community (have never used), so I cannot understand or know what that group would want/need in terms of discussions, ground rules, or moderation. The /r/trees subreddit remains on the platform, so some useful principles could be gleaned from there. There is a need for discussion space, but given the currently small and developing platform these legally gray areas of interest would take a good amount of prudence, legal research, and moderation to stay up compared to more neutral topics (like hobbies, food, books, science), effort that at this point is likely better funneled into fleshing out the general platform's features and functionality, especially as we have only one dev trying to get things right from the beginning.

          1 vote
  21. hook
    Link
    I sense there might be some overlap between ~comp, ~tech, and ~science.

    I sense there might be some overlap between ~comp, ~tech, and ~science.