New users: Ask your questions about Tildes here! (v4)
It looks like we're getting some new sign-ups! Welcome to Tildes!
This thread is for you to ask any question you have about the site, from “what is the moderation philosophy?”to “what does that blue line next to some comments mean?” to “what is the general vibe like here?” Tildes has a lot of documentation, history, and embedded social norms that can be daunting or opaque at first glance, so here’s your opportunity to get help with anything you need.
Questions about anything and everything are fair game. Follow-up questions are encouraged! No question is too simple.
Also, a quick note: the only person who can speak in any official capacity on Tildes is our admin @Deimos. Everyone answering who is NOT him is just a helpful community member!
It is perfectly okay to ask any question — even if you think it’s been asked before, or even if you didn’t search for an answer beforehand. Just ask away, and someone will answer you!
Oh if there's a new influx of users, let me just quickly toss in that there's an app you can use for Tildes as well, called Three Cheers For Tildes (shortened to Three Cheers or 3C sometimes) that's amazing! Made by the same developer who made RIF, u/TalkLittle.
Android link
Apple link
Disclaimer: I have 0 affiliation with the developer, I just use this app every day and am very happy with it :p
I'm not new but I was afraid to ask: how does a comment get "exemplary" status?
Like that :)
When it's your comment you get a little note too. You can only see your own notes.
(Frivolous use of the label, maybe, but sometimes a smile is worth it)
You can label other users comments as "exemplary" from the label button next to the vote button of the comment itself. There are time restrictions to how often you can label comments this way.
Also worth noting is that new users don't unlock the ability to use comment Labels until they have been on the site for 15 days (IIRC). So if any brand new users are reading this and don't see the Label button in between Vote and Bookmark, that's why.
Getting Exemplary also boosts up your comment so it goes higher in the comment section than even
lowerhigher rated (voted) ones, which is what happened (at the time of writing this) with yours.The memo is optional, so you may get Exemplary yet no info with it. The user who gave your comment Exemplary stays uknown to you if they don't sign up the memo. Sometimes you can almost say who was it - your Exemplary was surely given to you by DefinitelyNotAFae, other times you may never know.
EDIT: lower -> higher. My logic switched off for a second there.
You couldn’t convince me that you didn’t plan for this.
You gotta believe me!
CAN ANYONE TELL ME HOW YOU GET TILDES GOLD???
My 8 hours is up, don't tempt me
I'm not a new user, but would someone please reply with the blog post that is influential on the moderation policy here?
On a technicality by eevee (Evelyn Woods)
I read this a long time ago and forgot about it. It's a good write up the pitfalls of digital community management and I was happy to read it again.
Awhile back someone shared a video about how Nazi's infiltrate platforms, and I think it dovetails nicely with the blog post.
I used to follow the RedditAlternatives subreddit, and there were plenty of posts there from people that complained about getting banned from here for (what they considered) "petty or stupid reasons." It often fell back to "I said something people didn't like and now I can't argue anymore so don't go there" which, I think, means whatever is going on here moderation-wise is working. Having somewhat of a reputation also keeps some other people from bothering to try trolling here.
I saw those too when I came to Tildes a while back. I've been here long enough to say confidently that people are rarely, if ever, banned for having an unpopular opinion, swearing, or getting a little passionate.
I can't recall the exact wording in the Tildes philosophy page and I'm on mobile so I won't look it up right at this moment, but it boils down to this: if you have to seek clarification on what constitutes being an asshole, you're probably an asshole. For the rest of us, it's incredibly easy to just...not be a dick, I guess? We never need to have the rules explained.
I have disagreed, with gusto even, about many issues with many fellow Tildes users. But I've always heard the other person out, made it clear that I respected them even if I didn't respect their position on a sensitive issue, and just generally focused on rational debate rather than grandstanding. Never had a problem. Have never witnessed a ban that I didn't 100% agree with.
I also saw those posts about Tildes bans on the reddit alternatives subreddit. Some people don't think about their own contribution to a problem, they just complain that they have been rejected.
This site is designed and managed based on a pretty consistent philosophy and set of norms, but the rules are enforced by one guy who also runs the operation and built the site and has a full time unrelated job.
At least one ban has hit a poster who I had enjoyed interacting with, but some topics lead to self righteous posturing during arguments and some positions are felt so strongly that people lose empathy for anyone who feels differently. It's not necessary to engage with Tildes on every topic and if one feels so strongly that being a missionary about a certain subject is one's only sincere option, probably best to be wary about how you disagree with people who you see are equally sincere and committed on the other side. Bottom line, Deimos is human, fallible and may not have the ideal amount of time, bandwidth, but personally I really appreciate the fact that tildes doesn't tolerate the casual disrespect and insults that are common on reddit.
The malice tag will put moderator eyes on an interaction, but doesn't have any power over how that interaction is judged. So yeah, people who are new here should be aware that there are norms for civility, and that generally users here like that about the site.
Agreed! I didn't mean to imply that people get banned for something so benign, but rather they went over there to complain about the rules over here and try to keep people from joining... which, fine? Thanks, I guess?
I've not noticed any overt moderation here to be honest, but I probably don't pay close enough attention. I've been posting in groups online since the 1990s. Started with dial-up BBS message boards, moved on to usenet/newsgroups, good ol' phpbb forums, created our own site that ended up being kind of a proto-Reddit (without any popularity outside our friend group), Reddit, and here. All that to say, I've seen a lot when it comes to online forums and how they can go wrong. If I am not picking up on overall moderation trends it probably means it's being done really well, or the group is self policing to a level that keeps moderation to a minimum. Here it's probably a combination of both.
Definitely! And I didn't mean to imply that you were implying that either! I was just agreeing with you :)
You are correct that no one is banned strictly for their opinions. However, some opinions are, by their very nature, hateful. So it is very difficult for someone to express certain opinions without being hostile.
Definitely, and I feel like this is mostly covered under "Don't be an asshole."
The "missing stair" article linked within is super relevant to a group I just left.
I'd heard for around a year that one of the guys in this board game group was making women uncomfortable. I knew the guy, had attended one of his parties, and considered him somewhat socially incompetent but probably not too harmful. With me, another straight guy, he would make sexual innuendos or playful fake homoerotic jabs ("Hey, sexy" raised eyebrows). So I assumed this is the kind of behavior that was making women in the group uncomfortable.
Even when pushing the people reporting on this nebulous behavior for more information I was given nothing further. Was this bad enough that I needed to do something? The leader of the game group had supposedly been alerted and didn't want to ban the guy. I don't know what he was told.
It took a friend telling her story for me to finally get clued in. She said he had stroked her thigh under the table once, which caused her to stop showing up. A lot of women eventually stopped showing up. I figured the leader wasn't taking any action, so I had to leave. We have a new game group now.
This is more about self moderation, but was hugely influential on the single moderator we have here.... Charles rules of argument
This one got me. Funny, but also good advice.
Don't dismiss threads because they are a few days old. This place is slower than most other online forums and can be intimidating at first with lengthy thought out comments. It's just to say that If you're like me and need time to type and think of what to say don't get discouraged just because the post is 10 hours old and you're used to people moving on to the next thing.
What's the Tildes etiquette on editing comments? I feel like 75% of the time I wrote a long comment anywhere online, within 20 minutes I end up editing it to add something. I rarely make a note of the fact that I edited my comment.
I notice that some people on Reddit are fastidious about this, e.g., they'll make a note that says "Edit: typo". I would never make a note that I corrected a typo. But I don't know that I really, fully understand Reddit etiquette either.
I only make an edit note if something substantially changes about my comment. For typos, fixing wordings, or adding clarifications, I generally don't make a note.
Tildes is slower-moving than reddit, so I wouldn't worry about editing after you post, even if its after 10 or 20 minutes. I'm constantly fixing things I post after-the-fact, and it hasn't ever been an issue.
I personally try to always note an edit if someone has replied
If I make grammatical fixes I don't mention the edit.
If I make an update I will probably mention the edit.
If the comment has been responded to and my edit isn't grammatical, I'll mention the edit.
Similar to others, I don't mention grammatical or minor structural edits, so long as they don't change my point.
If I do make a substantial edit I generally try to do it "write-only" with a
---horizontal rule and some added next at the end. If I'm correcting or invalidating something I wrote earlier on, I'll mark this with~~strikethrough~~(like this) but usually not remove it.If I'm editing mid-conversation, I'll do the same strikethrough but reply in a comment, and maybe add a permalink up or down the comment thread if there's an important point.
Not a real edit:
Like, if I've said something untrue or misguided or misleading, I don't want to just leave that unchanged in an earlier comment. But I also don't want to remove that context for future readers.
I've seen people do the --- (edit to clarify: horizontal bar, not strikethrough) thing before (on Reddit) and I didn't understand what it meant. I thought it was just an unusual stylistic choice, lol.
It can be, it's sometimes used humorously. You can strike through what you secretly want to say and supplant it with the
more PCmore appropriate wording.It can also be used to denote edits.
I meant the horizontal bar, not strikethrough! Strikethrough is intuitive.
Apologies!
Turns out I misread rather often.
I don't always use it to mean an edit, really it is just a stylistic choice. It's a break between sections without an explicit heading. The intended semantics of it is Thematic Break, although clearly not everyone uses it in the intended way.
I'm one of those who "EDIT: " here and there and I add this even if it was just a typo.
My reasoning is "someone might be replying right now and if I correct or add something now, they might look dumb if they reffer to the thing I'm doing right now as they don't see it and won't know I fixed/added it even after they post their reply".
In short: I want it to be clear what I have done to the original comment and I also stand behind my words even if they may have been wrong in the first place = acknowledging I was wrong.
Some examples:
If I'm editing after a recent post I don't tend to note it, because sometimes I catch a typo but sometimes I catch a dropped sentence and end up fully re-wording a paragraph, or more. Usually this is fine. If I add in sources or additional examples, and no one has replied, I won't usually note it.
If I make an edit significantly later, or after replies I try to note it. Sometimes I forget. But if the thing I'm editing is commented on I always leave a trail.
I will edit a comment to my heart's content until it gets a vote or a reply. After that, I will add an "EDIT" for substantial changes. I won't make a note for minor fixes like words I typed wrong or a sentence that was badly written and I fixed without changing the meaning.
I don't note typo edits. I will note a rephrasing for clarification or addendums.
Not new but have been curious: do we want more content posted here? I tend to find that I check here for any updated stuff in the games or news categories but some days its just bare pickings. I could start making it a habit of posting things, but I recall a while ago reading some comments saying they liked the slow rhythm of posts. Idk if that's changed at all or if there's more demand with more people coming in from reddit now.
We can use more content. A simple measure is if most posts are getting replies, then there's room for more posts. On the other hand if many posts are dropping off the front page with zero comments, that's a sign there's too many posts.
Personally, I’m a fan of more posts, especially if you engage with it using a starter comment.
I'm a fan of more posts. Admittedly I don't post all that often other than commenting (I enjoy lurking a lot and reading other people's opinions on things), but I might try to post more if I find interesting things, or even start posting more in some sports topics.
A lot of news is posted under other categories. News as a group doesn't see much activity
I would just like to tell new users that the Tildes website works very well on mobile and you should give it a shot.
I'm not exactly new, but what do we call ourselves again? Tilders? Tildors? Tillers? Tilds? Tiles? Tillies? Waves? Servants of Deimos?
Tildoes I believe
What is the policy about asking what @cfabbro put in the exemplary message?
Wasn't actually me... but I wholeheartedly agree with whoever did it! Tildoes > every other demonym. :P
Sorry to disappoint, but it says “exemplary”.
and Tildont's for the contrarians
There's no consensus, so I recommend coming with new and increasingly ridiculous alternatives with each comment.
Ah, I see. Rocket Sponges it is!
"Tildebeasts"
Oh this one's fun, I don't think Ive heard it before among the usual suspects.
Definitely heard it before, it's one of the more hilarious ones IMO.
This is a good one but we should spell it Tildebeest
Personal preference. For me, I loathe pet names, so it's "tildes users" and nothing else.
No one can agree!
There is also Tildoes, Waves & Tilderino but in general most folks prefer no demonym.
here is one of several past discussions
Tilderen is the best one in my opinion; rhymes with children.
Officients of the ElderWeb
Tweedledees
The two commonly accepted ones are Tilderinos and Tildoes.
I say commonly accepted, but really I mean that they're the most used of all the rarely used nicknames. Generally I see "Tildes users."
I really, really like "Agents of Chaos," but it's not objectively correct like Tildos.
Anyone has any idea what triggered this influx?
@cfabbro fessed up to aiding and abetting the influx here.
I also posted a new Official Invite Requests Round on /r/tildes at the same time too. So not every new user here is Canadian... but based purely on the usernames I've been seeing, a decent chunk of them definitely are. :P
More Canadians seems like a net positive.
I dunno. Plenty don't have table manners and are rather impolite.
Sorry about that.
Am I missing a reference to show or something?
Possibly the stereotype of Canadians apologizing?
Sorry for the joke. In fact, sorry I even brought it up
And there I was so proud of you Canadians for showing an emotion other than politeness or contrition.
Apparently we only boo at hockey games.
Recent events have had a galvanizing effect, though. I hope that it inspires us to think for ourselves.
I'm so sorry to make you apologize to me.
Well now we're just passing the Canadian buck around!
I think it's a Canadian bull, because of the moose and all
It was more kingofsnake's ironic comment that threw me.
Certainly, certainly, I wasn't sure which layer you were referencing so I went with the top one.
This is true. At the table I just scream profanities.
Not for Musk's networth lmaoooooooo.
(Thx Canada).
On reddit I have seen a number of people commenting about wanting to block politics as it is getting overwhelming. I have named Tildes as an alternative that allows managing what a user sees.
That was a big reason why I joined the reddit exodus last year. I had a very comprehensive "I said NO. FUCKING. POLITICS." tag list in my 3rd party app.
I'm on the site sometimes for work related things, and I feel it's especially excruciating to be on Reddit now if you're not an American. I looked a few weeks ago and rhere was even posts talking about US politics related news in the freaking fully-dutch-speaking netherlands-focussed subreddits!!
Thank heavens for Tildes' filtering system.
I'm a recovering reddiholic. I wasn't enjoying my time there, and after election day I also realized what a bubble it could be. I found tildes shortly after and have been lurking since. I just got an invite a few days ago and am excited to be here.
Replacing reddit with tildes has materially improved my mental health.
I’m guessing the recent pay walled subreddits announcement?
Okay, I’ll bite. What does the blue bar to the left of some posts and comments mean? And the orange bar? (Is it orange or red? I may have mild colourblindness, according to the last optometrist I saw.)
There are different color themes on the site if you want to switch from the defaults to one that works better for you! Here's a link to the explanation of what they mean
Thank you! On the Black theme, the Exemplary (blue?) and Posted by you (purple?) colours look almost exactly the same. Is it just me or is it the same for people with normal colour vision?
If you're trying to figure out if you're color blind, you should take a test
This was the first result on google, and I recommend it as I just took it and it not only accurately described me as colorblind but got my actual type of colorblindness (proton, which is a rarer form [red deficient instead of green])
https://enchroma.com/pages/test
To be fair the optometrist is probably the most qualified to assist them, short of an opthalmologist (and I'm not sure colorblindness requires the latter) and they did already have that appointment!
Aye, but since they were asking direct questions now I figured they'd want something now instead of us playing "point and ask" back and forth
It's definitely preferable to take a test with an actual optometrist if possible, especially because your screen's color calibration can influence things. But an online test can help let someone know if it's a possibility, at least. Fair warning, fwiw, that enchroma's main business is selling scammy colorblind glasses.
Considering the questions they were asking (pointing at something directly and asking us what we see), my assumption is that's what they were looking for.
Good to know about the business!
I shoulda figured you were Protan too since you were asking about blue and purple; I'm still not convinced that purple is a real color. Pretty sure it's made up just to punk on us or something.
When you look at a rainbow 🌈 do the purple and blue blend in for you?
What’s strange is I’ve gone through my whole life never seeming to have any issue related to colour vision. No arguments with people about what colours things are. No confusions with colour codings. Never noticed anything.
Since failing the colour vision test at the optometrist, nothing has really changed. Most of the time, I completely forget that I’m supposedly colour blind. I still don’t even fully believe the result because surely if I were colour blind, it would create some kind of problem for me.
Edit: Well, I guess this Tildes coloured bars thing is the first one.
It's definitely a spectrum thing too, so I wouldn't be surprised if yours isn't that bad. But yeah they do blend into one color
The main reason I know I'm colorblind is it very much runs in my family (mom's dad and his brothers) and they knew to look for it; I think I have only one male cousin who isn't color blind.
It does cause me some issues. What's horrible for me is I can't tell the difference between red lights and yellow lights at stop lights (America). I can use spatial information to figure it out thankfully.
What does REALLY SUCK is the single bulb flashing red or yellow, because there's a massive difference between a flashing yellow and a flashing red light. Thankfully I can use other traffic going my way to dictate for myself, but if there isn't I have to treat it as a flashing red just in case.
That's wild that they blend into one colour for you.
I looked at the blue and purple bars again on a different screen and this time they looked distinct. But when I look at just one bar in isolation (on the actual site, not the link preview), I'm still squinting at the bar trying to tell if it's purple or blue and if it's telling me my comment is "Exemplary" or just that I wrote it.
Wow, okay. You're definitely more colourblind than I am. Is there a numerical measure for this? Is it the percentage cone response like I got from the Enchroma test? Seems like not enough to classify us both as "Protan" because we have wildly different experiences with colour vision.
In three cheers they're distinct to me. In the regular dark mode, I think that's what my browser uses, they're both brighter but still very distinct. Like if it's a rainbow they're fully separate colors not blended.
In Black it's closer to the 3 Cheers version and both blend into the black itself more? I'd say try the Atom Dark?
No color blindness here
I don't personally have that issue, but I'm using the Darcula theme on desktop and the Three Cheers For Tildes app on my phone (and I'm not sure whether the colors on the app are exactly the same as the default site theme).
Switch to gruvbox dark, you won't regret it.
Welcome Canadian friends.
As part of the ~50% of sane Americans, I'm so fucking sorry. We hate him too. We are confused, sad, and scared. Add Canada to the long list of friends and family members that Trumpism has taken from most of us.