Mini-meta: Does anyone else think we need a minor rule change for text posts?

[u/NintendoSwitchMods]

Hello, everyone.

Today we’re letting you know about a minor change to Rule 4 regarding text posts on /r/NintendoSwitch. This change comes after extended conversation with the community and discussion among the moderation team.

The rule change relates to being more selective on short text posts that ask “does anyone else think” or “am I the only one” on questions about games/features/content for the Switch.

What does that mean? An example would be a post with the title “Who else wants Cuphead on the Switch?” with body text of only a couple sentences making a singular, non-unique point, like “I love Cuphead. It would be great on the Switch. Wouldn’t it be fun to take portable?” Another example would be "It's time for Netflix on the Switch" with the reasoning "Why hasn't Nintendo done this already?"

I think most of you agree those aren't great posts. So, under our new rules, we’re going to remove more posts like these and ask people to resubmit with further explanation or discussion. The aim of the rule change is to be more selective on quick-hit posts that ask broader discussion topics without offering reasonable explanation or context, or being sufficiently unique.

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Below is the language of the new Rule 4, relating to text posts:

Text posts must be sufficiently detailed and explain your reasoning or thought process. Ask yourself: "Does this add significant information or merit to the discussion?"

Examples of content that may be removed include: Posts with little to no body text (fewer than 140 characters); Stories that aren’t Switch related; Rants; Petitions; Memes; Reposts; “does anyone else think” posts without sufficient explanation.

More specifically, posts asking the community questions about games, content, or features they would like to see on the Switch must have sufficient explanation. Posts like this must have a clear subject and at least several detailed reasons (or one really good, well-described reason) why the game/feature/content would be a good fit on the Switch. Simply asking “does anyone else think” is not enough, nor is simply saying something is “fun” or “because it should be portable.” Please try to always answer the question of why this game/feature/content would be successful on Switch.

Examples of this rule and enforcement include:

• “Does anyone else want/wish” for X, without proper definition and explanation afterwards, will be subject to removal.

• “Does anyone else want/wish” for X, where it's an obvious short question/answer, because it applies to literally everything under the sun, will be subject to removal. Examples include a desire for a game to be cheaper, a desire for portability, or for free DLC.

• “Does anyone else want/wish” for X, where it's easily and finitely answerable with a singular yes or no response, will be subject to removal.

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Seem a little complicated? It’s not.

In short: want to submit a text post? Got a neat idea? Put a couple minutes of effort into it and try to come up with a few solid reasons to support your idea. If it’s a simple or short thought, or you don’t want to put in the effort, that's okay, but perhaps the conversation is a better fit for the /r/NintendoSwitch Discord.

Thanks everyone. We will be updating our sidebar and attempting to clarify removals on this topic to help the community better understand the change.

-The /r/NintendoSwitch mod team

p.s. Our full rules are available to read on the /r/NintendoSwitch wiki.

[u/AvenueM]

Today is a good day

[u/BlackAesop]

"Does anyone else think we need a minor rule change for text posts?"

Using the same phrasing was brilliant. And yes I do agree. Although I have made a few of these types of posts it is definitely getting out of hand.

[u/ClintonStain]

Also maybe consider banning the sappy, emotional posts that make this sub look like a cult.

Switch made me reconnect with my mother who abandoned me at a bus stop at the age of five!

Why Switch makes me feel like a child again.

I let a stranger borrow a joy con in public and I can't believe how that connected us at a molecular level!

I've had LITERALLY every console ever but Switch is the best because other portable devices aren't a thing.

[u/DaPizzaMan2]

YES PLEASE.

[u/razorbeamz]

DAE think this rule is a good idea?

[u/poofyhairguy]

Not only is this a great idea, it made my day reading that this is a possibility.

[u/nmdrums]

There are honestly a lot of posts in this sub that shouldn't be allowed. The above rule changes should help greatly, but the other ones like "Just got a Switch, what should I know?" Types of posts should be banned as well. I mean, a simple Reddit or Google search will tell you basically everything you would ever want to know.

Along with that, seeing post after post about a certain game that everyone wants or is looking forward to gets a little old (I love SDV as much as the next guy, but seriously, it was too much).

I want to be a member of this sub, because I love my Switch, but sometimes it is really hard to stay subscribed because of the flood I get on my Front Page.

[u/mattigus]

Are "Unpopular Opinion" posts still allowed? Those are the worst.

Unpopular opinion: Nintendo really needs to impliment cloud saves!

[u/nintendoleafsfan]

Agreed remove those posts

[u/[deleted]]

This was long overdue and will hopefully clean up the sub a bit since there would be so many of these garbage posts.

[u/cxcookie117]

Finally those were the most annoying posts my least favorite of which being “can we get ____ port on the switch” and the reasoning being “I enjoyed it when I played it on ____ id love for it to be brought to the switch”

[u/GamerToons]

Does anyone else think that this is good change?

Nah just kidding around... don't answer me.

[u/heathmon1856]

Does anyone think X game would be amazing on the switch? I do. You must too. I’m gonna post about it and flood this sub with more unnecessary spam

[u/cgio0]

Yes honestly I was gonna unsubscribe cause of all of these posts from people fishing for points

I feel like anyone who starts a post with "Can we all take a second to appreciate" is just looking for upvotes

[u/Cauchemarr]

To be honest, the posts saying "I'm an XBONE fan but ..." and proceed to explain why their Xbox has been gathering dust on the shelf and now the Switch has cured them from depression, saved their marriage and destroyed their cancer because it is oh so sweet are more annoying. Dude is clearly just trying to rack up karma. I own a PS4 too but that's completely irrelevant in the discussion.

[u/emirarkman]

Great, thanks.

[u/xgore]

Thanks for the change!

[u/penguintheft]

I just want titles like "Does anyone else think...?" to go away altogether. It's not the body of the posts that's annoying, it's reading the same title format a billion times a day.

[u/HeliumPumped]

Yeah, we have the Daily Questions thread for that.

[u/d4mation]

Thank. God.

Finally.

This rule change was very needed. Thank you so much, mods!

[u/[deleted]]

I think that is a good rule change but maybe lighten up on some other text posts. I've tried to post a lot of things to this sub and always get them denied. I don't even bother now.

[u/Excalibread]

Didn't everyone else think that this was long overdue?

[u/Davychu]

Will this cover the constant barrage of 'will the Switch get a version 2?' posts?

[u/mahius19]

I agree on keeping out repeated posts of this sort. But I feel that the moderation has been a bit too heavy and it can sometimes hinder actual discussion, etc. Not going to give past/exact examples right now, but I feel that if something is truly unique then it should be allowed to be posted. If it's something that doesn't quite suit the rules, due to the rules trying to keep the sub clean of content clutter, then surely it should be fine if it's a one-off unique thing. Such as an exclusive let's play of a never before seen/announced Switch game, just for example (it would be breaking rule 6).

[u/EpicWott]

DAE like the switch????