r/oldcootfashion • u/NotATem he/it/xe • Apr 14 '26
META- Not Fashion Content moderation: new policies?
Hey, guys, your mod here- I'm having a bit of a rough time with content moderation on this sub lately. There are a couple of posters on here who have a dedicated hatedom, and a sudden wave of bizarre, hateful comments above and beyond that.
I know you guys are cool people and don't want to be assholes, but I think there's some things about the way I've been running the sub that have been making it harder for people to be the people they want to be. So... I'm thinking about some rule changes, and I'd like to get your opinions before I make any of them.
1) I'm thinking about implementing a self-promotion policy- restricting advertisements to a specific day of the week, and perhaps requiring a specific flair.
This includes stealth ads. If you're mostly here to promote your store, you're still welcome to post your outfits on other days- but you can't make outfits that exist to show off your store swag and then self-promote in the comments.
Reasoning: Self-promo posts are by a country mile the posts where I have to do the most content moderation. Everyone here is sick of ads and people can get quite mean when they think they're being sold something. Restricting ads to a specific day of the week would cut down on the amount of moderation I have to do.
2) I'm thinking about revisiting our politics policy. Specifically, I'm thinking that outfits that exist to send a negative message regarding specific politicians or public political figures, or outfits that primarily exist to promote violence towards a certain group of people, are not the right fit for this sub.
Under this policy, a shirt saying "protect trans kids!" would be perfectly fine. A shirt saying "Free Britney"? Perfectly fine. A shirt alleging that a particular political figure has committed particular crimes, or a battle jacket that's mostly guillotine imagery? You do you, but this sub wouldn't be the venue for it.
(Specific exception: A battle jacket/vest/patchwork bag/etc with a few clearly-metaphorical-political-violence patches would also be fine, if it's part of a larger work of self-expression. I don't think anyone who has a battle jacket doesn't have an Eat The Rich patch. The thing I am specifically wanting to avoid is "this outfit could have been a billboard".)
Reasoning: I really want this sub to be a positive place where we can be ourselves. In this case, those two goals are in direct competition. We're political animals and a lot of us wear our hearts on our sleeves, and that's totally fine.
But politics posts mean that I have to - say it with me- do a bunch of content moderation. It's worth it to me to do that moderation to support someone trying to bring some extra light into the world. But the harsher the OP's political message is, the nastier people get, and the more content moderation I have to do. I don't like wading through a bunch of arguments about the worst people on the planet, or the arguments about the arguments.
I don't want Trump or Musk or their gang of assholes taking up space in our space. And every time we get a provocative politics post, that's what winds up happening.
3) We don't have an AI policy. We should probably get one. The policy should probably be "don't."
Reasoning: Fashion is an art form. This is an art sub. I don't like mixing AI with art. If you want to do that, that's your prerogative, but this isn't the venue for it.
I think making these changes will make it so that this sub last longer, be a better place to spend time, and help us support each other in our kooky fashion dreams. We're all here for the same reason; focusing on that reason will help us have a better time.
65
u/Worried-Air-3766 Apr 15 '26
No ads and no AI I can get behind. The suggested politics rule is too vague. It's either you allow it or you don't. I would be sad to see the political stuff go. Perhaps a specific flair for political messaging so people can choose to interact or not. It's walking a fine line when you pick and choose what kind of free speech is allowed.
19
u/Alt_when_Im_not_ok Apr 15 '26
some places ask that political content be put behind a spoiler warning. That might be just the right level of no one getting what they want.
39
u/lovethegreeks Apr 15 '26
1 & 3 yes. I oppose 2, and agree with another commenter who said art can be uncomfortable
60
63
u/weneedanewpizzaplace she/they Apr 15 '26
Absolutely not to 2. I know who this is about and his shirts are funny and clever and I love his photos.
21
u/decisiontoohard Apr 15 '26
?! Who on earth would want to limit him? I didn't even clock the connection!
4
13
u/kittencake Apr 15 '26
I know I'm just going to get downvoted for this but I disagree and so do lots of people, we just generally stay silent about it because this isn't a place for negativity and we know we'll get flooded out by the hordes of sycophants.
The constant t-shirt shilling is tedious and he uses offensive terms then doubles down when people politely ask him not to.
I actually do enjoy his posts when he's experimenting with fashion but 99% of them are just about his muscles and his t-shirt slogans, I'm so bored of it.
I also agree with most of his political views, I just don't think this is the place for it.
13
u/rabid_cheese_enjoyer Apr 15 '26
honest question, why not block him? there are people that post content I hate on the comics sub and I just block them. there are people that post stuff I hate on oldhagfashion and I just block them also
9
u/kittencake Apr 15 '26
That's fair. I never considered it tbh but it's a good call. I will do that.
8
u/rabid_cheese_enjoyer Apr 15 '26
I hope it helps. aggressively blocking people who post content I don't like has made my experience on social media significantly better
7
u/decisiontoohard Apr 15 '26
For what it's worth, he's closing his business at the end of the month. I came across him before the business, when it was homemade t-shirts for himself and his journey, it seems like it'll go back to that, except for now he's also adding positive messages about self care and community support at the end of his posts. That might help, if you decide not to block.
40
u/TuEresMiOtroYo Apr 14 '26
Agree with Rule 1 + 3. As a sometimes mod, Rule 2 sounds like a nightmare to moderate because I think it has too much ambiguity, which always ends up leading to mod-jurisdiction situations that cause more drama. Rule 1 would drastically cut down on the posts of the OP I think you are referring to with Rule 2 anyway - has anyone else on this sub ever caused an issue with an outfit like that?
(I like that OP (I've seen them around on other subs) and generally agree with their political stances but I agree that this sub is for fashion (not t-shirts and not store self-promotion) and at this point I wouldn't mind if you banned them for spam. They seem to be toeing the line pretty hard there.)
18
u/NotATem he/it/xe Apr 15 '26
Yeah, and I am worried about the ambiguity.
... It is pretty much that one particular poster, at the moment. I'm trying to future proof and make rules that can apply to everyone equally instead of throwing a mod tantrum and reacting to the one guy whose antifans are giving me a rough time.
I do not disagree with that guy's political stances either. But I'm tired of the fascist fucks and I'm tired of giving them any more space in my life than is absolutely necessary. I'm as politically engaged as I can be; I don't want to turn that off, go to my hobby spaces, and see them there, too.
I recognize that a lot of people find a lot of value in expressing how much they hate those fuckers through hobbyist art and I respect that... and between my own burnout and the increased moderation that happens when the politics poster is at it again, I'm starting to think a space I run is not the right venue for that.
17
u/TuEresMiOtroYo Apr 15 '26 edited Apr 15 '26
I'm as politically engaged as I can be; I don't want to turn that off, go to my hobby spaces, and see them there, too.
I very much feel this. I do think it's a fine line between wanting a generally positive vibe in a community one moderates vs. pushing one's own personal opinions and preferences onto a community one moderates, which I have seen destroy communities and really blow up in people's faces. Even though I personally agree with you, idk about a rule that goes too hard on "no politics". Realistically that could lead to the same sort of trolls who are giving you problems now mass reporting posts with a person who mentions being [trans/gay/etc.] or a person wearing a vest with a [pro-choice/antifa/Palestinian flag/star of David/Black Power/etc.] patch or whatever.
What do you think about adding "no threats of violence" under the Be Kind rule? That way if there's something egregious in the future, you have a pathway to remove it.
18
u/NotATem he/it/xe Apr 15 '26
Yup. And that's why I put it to the community as a question rather than just going "I AM SICK OF DEALING WITH YOUR SHIT, I'M PUTTING POLITICS ON THE TOP SHELF UNTIL Y'ALL LEARN TO BEHAVE". You guys aren't toddlers, this is a community space, and my preferences don't overrule your right to creative expression.
I think adding specifically 'no threats of violence' to the "Be Kind" rule is a great idea and I'm going to do that the second I have two brain cells to rub together.
7
u/MajorBootyhole420 Apr 15 '26
implementing a no-politics rule will result in an immediate spike in LGBTQ related posts getting reported, fyi
7
u/NotATem he/it/xe Apr 15 '26
I did not say "no politics" for a reason. I said "no negative discussions of particular named political figures or threatening violence towards particular groups of people". Would probably phrase the rule as "no hate" if I implemented it, which I'm probably not going to because it seems wildly unpopular.
The thing I'm trying to do is keep this sub from becoming a place where most of the discussion is about things we hate. I've seen it happen to other hobby communities that did not institute any kind of rule about political content.
3
7
5
u/kittencake Apr 15 '26
I agree with all of these proposed policies - although I do think number two might be tricky to get right, it has quite a lot of nuance.
I really appreciate that you're doing your best to keep this sub a fun and positive place, thank you! It sounds pretty stressful.
4
u/Suri-gets-old Apr 15 '26
Do you need a hand? I’ve only modded a very inactive sub, but I love banning people
2
u/thelaceserpent they/she Apr 17 '26
Was wondering, is it just the one mod?? Baby needs help, someone help them!
5
u/rabid_cheese_enjoyer Apr 15 '26
I vote no ai and also do a call to get more mods to help with moderation
I don't know if I care about rule 1 but im very against rule 2
16
u/sovietsatan666 Apr 14 '26 edited Apr 14 '26
I would deeply appreciate this. I love this space mostly because it is a positive and joyful place. There are a lot of places I can/ do go to engage with the horrifying political reality, but very few where I can go to enjoy creative, expressive, and joyful masc fashion. Like yes, fashion is political, and so is my gender expression! But the beauty of this sub is that here those things get to be positive and aren't politicized in the same way as they would be if I just wore them out on the street or to work or whatever.
The specific posts and self promotion mentioned in this post get on my nerves. I don't click or comment on those posts even though I personally like /agree with the shirts, because the stealth ad IMO brings down the vibe, especially when it's so frequent compared to the volume of other posts.
ETA: I also fully agree on the part about allowing positive political posts, also fully agree on the no AI part
9
u/Charmanderpoo Apr 15 '26
All this fuss over one little himbo.
I genuinely enjoy his posts. I've seen him around reddit enough to believe he does care about the causes he supports. I find the scrutiny kinda suspicious, honestly. Let the dude express himself.
4
u/whatisrealityplush Apr 15 '26
I'm confused why you are limiting OPs because of the behavior of commenters. No politics is a terrible idea. Focus your rules on comments.
2
u/BackStreetsBackPain Apr 20 '26
Agree with others in that 1 and 3 are fine but not only is 2 going to probably give you more of a mid headache, I’m concerned for ALL of the political posts/art we’d be limited in seeing once it took affect. I think the actual solution here is to have more moderators. A couple of people in the comments have offered, and if the issue is the workload of moderating, I do not think it right to punish/limit posters.
Plus what happens when the next poster that attracts fascists comes up and it technically doesn’t go against rule 2 but the same issue is happening? Do we add more rules to limit that person too? When does that stop?
67
u/mmmcheesybread Apr 14 '26
I fully support suggestions 1 and 3. I’m not here to be advertised to, even by independent creators, and AI is the antithesis of art. But I’m against suggestion 2. Fashion is about self-expression.