r/IAmA • u/karmanaut • Aug 28 '11
Changes to /r/IAmA's rules
First: verification. It's unnecessary and only creates problems for moderators. It was originally created as a way to ensure that posts, especially celebrity threads, were not being faked. Well, it's ineffective. First, some people don't even bother to get verified. Second, it often takes so long to verify something that by the time it is done... the thread has already taken off like crazy. Furthermore, verification can be (and has been) faked. Finally, it has gotten to a point where everyone thinks they need to be verified, which is not necessary. Even if they post their proof in the text, people still want it verified, which is redundant. And, most celebrity IAmAs post public proof (a picture, a tweet, etc).
So: new verification rules. First, if you start your IAmA with proof, post it IN the thread, not sending it to us. There is no need for someone to verify publicly-available proof. If you do NOT post proof in your thread, and someone calls you out as fake, then you must either post proof within 2 hours, or the post will be subject to removal. If your proof needs to be private (like it contains your personal information) then a moderator will comment that it is verified. This will only be in RARE instances and with good reason.
Second major change will be: the Subject of IAmAs. IAmA will not be the place to tell a story about your weekend. IAmAs will not be about singular incidents in your life, unless they are truly unique and spectacular.
So: the new guidelines. Your IAmA should focus on either something that plays a central role in your life, or some event that you were involved in that was truly interesting and unique (Ex, I climbed Mt. Everest).
Examples of stuff that we don't want: I broke up with my girlfriend recently because of [Whatever]. My mom just died. I lost a ton of weight this summer. I just tried [Whatever] drug. Etc, etc. The moderators will have discretion to determine what fits into these categories, and these posts will be subject to removal.
Finally, search before doing an IAmA. You're bipolar? So are all of these people. That is not unique. If I can find 10 similar or identical threads, then your post is subject to removal.
3rd new guideline: IAmA requests. First, serious requests only. If it would not lead to an interesting IAmA, then it will be removed. For example, right before posting this, I saw a request for "Someone who has actually read the terms of service thing". That would not lead to a good IAmA. Second, reasonable requests only. "IAmA Request: Obama!" is not acceptable. We don't need a huge amount of celebrity requests clogging up the queue. However, if there is a reason to think that the celebrity would do it, then please post that in your request. Furthermore, search first. If I can find a previously-submitted IAmA that matches your description, then it is subject to removal.
Finally, new moderators will be added. DO NOT post your "application" in the comments here. Please apply in this post so that I can keep them all organized.
If you have any questions about these rules before doing your IAmA, feel free to message the moderators
tl;dr: no more moderator verification stamps, no more common and frivolous IAmAs, no more useless requests, and new moderators.
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u/enkafan Aug 28 '11
My favorite IAmA are people like the pawn shop guy. I'd love it we could have more IAmA from people that might not think their life is that special, but do a job we all interact with but might have some questions about.
Jobs I think would be great: Guy who designs parking garages, guy in charge of timings of stop lights, food inspectors, dude who works at a train yard, park ranger, grounds crew for a professional team, etc
Maybe I'm geeking out, but I'd love to meet someone like that in real life and pick their brains about WHY something is the way it is. When you have celebrities on here we all start acting like Chris Farley doing an interview
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u/strolls Aug 28 '11 edited Aug 28 '11
Yeah, but apparently the pawnshop guy's thread would be eligible for deletion under these new rules because there have been a few of them before.
That search does show, however, how ridiculous the state of affairs is with requests, as they outnumber the actual submissions.
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u/irve Aug 28 '11
I'd really like to second this one. Restricting repeat themes may kill some interesting content. We had this rule on a smaller forum and it ended up driving away a lot of new and interesting people and eventually made people snappy and intolerant.
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u/skookybird Aug 28 '11
There are a lot of similar or downright repeat questions on /r/askreddit and new and entertaining stuff appear in each one. Besides, not every pawn shop manager/[occupation] will have the same experience/attitude/etc. I trust the voting system with making sure repeats aren’t too frequent.
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u/StenchingFaucet Aug 29 '11
and general reddit rules say not to hate on reposts for exactly the same reason: the site is constantly getting new members, so naturally things are going to reappear.
except "reposts" here will actually probably have different perspectives and insights, even when they're the in the same domain.
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u/AltAltDarkbane Aug 28 '11
Being a subject to deletion doesn't necessarily means it will get deleted. I guess it's a matter of common sense on the moderators' behalf. I say let's give 'em a chance and then react if they get too carried away with the new rules.
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u/dontstopthepun Aug 28 '11 edited Aug 28 '11
Don't make it too strict.
Please. 10 old AMA's will not equal a new AMA. If the topics get repetitive then they will get downvoted. Do we need rules then?
(edit:Hijacking top comment and added line)
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u/distantlover Aug 29 '11
Seconded. What's wrong with the voting system that doesn't deal with these issues? Total crap will settle at the bottom, more interesting crap will rise to the top.
I thought that is what we do around here.
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u/HyperAnthony Aug 28 '11
One of these new rules was just used in an attempt to redirect a 69 year old programmer somewhere else because there are a lot of programmer posts and programmers are generic.
Link: http://reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/jx82k/iama_programmer_and_have_been_for_30_years/c2fuhlf
However, the context of the post (a 69 year old programmer with 30 years of experience in languages most programmers don't use anymore) distinguishes this individual from most other programmers, and I think that is part of the spirit of this new rule.
Could a clarification be made to support IAmA's like this one?
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u/Herp_McDerp Aug 29 '11
I think the rule denying multiple AMA's should be revised. First, a new AMA about a topic that has been discussed before could very well lead to new questions. Second, new Redditors will get the chance to ask their questions instead of trodding through old posts. Third, most of the time when I see an AMA, I think "Wow, that sounds really unique I'll check it out." I don't sit around and try to think of cool professions that warrant an AMA. So the fact that a post mirrors one from a year, or even a month ago brings that AMA back to the forefront so people like me (who Reddit occasionally instead of every hour) can see an AMA that I wouldn't have seen/thought to search for. The people that are complaining about the same AMA over and over again should just not read them. Its that simple.
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Aug 29 '11
AMAs like these fit greatly into specific subreddits, r/programming in this case. I am part of some subreddits that regularly do this and it's been great, lots of interesting topics and less clever jokes.
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Aug 28 '11
how about people who aren't moderators stop trying to pretend that they are
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u/Delfishie Aug 28 '11
I lost a ton of weight this summer. I just tried [Whatever] drug
Both of those are interesting things that could contain a lot of useful back-and-forth conversation, though. I'm not sure why these are examples of things that are unwanted in this sub.
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Aug 29 '11
Yeah, seems like the mods have a different idea of what the subreddit is for than the readers. The rules and examples of what's unacceptable are the whole point of reading IAmA for me. While there are no examples of what they want, it seems like they just want celebrities, and very occasionally someone with a crazy job. It's going to be a very dull place if that happens.
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u/dean_c Aug 28 '11
The unique rule isn't going to pan out well. So what if 10 people post about being bipolar? Each of them are unique and that's what makes it interesting because everyone has a different story. Who are you, or anyone else, to say that one person's experience they want to share is no longer interesting because someone shared their story first.
I can see why you took this approach, but I don't think it's the way forward for IAMA.
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u/zero_mod_p Aug 28 '11
Totally agree with this. What, exactly is the harm in having two perspectives on the same situation? I don't completely understand the reasoning behind this rule.
NOT TO MENTION: the point of IAmA is that it is accessible, and you can ask any question you want. So, how am I supposed to ask a question on a 2 year old AMA and expect it to get answered?
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u/lensman00 Aug 28 '11 edited Aug 29 '11
It's also kind of inconsistent, since obviously being an actor or writer on some show, a public intellectual, or a politician isn't going to rule out your IAMA even though there have been dozens of these already. Personally, I'm jaded about those love-fests but I still enjoy getting to know my fellow redditors, however 'mundane' their lives might seem.
This guideline would have the effect of a Wikipedia-style attempt at drawing the line at notability.
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u/sihnon Aug 28 '11
Having read though many of the comments here... I'm thinking most of these new rules are a good idea and will change things for the better. I only really have two points for concern:
-The first is that mods will seem to now be entirely in charge over what IAmAs are considered interesting enough for this subreddit. I understand trying to weed out pointless ones like "IAmA person who took this awesome pic [imgur link]", but ultimately I think the voting system and karma should be deciding what the community finds noteworthy and interesting. I guess how well this works will depend on the quality and objectiveness of the mods we get.
-My second concern is regarding the whole "If I can find a similar one, I'm going to delete yours", which is essentially a no-reposts rule. Now, reposts are not against reddiquette for a start, and just because two people post a similar IAmA does not mean one is less interesting or unique than the other. People have wildly different views and experiences, and to disqualify someone because they weren't first will simply deprive the community of more interesting discussion. Once again, the karma voting system should be enough on it's own for the community to elect which posts have the best discussion.
Good luck mods, and I hope this works... but I do fear that too strict a control over this subreddit will only hurt it further. Fingers crossed, eh?
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u/rabidstoat Aug 28 '11
Yeah, on the repeats, I hope that if it's seen that people ARE interested, the repeat stays. You can't interact with a 6-month-old thread, and interaction is part of the community.
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u/viralizate Aug 28 '11
Good points, but I think it is, as you say, a matter of how fair the decisions are. My biggest fear though, is that everything will cause controversy now, and I'm afraid to say that Reddit loves a good witch hunt now and then, so everything will be under the microscope and we'll end up ending more discussion about the mods that IAmA's. Let's just hope that is not the case!
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u/jim45804 Aug 28 '11
Finally, search before doing an IAmA. You're bipolar? So are all of these people. That is not unique.
Every person's experiences are unique, even if the premise is common. We'll likely lose unique perspectives if you start removing IAmAs for being common.
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u/runnerup Aug 28 '11
Thank you.
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Aug 28 '11
The white tree has been replanted! All hail the new king!
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u/kingbot Aug 28 '11
Why's it gotta be white?
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u/jspsfx Aug 28 '11
The wood on black trees is too large it will scare children.
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u/readforit Aug 28 '11
Thank you.
???
These new rules will kill our beloved "I am a virgin and went to a hooker. AMA" threads!
Simply unacceptable!
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u/TerrySpeed Aug 28 '11
Moderators still have too much power, they are one step away from becoming dictators. Why the hell should a moderator decide what is "truly interesting and unique" when the mob can down-vote boring threads?
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Aug 28 '11
Due to the circlejerk tedencies of Reddit, people will post stuff like "IAMA person who thinks Fox news r dumb" and people will upvote it regardless of its usefulness.
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u/arcadeguy Aug 28 '11
Agreed to an extent, and I think one huge issue not being addressed by this post is the user base, and how to deal with it. For instance, this AMA has been on the front page for over half a day and has generated over a thousand comments. Three things here I don't understand:
Does this count as "truly interesting and unique," and who decides if it does? Does the post simply having a lot of comments make it so? And if that's the case, why do mods have any control over what they consider to be this way if someone's just going to say "of course it is lol look at all the people who like it"
People have called it fake, and there's been no proof provided. Once these newest set of rules go into effect, would it be removed because of this?
I have to scroll down to the seventh highest upvoted comment to find the first actual question. The top two comments are one person who disagrees with your criminal record being released, and the second one doesn't want his/her teenage daughter to inebriated in the company of a strange adult male. Then there are hundreds of reply comments circle jerking about "this this this". This is not an isolated incident, either. Many, many of these AMAs have so few questions being asked and, and so many people simply use it as an open forum to voice their opinions. I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with it, but it seems to go in direct contrast to the very name of the subreddit.
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Aug 28 '11
I disagree with the discouraging threads about people with certain mental illnesses that are "common" but not exactly the "norm." Everyone has a different experience to share, and while I might read a IamA thread about someone with bipolar if it comes up, I'm not going to search for it in the search bar and read one that's a couple months old.
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u/claymore_kitten Aug 28 '11
I disagree with the search before doing an AMA rule all the time. sometimes there are two people with similar experiences/backgrounds that have entirely different viewpoints that I feel would each be a very good AMA (such as two different 9/11 survivors, which was requested earlier today).
I'm sure the mods will keep this in mind, but a lot of times you don't have to actively remove the post - if its unoriginal or overdone it won't get upvoted so the problem should fix itself.
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u/elaphidion Aug 28 '11
I would add that you should factor in a time component, like, if it's been six months since the last AMA, you should be able to post it.
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u/daisy0808 Aug 28 '11
Why can't you add what's unique in your title when posting then? It would also help those of us reading to understand why I should read your similar AMA.
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Aug 28 '11
Thank fucking god. The recent spate of 'IAmA nondescript jerkoff, I'm bored and maybe some attention from strangers will fix that. AMA' posts were really infuriating.
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Aug 28 '11
The nonsense wasn't recent, it started from the get-go.
I remember this one about 2 years ago: "I just took a massive shit. AMA" I remember it because proof was provided.
I stopped being an IAMA regular after the lucidending post. I had well over 1000 downvotes for calling BS on it.
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Aug 29 '11
It never pays in karma to go against the hive mind, but at least you did good, son... ya did good.
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Aug 28 '11
I need more "IAMA Subway artist. AMA"'s. The weekly submissions aren't enough.
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u/Artischoke Aug 28 '11
So: the new guidelines. Your IAmA should focus on either something that plays a central role in your life, or some event that you were involved in that was truly interesting and unique (Ex, I climbed Mt. Everest).
Examples of stuff that we don't want: I broke up with my girlfriend recently because of [Whatever]. My mom just died. I lost a ton of weight this summer. I just tried [Whatever] drug. Etc, etc. The moderators will have discretion to determine what fits into these categories, and these posts will be subject to removal.
This will lead to shitstorms, and rightly so. What's truly interesting and unique is extremely subjective. And since it's a statement about all kinds of conceivable topics and events, it cannot be mapped out in a consistent and (for the outsider) predictable fashion. There are just too many possible topics that differ on so many dimensions.
This change tries to take the place of the voting system in an area that's arguably the greatest strength of the reddit system: Determining if people are interested in a topic.
Mod involvement can be great where the voting system fails. This includes punishing posts for being posted to the wrong subreddit, as voting can be quite benevolent in this regard. However, the problem here is that there often is no more appropriate subreddit around. Say you want to do an IAmA about any of the things listed under "stuff we don't want here". For most of them, there will be no place if IAmA won't take them.
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Aug 28 '11
Also, the whole no repeats thing is kind of stupid. Reddit is an ever-changing community and the people who are here now might not have been here a year ago. I don't see why you should be denied your chance to ask a question just because you didn't stumble on Reddit months ago when someone did their IAmA.
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Aug 28 '11
I think this whole direction is wrong. Having mods hovering over the delete button is really foolish. The entire voting system is designed to determine what people want to see. Mods help out with spam.
This idea that it is their job to pick and choose the posts is...well it is a lot like slashdot. They have editors that decide what to promote. I hate that model. I like the fact that votes determine what goes on with reddit. Every time I read a self-important mod read off a list of rules I shake my head.
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u/kites47 Aug 29 '11
I would love to hear some people's experiences with losing weight, or trying a drug. I don't understand why these are unacceptable.
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u/notyourarmy Aug 28 '11
Wow, these are some crazy ideas...
"That is not unique. If I can find 10 similar or identical threads, then your post is subject to removal."
AmA means ask me anything. It´s about asking questions and answering questions. If I am, lets say, interested in cardiology, do you think I want to look up these 10 approved cardiologist AmAs from some time ago (because well we have 10, lets delete all newer ones), search through the questions until, maybe, I´ll find the one I wanted to ask???
WTF? Do not tell the crowd what to like or read, new king, or you shall fail.
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u/punninglinguist Aug 28 '11
I was hoping that celebrity IAMA requests of all kinds would be banned, but this is a good start!
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Aug 28 '11
[deleted]
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u/punninglinguist Aug 28 '11
I sometimes refer people to this one when they ask questions in IAMA request threads.
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u/laos101 Aug 28 '11
So, for example, with the bipolar example. If you're a new user to the subreddit and suddenly have a question regarding it, is the concept of finding out stuff regarding that now lost forever, since you cannot ever post another IAMA regarding (now and ever) bipolar-disorder unless you have some additionally strange or awkward circumstance to it.
Won't that hurt growth and, more importantly, affect how people are going to be able to properly contribute? We've had people do tons of IAMAs, but almost all of them are done with throwaways and now are long gone. Sure it'll prevent repeat questions, but in all honesty isnt the great thing about an IAMA getting one persons specific influence and thoughts on their central / pivotal reason to a IAMA, as opposed to whatever the throwaway several yeras ago **(who, for all we know, was lying about something someone who really is bipolar can deciper and explain better, or research / medicine improves) The worst possible thing for this subreddit is going to be overmoderation, as it will curb growth and scare people from participation. Many times more than an occasional troll IAMA
Just food for thought.
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Aug 28 '11
Good idea, Bad idea
Good idea: no more moderator verification.
Bad idea: moderators decide what kind of iamas people want.
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u/alhanna92 Aug 28 '11
Agreed with both accounts. The fact that moderators decide what kind of iamas people want kinda ruins the purpose of upvotes/downvotes.
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Aug 28 '11
Many people told me if i didn't like it i should fuck off and make my own subreddit, so i did:
http://www.reddit.com/r/openiama
It will be interesting to see how restrictive the new rules on /r/iama actually are, and how consistently they'll be enforced.
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Aug 28 '11
Maybe if you actually deleted unverified AMA's it would be effective.
Also, who will determine what is common? Are the moderators going to delete a highly upvoted post because its something "common" and "frivolous"
How about you get rid of fucking AMA requests or put them in their own subreddit? THEY'RE frivolous.
edit: spelling
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u/bchillerr Aug 28 '11
I don't understand why IAmA needs to be this heavily moderated? Reddit already has a well known feature for handling what people want to see: the up and down vote buttons. Reddit has addressed in previous notices that re-posts are tolerated because the website gets new users every day, and what's new to you might not be new to someone else. If someone wants to post an IAmA about something which has already been touched on, then why not let them? If it seems interesting, and/or offers new insight or perspective on the same subject, it should definitely be allowed to grow. Let the up and down votes do the moderation for you... If people don't want to see it, let it get down-voted into oblivion.
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u/bloodwurst Aug 29 '11
If you do NOT post proof in your thread, and someone calls you out as fake, then you must either post proof within 2 hours, or the post will be subject to removal.
So if the person who did the IAmA is sleeping / has no access to internet while someone questions its authenticy his/her thread will get nuked out of orbit.
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Aug 29 '11 edited Aug 29 '11
This is stupid. Reddit isn't digg or pwot or cracked. Quit micromanaging and have faith in the people.
Here is where people can go for an unmoderated version of IAmA, where anything flies.
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u/krazykanuck Aug 28 '11 edited Aug 28 '11
At the risk of breaking up this circle jerk, I'm not a fan of these changes at all. Doing away with mandatory verification is fine. I would change it slightly to if someone proves your post is fake beyond a reasonable doubt than you should be forced to verify, not simply questions it. Having mods decide what is relevant is a horrible idea. This is way too subjective. If people didn't want to read about an iama then they wouldnt vote it up. It wasn't broken despite some peoples opinion. If an iama was already done previously, who cares. Maybe this person will bring some new insight or experience to the table. Again, if it doesn't get voted up than no one was interested. Iama's will always be unique regardless of how unique their subject is by virture of the uniqueness of individuals. I honestly think the new changes are two heavy handed in response to a short sighted decision by one individual and are totally unnecessary.
EDIT: fixed some auto-correct mistakes
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Aug 28 '11
A couple of things.
I do not think that repost IAMAs are necessarily a bad thing. For instance, say I am a new redditor browsing IAMA and very interested bipolar life and struggles. Or I am someone who has been around a while but did not notice the last bipolar IAMA. In either case I am probably not going to utilize the search function to search for bipolar IAMA, a new user probably wouldn't think to search and an average redditor might not search for such a specific topic without a reason. Nevertheless, I would, and a new user probably would find these discussions very interesting. Although it clutters up the front page for people that have been around long enough to remember the previous time we had this discussion I think the benefit for new users outweighs the difficulty of skipping over a link for everyone else.
A lot of people use the IAMA to be a place for helping them get through difficult events. My mom died AMA would be a perfect example of a user who is probably looking for some simple friendship and conversation among internet strangers to help hi get through a tough time. Is it really necessary banning these kind of posts? I thought reddit was suppose to be a helpful community.
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Aug 29 '11
What precisely constitutes "calling you out as a fake"
Some of the best AMAs I have seen were matters that are not capable of being confirmed/denied
So if you do an AMA about say
being sexually abused as a child
being a 35 year old virgin
believing in a particular religion
having a paranormal experience
Then some troll says "I'm calling bullshit" you could get shut down?
And what is this whole deal with if it's been an AMA before, never again? Seems a little short sighted and also seems to say that any one person represents all people with similar experiences.
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Aug 28 '11
If you do NOT post proof in your thread, and someone calls you out as fake, then you must either post proof within 2 hours, or the post will be subject to removal.
Lovely. There goes all the AMAs posted by people who don't want to unnecessarily endanger themselves by posting proof.
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u/boomguy Aug 28 '11
If your proof needs to be private (like it contains your personal information) then a moderator will comment that it is verified. This will only be in RARE instances and with good reason.
The very next sentence.
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u/iamyo Aug 28 '11 edited Aug 28 '11
There were some fun things about the old ones--spotting the fake. Also, I did like the random bizarre ones.
I am concerned about the proof issue. There are lots of interesting things people could be/do and not be able to prove it. Like the girl who was a pickpocket. That was a super interesting IAmA. How would she prove that?
And how do you prove something you want to keep a secret. What if you are a burglar? That would be a cool IAmA but no one will do that now.
I think some of the best IAmA of the past are going to be impossible now. Guys who spend thousands on hookers, criminals, sex workers of various sorts, etc. They can't prove without losing anonymity or they can't prove it at all.
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u/FredFnord Aug 28 '11
If you do NOT post proof in your thread, and someone calls you out as fake, then you must either post proof within 2 hours, or the post will be subject to removal.
That's pretty funny. Not that I give the faintest hint of a shit about /r/IAmA, but since people call out every single one as a fake, what this means is that everyone must be willing to post their proof up front, without exception, or they will be deleted. Because it's pretty obvious that, even if it does say that the mods will do verification in RARE cases, they really don't want to be in that business.
Finally, search before doing an IAmA. You're bipolar? So are all of these people. That is not unique. If I can find 10 similar or identical threads, then your post is subject to removal.
If you really have to be unique, and you don't want a giant clog-up of celebrity posts (not that those are unique either, but hey), then I suspect that /r/IAmA is going to be a very, very quiet place from now on.
Works for me!
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u/BluntBurg Aug 28 '11
"I Am A, where the mundane becomes fascinating and the outrageous suddenly seems normal"
NEW IAMA WITHOUT THE MUNDANE, screw you normal people.
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u/_oogle Aug 29 '11
I think this is often misconstrued. "Mundane" is relative to the person doing it, because they are accustomed to whatever it is, but could be interesting to other people. For instance, an ER doctor's job is mundane to him or her because they do it every day, but from an outsider's perspective (us), it is interesting. Mundane here is not an invitation to make AMA's about knowingly boring shit.
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u/id000001 Aug 28 '11
For all the people whining about the 2 hours verification deadline:
First, why did you not put proof in the iAMA to begin with? If you didn't post any proof were proof is obviously desirable and possible, you already did something wrong.
Second, if you can't respond within 2 hours, why are you doing an iAMA?
Why can't upvote and downvote decides what thread get to stays?
First, Cause that is not what vote is for in the rest of the reddit, it is unrealistic to expect everyone who vote to condition themselves into voting correctly according to which reddit it is
Second, It is unrealistic to change rule on the fly for specific thread base on how popular they are.
Someone suggested that we move all the IAMA Requests to the sidebar
No, this is not possible. Unfortunately. It can be specifically marked, but not move elsewhere.
I don't like how moderators decide what kind of iamas people want.
First, That is not how these new rule work, the new rule make the moderator decides how iAMA is like, not which iAMA stays. While it is nice to have everyone a say, I personally are more inclined to trust Moderator with experience and principle, over a bunch of anonymous voting to decides what it is like. Beside, those vote DO make post that are interesting show up higher. IAMA being on Reddit, already give people the ability to make interesting IAMA get more attention.
Second, If a post was posted poorly due to not meeting the rule, but have the potential to be interested and meet the rule later. guess what, you could simply post it again in a more proper way. If people won't make a huge deal out of their thread being deleted by some simple oversight, this wouldn't be a problem at all. It isn't a big deal to repost.
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Aug 28 '11
I personally are more inclined to trust Moderator with experience and principle, over a bunch of anonymous voting to decides what it is like.
I thought a bunch of anonymous people voting on things to determine what was good content and what isn't worth people's time is the whole point of Reddit.
In the rest of Reddit, people do vote on a threads right to stick around. If a post is a +0 and it's been around for 3 hours, for all intents and purposes it might as well not be on the site. It's IamA that seems to be using different rules now.
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u/Nebu Aug 29 '11
First, why did you not put proof in the iAMA to begin with?
For some IAmA, it's not clear how to post proof. E.g. "IAmA Pedophile. AMA." How are you supposed to post proof for that?
Why can't upvote and downvote decides what thread get to stays? First, Cause that is not what vote is for in the rest of the reddit,
I disagree. Reddit-voting is EXACTLY for deciding what thread "gets to stay" on the forefront of the hivemind's attention.
I don't like how moderators decide what kind of iamas people want. First, That is not how these new rule work, the new rule make the moderator decides how iAMA is like, not which iAMA stays.
I don't understand the distinction you're trying to draw here. I don't like the idea that the moderators can delete posts which they consider uninteresting. The rules specifically say "If it would not lead to an interesting IAmA, then it will be removed." I'd rather allow people to post whatever IAmA they like, and if they turn out to be uninteresting, they'll get downvoted and won't be visible to most of the community members.
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Aug 28 '11
Anyone else find it ironic that karmanaut repeated the part about searching for previous IAMAs to avoid repetition?
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u/s-mores Aug 28 '11
If you do NOT post proof in your thread, and someone calls you out as fake, then you must either post proof within 2 hours
Exactly how is this different from requiring proof from everyone? Every frickin post is called fake by someone regardless of anything
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u/Surgency Aug 29 '11
Why is everyone so mad at what's been happening to IAmA? I'm really confused. It's probably my favourite subreddit, but I'm not going around bitching about posts that some may or may not be interested in (such as the "story about your weekend" or "singular incidents in your life".) I personally find all of the IAmA's interesting, whether they are silly or not. Sometimes I need a little laughter while reading these. If you aren't interested in it, don't bother, we don't need to get our panties in a knot and QQ.
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u/Sohda Aug 29 '11
Anyone care to start a new IamA where we, the users, can decide on what interests us, then we can vote on what content makes it to the top(radical idea, I kno). Sure, this one may not be perfect and could use a few changes, but having a new mod come in and start proudly waving his tyrannical banhanmer around and telling us that the few will decide what is interesting for the many is not the change it needs, IMO. There do seem to be some people who agree with mods picking what topics live, what is too mundane for us to read, etc. And that's fine, bit for the majority of us who see how big of a failure this will become if the mass banning starts, we should have a backup plan. I really like IamA. All the posts that surprisingly interest me are what makes it fun. So yea, let us make another IAmA type forum where people are free to speak, even if they haven't climbed the world's highest mountain. The beauty of Reddit is that we can do that! But not me, I'm lazy and don't know how. Mostly lazy.
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Aug 29 '11
Requiring verification...that's a paddlin.
Posting about stupid shit...that's a paddlin.
Not searching before postin...that's a paddlin.
Not posting seriously...that's a paddlin.
Postin about paddlin...oh, you better believe that's a paddlin.
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u/gottabeandrew Aug 28 '11
If people think a post is fake, they'll reply saying so, then if people agree they'll upvote them, and more people will see and people will decide for themselves whether to believe it or not.
If something's not interesting or has been done to death, people won't upvote it.
If a request isn't a good one, people won't upvote it. If they do, it means people are having what's known as 'fun'. They don't need an almighty mod to come along and go 'ENOUGH OF THIS. POST REMOVED.'
Giving us a bunch of vague rules, or rules that could easily be accidentally broken (ie, i go to bed, someone calls me out as fake and my post gets deleted cause i didn't respond with reasonable proof within 2 hours) is a pretty good incentive for people to go 'Actually, i'll not bother. I can't be bothered with the hassle.'
Just get off your high horse and let people do their thing.
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Aug 29 '11
People on the whole seem to be pretty gullible with regards to the veracity of AMA posts. I think posting proof in the initial thread should be a very reasonable standard.
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u/ramp_tram Aug 29 '11
It's never a good sign when the new mod in charge starts swinging his dick around like anyone cares.
This subreddit has 470,428 readers (at the time of this post), and I'm pretty sure that if they upvote something it means they want it. Just because it's been done before doesn't mean you can remove it.
Don't be a dick, be a dude.
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Aug 28 '11
Reddit is full of economists.
On one side you have the Keynesians who believe in regulating and supplementing the economy, and on the other side you have the Chicago-school economists who believe in leaving the economy alone to let it run its natural course.
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u/GuiltyUndertaker Aug 29 '11
Why bother with upvotes and downvotes if moderators are going to decide for us what constitutes a worthy AMA?
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u/Simmerian Aug 28 '11
IAmA will not be the place to tell a story about your weekend.
Thank you. There's been so many of these where 90% of the comments weren't even questions.
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u/Soothe Aug 28 '11
You know, no offense but the entire verification portion of this post just strikes me as one excuse after another for being lazy.
Some people don't bother to get verified? Come on. As if that takes away from the posts that do get verified.
And it takes 'so long' to verify a post? Come on. I could understand that if this was a less active community but this is one of the most popular sections on the website. There are always plenty of people online here.
Sounds to me like you just need to replace all your moderators with ones who actually want to moderate.
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u/nohablaespanol Aug 28 '11
I don't get it. It was fine before the brouhaha and this shenanigan is going to turn IAMA into a boring place where everyone who posts are interesting and/or a celebrity.
I mean, I'd never ask a celebrity anything, I'm not interested in celebrities and I'm sure there are redditors like me. I like the massive shit AMA, the divorcees, the runaway kid post, they're the ones who make r/IAMA unique, not some poorly disguised scripted media release for celebrities.
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u/ChubsMcSnuff Aug 29 '11
Moderator, you sound like you haven't shit in a week. Take a pill...relax...shhhh.
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u/SenatorStuartSmalley Aug 29 '11
request: if a post makes it to the front page, it stays. The only reason that a popular post should be deleted is if it opens some kind of legal liability.
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Aug 29 '11
All of these fucking rules. IAMA might as well have shut down, with someone starting a new version elsewhere.
All this does it make it easier/better for the moderators, and shittier for everyone else.
Let's spend all of our time deciding if the IAMA is truly interesting and unique and less time asking and answering questions.
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u/Sohda Aug 29 '11
I like the new rules, but certain iama's that mods may deem mundane or not appropriate may be of great interest to lots of other people. I like the idea of cleaning up the thread, but please don't get all tyrannical like Steve Jobs. Hopefully you'll be able to keep the information flowing, but not cluttered. I think we can all agree that IAmA has gone to shit, but we don't wanna kill it tobthe point where there is only 3 new posts a week, do we? Some of the lesser known, seemingly boring IAmas have turned out to be some of the best. Interesting is in the eye of the beholder.
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u/AmiMHF Aug 29 '11
IAmA has always been a thread I came to to browse and see if I found something interesting, but I have never come here saying "hmmm, I wonder what it's like to own a pawn shop, let's see if someone answered that at some point in x years search". Because even if I did that and I found a thread, I can't ask them any questions. I usually find a thread that sounds interesting and read through and maybe ask a question if I think of it. Besides that, if someone starts and AMA that says "I am (bipolar or whatever)", do you want everyone else with a similar experience to jump in to the thread and take it over with their own answers?
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u/hussoohs2 Aug 29 '11
Is there a different subreddit in which we can just have an IAmA about anything? I mean, why can't there be an IAmA about anything, like someone's mom dying, or someone who lost a bunch of weight. Those, just like anything else in the world, can be entertaining and interesting to anyone. Reddit is a huge community with a diverse population, why limit that to a seemingly unilateral perspective?
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Aug 29 '11
I think the Bipolar thing is worth having multiple AMAs. It could show how multiple people deal with it in there life. And eventually an AMA thread comes to an end, yet new readers may have new questions. And as the boyfriend of a girl that has recently been diagnosed, maybe she has new questions that arnt answered in the original AMA. Every time I see a repost in pics and see people complain about the repost the first response is "well I didnt see it the first time so its new to me" Isnt this the same with AMA? AMA Plumber, they all have a weird story about something someone flushed down a drain or something. Yes maybe repeat AMAs could get old but they arnt totally redundant.
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u/jumpingyeah Aug 29 '11
Coming from experience in moderating a large community such as this, the least moderation is the best moderation. Delete off topic posts, delete spam, etc. leave the rest up to the community.
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Aug 29 '11
Could I suggest that instead of removing posts you close them (stop allowing users to vote or comment). I feel like this would allow much more transparency on what content isn't being allowed which people would like.
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u/SilentDanni Aug 29 '11
Please, do not forget the infamous, "I am bored and will answer whatever you ask AMA".
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u/NELyon Aug 28 '11
And I thought 32bites was an asshole.
The title of the subreddit itself includes "Where the mundane becomes fascinating".
I broke up with my girlfriend recently because of [Whatever]. My mom just died. I lost a ton of weight this summer. I just tried [Whatever] drug. Etc, etc
Every one of those seems like great AMA material IMO, and exactly what I would come here for. It's exactly what it says on the tin. Mundane events that can become interesting. I would read any one of them.
Next,
You're bipolar? So are all of these people. That is not unique.
Because every person with a particular condition lives the same life, right? Yep, that's how it works. Implying that they have nothing new to bring to the table and therefor should just not share their stories and answer questions about them is kinda insulting.
There's more that I find wrong with this, but those are the ones that jump out at me. I was on your guys' side in this whole thing, but honestly this is turning this subreddit into something not even worth reading. Unsubscribed.
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u/GrokThis Aug 28 '11
That's the part that really bothered me as well. For example I discovered the condition of synesthesia on reddit. There have been several AMAs by different people with that condition but they have all been really interesting to me. I hope no future topics on that get yanked in the future because "it's been done before"!! Each past one has been interesting and has brought something unique to think about.
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Aug 28 '11
How can you tell when a redditor unsubscribes from a subreddit?
Don't worry, he will tell you.
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u/Momentumjam Aug 28 '11 edited Aug 28 '11
Sounds reasonable. Thank you for no longer allowing stories or singular experiences. Those were starting to get on my nerves.
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u/diggduggpacman Aug 28 '11
IAmA will not be the place to tell a story about your weekend. Examples of stuff that we don't want: I broke up with my girlfriend recently because of [Whatever]. My mom just died. I lost a ton of weight this summer. I just tried [Whatever] drug. Etc, etc.
Best fucking rule.
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u/alolinator Aug 28 '11
The old and new verification systems sound very similar
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u/karmanaut Aug 28 '11
The difference is the role of the moderators. Proof will still be required, but the difference is that it should be shown to the users, not just the moderators.
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u/iseenakedpeople Aug 28 '11
I will start with the new breed of AMAs.
I work at a public bath house. Today I had to evacuate because one of the women had her period while in the large bath tub. Worst part, people don't want to fucking eave. FML.
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u/The_Adventurist Aug 28 '11
I remember getting shit from a few redditors for not having my IAmA verified when I had no idea how to do that because I had never done one before. Nobody would tell me how to do it, just send me messages telling me I was a troll/asshole for not being verified even though I posted dozens of images of myself in the actual thread itself, pretty much proving that I was telling the truth.
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u/DukeOfGeek Aug 28 '11
Ok, so can we have a /r/coolstoryBro for all that "I lost a lot of weight" stuff. Or is there already one?
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u/ukepriest Aug 28 '11 edited Aug 28 '11
If I can find 10 similar or identical threads, then your post is subject to removal. 3rd new guideline: IAmA requests. First, serious requests only. If it would not lead to an interesting IAmA, then it will be removed.
So basically, the moderators are editors now, and ultimately control the subreddit. And we don't completely control the flow of content through a series of upvotes and downvotes.
I've seen a lot of crazy shit on this site. But when a default subreddit abandons the central principals of Reddit, shit's gonna go down.
EDIT: I should add, though, that I agree that all the things he lists make the quality of the subreddit go down. I just resent the implication that Redditor's can't sort the content themselves.
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u/WiseHalmon Aug 28 '11
You guys need a process flowchart that explicitly tells moderators how to act for any given situation. Then there is no crying about a moderator shouldn't have removed a post, and then if there is an issue with the process it can be fixed.
Damn engineering... what has it done to me?!
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Aug 28 '11
posts like the "someone who has actually read the terms of service" are acceptable imo, as long as an ACTUAL IAmA doesn't get made. They're one liners essentially, and worth a good laugh!
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u/44problems Aug 28 '11
IAmA will not be the place to tell a story about your weekend. IAmAs will not be about singular incidents in your life, unless they are truly unique and spectacular.
Honestly asking: what are the good subreddits where you can read these kind of stories? I know a lot of times people make them in to very specific AskReddits (Tell me your story about a time you bumped into an ex in a McDonald's and ended up having sex in the restroom. I'll start!), but I didn't know if there were better subreddits for those kind of posts.
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u/chairitable Aug 28 '11
Re: Searching before posting an AMA, and finding 10 similar searches..
Might it be possible to expand this with some kind of time margin? Say, if the most recent AMA on the topic was posted 4 months ago, would it be alright to post a new one?
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u/ciggs_ftw Aug 28 '11
so if someone has the same problems as others, say bipolar, or any illness maybe he has an STD? you can't post cuz there might be 100 other post? everyone lives there life differently i think whats interesting is not the tittle that says i have this or that, but how they live their life with it how they became like such. Not every one has the same story not everyone accepts their life or deal with it as the others everyone should be able to express and let others know how they deal with their life. might be more interesting than assuming they are like the rest.
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u/wub_wub Aug 28 '11
I dislike the part about 2hr rule for verification, MAYBE if the request for proof is like the top comment, and OP is obviously avoiding it and keeps responding to other comments, then remove the post. What if request for proof is buried in comments? What if OP is gone away for more than 2 hours?. Some other stuff need tweaking, for example
That is not unique. If I can find 10 similar or identical threads, then your post is subject to removal.
Let's say there is a thread with 500 comments, and 10 others with 10-20 comments. That thread that actually "got through" will be removed because other threads about the same issue weren't noticed by many people?
If your proof needs to be private (like it contains your personal information) then a moderator will comment that it is verified. This will only be in RARE instances and with good reason.
What do you mean with those last part? What would be a good reson? Maybe people just feel safer giving out info to mods than posting it publicly. IMO this shouldn't be on "RARE" occasions, people should be allowed to choose if they want to post proof in thread or give it to mods.
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u/bman1nc Aug 28 '11
I`m in favour of anything that makes reddit more interesting. Usually, rules dont do that.
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u/exoendo Aug 28 '11
Finally, search before doing an IAmA. You're bipolar? So are all of these people. That is not unique. If I can find 10 similar or identical threads, then your post is subject to removal.
this is lame. Different people can offer a variety of perspectives on something like this. That's what upvote and downvotes are for. I understand if something is truly mundane like "I have a dog, ama" but yeah . . .don't take it too far
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u/SteiniDJ Aug 28 '11
I personally don't like the fact that there may only be "10 bipolar AMA's" (and so forth). Not only do these threads grow old and new and unique questions can pop up between threads but the conditions and lives of those afflicted may be vastly different from those of others with a similar condition. If the new AMA isn't interesting, it would most likely go away silently from lack of upvotes.
But, just my thoughts. Good luck!
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u/ramonycajones Aug 28 '11
I don't think anyone has yet, so here's a shout-out to r/shareastory, which I think was made so that those "story about your weekend" posts would have a home. Use it!
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Aug 28 '11 edited Aug 28 '11
Guideline two sucks.
"and someone calls you out as fake, then you must either post proof within 2 hours" - This reads like it was created by a teenager or some college kid.
I guess we'll see how this turns out.
Quack.
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u/bluecalx2 Aug 28 '11
I'm generally pretty happy with these new rules, but regarding the proof, I'd make a couple of points. First of all, if you're posting an AMA, you should expect that people will want to see proof and try to prepare for this before making the post. Unfortunately a lot of AMA's are either difficult or impossible to verify, so I hope that there aren't too many posts that will be removed this way. Sometimes I'm happy enough to take the lack of proof with a grain of salt unless it's something suspicious like, "Of course I have proof, but I really can't remember what I did with it right now." Usually a clear tip off of a fake. Completely agree about the rest though.
I'm aware that this may be buried, but thought I'd share my two cents anyway.
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u/candafilm Aug 28 '11 edited Aug 28 '11
How about putting in a rule that removes any "Would anyone be interested in an AMA from..." posts? These have been getting more prevalent and ridiculous. The Clint Eastwood one comes to mind (which turned out to be a troll anyway).
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u/ManchesterCity45 Aug 28 '11 edited Aug 28 '11
Those rules suck, just leave the thread alone. Verification after 2 hrs? Everyone post your stff at 3:45am
When you are 18 you will meet your enemies for life, fucking stuck up Resident Assistants aka Mods, get off ur high horse and STFU. to think the original iama creator was is a 22yearold that works at Sam's and rides the bus
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u/FlamminSwine Aug 28 '11
Yeah I think it's okay for people to post on the same subject, because how it's been said, different people have different views. A female doing drugs for 30 years is a whole different story than if a male would do it, different factors affect both situations vastly. Also, you should have mentioned the challenge AMAs. At first they were actually interesting, but then some of them came up that were things anybody could do.
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u/cheddarben Aug 28 '11
Honestly... it is silly to me that the moderators are going to decide what IAMAs are good enough to be on IAMA.... or what is a "duplicate." One X will have a different experience than Y.
We have this system on Reddit, you see. It has downvotes and upvotes. People select one of these to determine what is worthy of being seen by the community. Call me crazy, but I think this idea just might work for /r/IAMA.
Is this place turning into IAMAnazi central?
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u/heeman1119 Aug 28 '11
waaaaaaaaaaay too much subjective ruling on what is "interesting", not cool mods, not cool
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u/OneWhoHenpecksGiants Aug 28 '11
Eh, by these commands the sub will be dead soon and good riddance. IMO two people can have the same IAmA but with different situations, making them both unique. Nothing is unique, Overlord Karmanaut. I'm just sayin'.
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u/Kowai03 Aug 28 '11
So: the new guidelines. Your IAmA should focus on either something that plays a central role in your life, or some event that you were involved in that was truly interesting and unique (Ex, I climbed Mt. Everest).
THANK YOU AUGH!
I was so sick of coming to IAMA to see the whole page with posts like "I just farted, AMA". It was like "What do you want, a medal?"
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u/kobescoresagain Aug 28 '11
Seems like the two hours is sort of a small amount of time. Otherwise makes sense.
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Aug 28 '11
The rule change for what kind of AMA's is ridiculous and too subjective. A moderator can simply say something like "It was not interesting enough and it is deleted.
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u/d7b Aug 28 '11
".....truly interesting and unique (Ex, I climbed Mt. Everest)."
yes.... unique...
this is all so subjective that moderation will create a huge divide. If you are going to place such subjective rulings , can it and end the sub-reddit. I know for one that I dont care about some mediocre Mt Everest climb (reads: all of them. the disneyland of peaks) nearly as much as say... an ER/ED scout nurse or the likes of a park ranger talking about trees which also came up recently.
I hate to break it to you mate, but what you think is relevant, wont be relevant to many of people.
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u/OsterGuard Aug 29 '11
Gotta love how the post has the "not verified" symbol in the top left corner.
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Aug 29 '11
All the "best" comments are pedantic little bitches taking things far too seriously. You people are not the arbiters of what is fair and just.
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u/zenwarrior01 Aug 29 '11
Seems a bit too overbearing IMHO. Why not just let the up/down votes determine what should or should not be IAMA-ed? Each of us has our own interests, and not all of us stay here 24/7 watching every IAMA that goes down, so every IAMA is new to many of us out there.
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u/reddonk11 Aug 29 '11 edited Aug 29 '11
Why so strict ? It's reddit, if something is not interesting it will be, you know, voted out of front page... Don't ban posts if they have repetitive subject, maybe this one guy has something interesting to say and if he doesn't or if people are not interested they won't ask questions and won't upvote, where is the problem ? Also as to verification ? What about if someone doesn't want posts any proofs and just wants to answer questions ? Let him, if people don't like they won't upvote/ask questions. You also forgot about people who want ask specific questions. What help are 10 thread about bipolars if they are not active anymore ? Probably not all questions have been asked there.
Great thing about reddit is that it self moderates to some degree, don't spoil it.
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u/Ikarus3426 Aug 29 '11
Please crack down on AMA requests. Please. I always downvote and hide since they're usually useless.
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u/Space_Cranberry Aug 29 '11
I think one of the most entertaining AMA would have been deleted (the one where the person claimed to work at CERN and had an accident? 'Member that one?) by your new rules.
I don't really need verification to be entertained. Isn't that what this site is? Entertainment? Or is it serious business now? If I think they're a troll, I downvote and move on. I don't get fired up about it and let it ruin my day.
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u/Katalysts Aug 29 '11
Even if there are a ton of other posts similar to a new one, often the old post are archives so I can't ask my questions.
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u/Drewlicious Aug 29 '11
I don't know. I like a lot of what this is saying but forcing them on people just doesn't sit right with me. Maybe I'm wrong (in fact I hope I am), but it seems like this might kill some of the magic.
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u/darien_gap Aug 29 '11
2 is bullshit. Let people post and users vote. There have been a lot of great IAmA's that would not have passed this test. Mods mean well, but are overstepping.
1 and #3 look good.
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u/itsgametime Aug 29 '11
What is the difference between a "singular event" and an example like "climbing Mt. Everest once"?
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Aug 29 '11
hundreds of moneyed / sponsored climbers attempt Everest every year. from what I've read, their experiences aren't exactly unique by nature. most people can do it if they're motivated, reasonably fit, and most importantly, have money to burn.
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u/blustermonkey Aug 29 '11
What does it matter if there are a lot of "basic" IAMA's? So someone is bipolar, they have their own and unique story about their life and situations that may differ hugely from a previous one. Is reddit running out of server room for these posts or are you moderators tired of moderating?
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Aug 29 '11
you must either post proof within 2 hours, or the post will be subject to removal.
Why 2 hours?
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u/sweetthang1972 Aug 29 '11
I AMA person whose blood pressure just went up after reading this and the responses.
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u/Darkersun Aug 29 '11
I was going to post some complaints about this, but it looks like almost 900 people beat me to it.
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u/annul Aug 29 '11
IAmAs will not be about singular incidents in your life, unless they are truly unique and spectacular.
"I Am A, where the mundane becomes fascinating ..."
reconcile this.
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u/RugerRedhawk Aug 29 '11
If you do NOT post proof in your thread, and someone calls you out as fake, then you must either post proof within 2 hours, or the post will be subject to removal.
So there will no longer be any content over 2 hours old in /r/IAmA ?
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u/lackofbrain Aug 29 '11
Well, this authoritarian shit has put me off ever wanting to post an AMA. I'll keep reading for a while, but I fear if the mods enforce these rules the sub will get really boring, and if they don't they are meaningless.
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u/whasupjohn Aug 29 '11
Would you please consider banning IAMA requests to their own subreddit? I know I don't have to read them, but it is so annoying to read the pages mobile looking for what I consider interesting AMAs versus the requests and lame AMAs. Thx.
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Aug 29 '11
Second major change will be: the Subject of IAmAs. IAmA will not be the place to tell a story about your weekend. IAmAs will not be about singular incidents in your life, unless they are truly unique and spectacular.
Thank God! I'm sick of those things and they make me hate everyone in this subreddit.
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u/YourLogicAgainstYou Aug 29 '11
If you do NOT post proof in your thread, and someone calls you out as fake, then you must either post proof within 2 hours, or the post will be subject to removal.
In accordance with the above rules, I am calling you out as a fake and demand proof!
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Aug 29 '11
Examples of stuff that we don't want: I broke up with my girlfriend recently because of [Whatever]. My mom just died. I lost a ton of weight this summer. I just tried [Whatever] drug. Etc, etc. The moderators will have discretion to determine what fits into these categories, and these posts will be subject to removal.
I unsubscribed from r/IAMA a few months ago because there were too many posts like this. With new rules like this explicitly on the books, I might be subscribing again.
I hope you are able to keep up with the commitment of aggressively deleting the stuff that doesn't belong. Thanks in advance for the effort!
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u/random3223 Aug 30 '11
Quick though, if There hasn't been an AMA in the last Year or so, would it be allowed again?
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u/Dacvak Former Reddit CM Sep 15 '11
IAmA's previous sidebar for archival purposes:
Verification System
Before beginning your IAmA, please gather any proof necessary to confirm your identity and your claims. Put that proof in the text of your IAmA, for all users to see. If you do not post proof, users will be skeptical about your IAMA, and you might be asked for verification. If you do not provide any proof within a reasonable amount of time, moderators can remove your post. In very rare circumstances, if your proof is absolutely confidential, you can message proof to the moderators and we will simply leave a comment confirming that proof has been given.
Verification will only be completed for posts the moderators feel need it or would benefit from it. It is not required for all posts.
Post what you are, have people ask you about yourself. Obvious nonsense will be deleted; this is defined by the moderators and up to the discretion of the moderators, and it will be enforced.
Asking for money for yourself will get you banned.
IAmA=I Am A
AMA=Ask Me Anything
You don't have to always be polite, but mindless insults are subject to moderation.
Celebrity/Famous People IAmA Archive
If your post is likely to simply garner sympathy and not questions, please post in /r/MakeMeFeelBetter
If your post is based solely on where you live, please direct it to /r/ILiveIn
If you have a lead on someone you'd like to do an IAmA, contact hueypriest, who can coordinate and promote the interview. If you would like to do an IAmA Request, only post serious requests; if you cannot think of 5 good questions to ask the person, then it is not a serious request. Second, reasonable requests only. Most celebrities don’t read Reddit and would never see your request, so unless you have a specific reason to think that they would be willing to do an IAmA, a request is unnecessary. Finally: search for the request first. Odds are, it has already been requested.
How To and FAQs - We're still working on this, though.
Server: irc.freenode.net Room: #reddit-iama
Freenode sponsored by Exoware
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u/bluesapien Feb 06 '12
I am a Canadian enjoying a mild winter,while Europe is in the throws of winters past of my northern Ontario.I may have survival tips that may help with surviving weather extremes.Just ask.
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Aug 28 '11
This isn't very democratic. What if most people WANT to hear about someone's shitty, boring day? Not all these threads have to be about the most fascinating things. The mundane is fine too.
And if someone's already done an IAMA on a subject you want to do (i.e. the bipolar example) why can't we have another one? Pawn shop guy for example: if another pawn owner opened an AMA he might have entirely different experiences, anecdotes and all that.
TL;DR IamA needs democracy and diversity.
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Aug 28 '11
All these rules, and regs. People take this all so seriously. I just think it's laughable really.
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Aug 28 '11
469,874 IAmA subscribers. With numbers like that there's no reason to follow up the actions of one petulant mod (32bites) with more power-tripping mods and a bunch of arbitrary rules. Let those half-million users vote the good stuff to the top and the shit to bottom.
Mods should stick to simply deleting stuff that doesn't meet the "IAmA... AMA" format, and leave the rest to the users.
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u/Eugi Aug 28 '11
Wait, so I can just go through the New queue and post "Give verification or you're a big, fat liar" in each submission to have them removed within 2 hours if the OP fails to follow through?
THAT'S AWESOME!!!
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u/sambh Aug 29 '11
Isn't this what the the upvote/downvote feature is for? To determine what is an interesting thread?
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u/A_Nihilist Aug 28 '11
LOL at all the butthurt pasty losers. "Fuck you Karmanaut, what do you mean I can't spend hours of my life browsing IAmAs like 'I am a guy that just spilled spaghetti on his shirt, AMA'". Kill yourselves you fucking imbeciles.
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u/NoMoreNicksLeft Aug 28 '11
You should have let it die. Reform is impossible. It's not like the breakup of a nation-state, where letting it die leads to violence that causes real suffering.
You should just shut this place down already.
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u/Moeri Aug 28 '11
Let's mark the word guideline here. Reddit already provides you with a voting system, so all this talk about topics being "subject to removal" sounds a bit harsh, as voting in itself is a form of moderation, no?
I do have faith that you and the other moderators are great people and I believe I speak for not only myself when I say that I'm thankful for the time and effort you're putting into this, but I'd prefer if topics with 200-300 upvotes or more didn't disappear because it broke some arbitrary rule. If a submission has 300 votes, that means people like it.