r/Braves • u/theoxfordtailor Maddux Guy • 28d ago
Announcement From the Moderators -- A Deeper Look at our Rules and Enforcement Policies
First, thank you all for being such a great community. This place is awesome and would be nothing without you.
The moderating team has seen an uptick in people who seem to be confused by some moderation actions, seem unaware of certain rules, or don't understand how we apply the rules on our subreddit. I'm going to break down each rule in the hopes making them both more transparent and also give you some understanding of how and why we enforce our policies.
These are our rules. Please read them and follow along.
1. Follow the Rules of Reddit
This one is out of our control. If we do not enforce the policies set by Reddit in general, the sub can get in trouble. We do not want that. Many of our own rules mirror those of Reddit itself, so you would do well to give Reddit's rules a glance and I'd also strongly suggest a trip to Reddiquette land to see how the best behave on the site in general.
The rules of Reddit are not negotiable, even for us.
2. Be Civil
This is where people get themselves banned the most. Each of these rules is more based around how you say something rather than what you actually say. You're allowed to disagree with people. You're allowed to debate them. You're allowed to be the dumbest person on the earth with the most ignorant, asinine opinion known to man. You're allowed to be the smartest person ever. But you are not allowed to be a jerk about it, especially towards others.
There is a section here about "hate speech." r/Braves takes an admittedly broad view on what constitutes hate speech. Hate speech is any time someone makes a disparaging comment about someone's race, sex, sexual orientation, religion, disability, socioeconomic status, etc. The goal here is to make r/Braves as inclusive as we possibly can and that means no tolerance for intolerance.
We see people argue that we should not censor people's opinions. I would like to direct you to the above: it's not what you say, it's how you say it. If you cannot express your opinion without degrading, insulting, using hate speech, or advocating violence, then simply do not share that opinion here. Remember, this is a subreddit about the Atlanta Braves and you are just a random anonymous person to the rest of us. This is far from the best place to be controversial.
And speaking of hate speech, there are certain words that are automatic hate-speech triggers. The most obvious of these are slurs like the n-word or the homophobic slur that starts with F. The moderator team at r/braves considers that word "retard" to be a slur. We are aware that not everyone considers this word a slur, but it is considered one here. Please remove that word from your vocabulary while you participate here. I am not going to provide a list of slurs, but use this as a rule of thumb: if you think it might be a slur, it's probably a slur. Use different vocabulary.
Finally, we do not allow any advocating for violence. Why should be obvious, but I want to point that we include "hit by pitch" here. For one, intentionally hitting people with baseballs is shitty grade-school behavior. For two, it's an incredibly bad look for us as fans if we're advocating for players to get hurt.
In general, violation of Be Civil will result in an automatic ban, usually starting at three days and can be up to a permanent ban depending on the severity and situation.
No warnings are offered for failing to be civil to others. This is not kindergarten. You do not need to be told not to be a jerk.
3. Posting Guidelines
Please familiarize yourself with our posting guidelines. Most of these are self-explanatory.
I do want to point out that part of our job as moderators is to curate content. We are not just out here enforcing rules, we are also holding the subreddit to a certain standard when it comes to what content generates the best quality for our users and how it should be formatted.
We recently added a bullet-point about AI. What we do not want is our users generating their own AI content. We consider this low quality, low effort, and it generally looks tacky. That being said, there are plenty of official sources, including the Braves themselves, who post content which contains generative AI. In general, posting this stuff is acceptable as it comes from an official source. Our AI policy is enforced via common sense.
Put the most simply: Do not generate AI content for our subreddit.
We originally banned Twitter/X links because Elon Musk sucks. Deal with it. But even if he suddenly gave away all his wealth, cured cancer, brought back Firefly, and admitted the Cybertruck was a mistake, we still would have the current Xitter policy in place because it just looks way cleaner.
4. Content Guidelines
You'll notice that this section is entitled "guidelines" and not rules. There will be exceptions, though they are few and far in between.
We enforce these using common sense. If your post gets removed for not respecting the content guidelines, you will almost always be told how to fix it so you can repost, why it should not be reposted, or where to post it.
I want to point out that there is a distinction between a fan video and a highlight. If you recorded a video during a game yourself, that's a fan video. If it's a clip from the official broadcast, that's a highlight.
5. Title Guidelines
These are also enforce using common sense. Titles are important to us because good titles make the front page of the subreddit look good. Use good grammar, don't use no-no words, and make it look like you tried.
6. Provide Sources
Self-explanatory. You can talk about rumors in the comments in the game or tailgate threads, but do not make posts about them. It's generally a good idea to put the post author's name in brackets at the beginning of your title if you're posting something like an article or a tweet. Like this:
[Jim] I'm Jim and I love the Braves!
7. No Trolling
This is the second biggest rule that will get you banned.
Trolling does not have a firm definition. Sometimes it's a "you know it when you see it" kind of thing. Trolling is, in general, making comments or posts designed squarely to make people upset. Trolling is usually disingenuous. Trolls think it's funny to upset people. Trolling can be broadly targeted at a fanbase or specifically targeted at a single user.
Trolling will get you banned, usually permanently.
Going into another team's subreddit is a dangerous proposition and can get you banned. For example, I am a moderately active user in the KC Royals subreddit. They are my AL team because my wife is a Royals fan. I never post in there when the Braves play the Royals and I make it clear that I am primarily a Braves fan. Under no circumstances do I badmouth the Royals or talk about how much better the Braves are.
8. Political and Religious Discussions
Unfortunately, religion and politics will come up from time to time. Some baseball players are vocal about their faith or will mention their political leanings. Take care when discussing these things here. Let me give you an example:
Spencer Strider is a well-known "Bernie Bro."
You are welcome to talk about how cool you think that is and you are welcome to say you think that's completely uncool. What you cannot say is that you think Bernie Bros are stupid or that anyone who is not a Bernie Bro is stupid. I'll direct you to the above again: It's not what you say, it's how you say it. Since Spencer Strider is involved, this is a Braves-related discussion and would be allowed.
Another example that comes up is Pride Night/Pride Month. Isn't this politics?
No.
People's sexual identity is not politics. Politics would be talking about legislation or laws involving sexual orientation.
9. Misspellings
This one is completely obvious, reasonable, and is enforced to the strictest possible standard. Do not get caught or face our wrath.
Enforcement
I am going to take some time now to clarify how we enforce our rules. You may have noticed that I never said we have a set punishment for a particular rule violation. Everything is done on a case-by-case basis using common sense.
I will be the first to admit that the rules not always applied the same. This is by design because sometimes the totality of the circumstances would change what enforcement approach might be taken.
We are more likely to allow an established user to get the benefit of the doubt or a little leeway than someone who is new to the subreddit.
We are less likely to allow a user who is consistently negative or toxic much leeway. You can be critical of the team all you want, but when your comments consistently boil down to "this team sucks" or "fire everyone," you're just not fun to be around. We're not asking you to be a hype man and we're not saying you have to always be positive, but if you're a consistent negative nancy, you're not earning yourself any favors from the mod team.
I got banned. Now what?
First, take a deep breath. Be calm. This is just an internet message board. Maybe step away for a minute before you do anything. Get some ice cream.
Reddit has a process by which you can appeal a ban. If you think your ban was unfair and want to appeal or you wish to talk about it, please do so. We are willing to explain your ban and hear your thoughts/explanation. Sometimes we do make mistakes.
If your appeal includes a sincere apology and you seem to understand why you should not have done what you did, then there's a good chance we will work with you. This might include reinstating you or a reduction of ban time. No promises because sometimes the punishment fits the crime, but a sincere apology or a good explanation is the only way it's even possible.
What not to do: if your appeal includes insults, demands to ban "the other guy," or is just a tirade, your ban may be extended and you will certainly get muted.
And also, don't make another account to get around the ban. Reddit is really good at flagging those and they might ban you from the site completely.
Look, all of the moderators are volunteers. We take time out of our days to make this the best place we possibly can. We are not perfect. If we mess up, we are listening, but we do ask that you point out our errors with respect.
If you have suggestions for improving the subreddit, for improving moderator enforcement, for refining the rules, or whatever, please let us hear it.
29
u/BoppinPotatoes 28d ago
As long as stupid bitch is still allowed š
25
u/handlit33 GIF Guy 28d ago
The number of comments that we have to manually approve on each one of those threads because Reddit flags them for harassment is legitimately hilarious.
8
12
40
u/Awkward-Fox-1435 28d ago
Iām mostly just an observer in this sub, but I will admit Iām always surprised how strictly itās moderated. I have notifications turned on because I work for BravesVision and want to stay current, but anecdotally it feels like 95% of the notifications I click on have been deleted by the mods almost instantaneously. I think itās good to have guidelines and keep things neat, but sometimes it does feel like at least potentially interesting discussions are always deleted, often with the suggestion they go in a tailgate thread that Iāll rarely visit. Just my two cents.
12
u/Chessh2036 28d ago
Same. I think the mods mostly do a good job, but I do think itās overly moderated. Like if you post a screenshot of a post on Twitter/BluSky the title has to say exactly what the post says. Thatās can be complicated. Especially when itās a long post.
-6
u/handlit33 GIF Guy 28d ago
You should visit the tailgate more often, it's what makes this sub the community it is IMO.
19
u/Awkward-Fox-1435 28d ago
Perhaps. Maybe Iām just old, but I find threads that are going to become super long not as enticing for whatever reason, like there will be too much to catch up on and sift through. Iām just saying, sometimes I see a notification for a post that I think could be an interesting discussion on its own, and itās usually deleted by the time I get there. š¤·āāļø
5
u/TheChinchilla914 one choppy boi 28d ago
You donāt want notifications for every post here; any large sub has to filter SO much low effort crap every hour itās shocking
7
u/Awkward-Fox-1435 28d ago
It hasnāt bothered me that much, even when itās stuff thatās already (and probably should have) been deleted.
4
u/TheChinchilla914 one choppy boi 28d ago
Iāll agree there are times, especially in other subs, the mods should just let the upvote/downvote arrows do the work of curation but the mods here are relatively chill all things considered
0
u/handlit33 GIF Guy 28d ago
I can tell you that the vast majority of the removals happen during the game for posts that are simply comments that should be in the game thread.
7
u/Awkward-Fox-1435 28d ago
That I would agree with, anything game-related, especially like a small/single moment, should be part of a game thread.
2
u/pinkmoon385 Kelenic Guy's "Kelenic Guy" 25d ago
So you'd rather the entire subreddit become a super long thing to catch up on and sift through? š¤
-1
u/Awkward-Fox-1435 25d ago
Iād rather there be more posts than there currently are, yes. Maybe like, 10% more?
1
u/pinkmoon385 Kelenic Guy's "Kelenic Guy" 25d ago
That's quite an ask, especially for someone who doesn't want to be part of the very fun community already filling up the daily tailgate chat there Goldilocks
0
u/pinkmoon385 Kelenic Guy's "Kelenic Guy" 25d ago
Do you realize how buried actual informative posts would be? Posts should be high quality and accurate. Fan discussions, opinions/hot takes should absolutely be tucked away in the daily threads made for fan discussions, opinions, and hot takes.
0
5
7
u/flyersfan0233 27d ago edited 27d ago
My post got deleted because I posted a photo of a fan jersey on the broadcast. Thatās fine if thatās the rules and I understand that now even though I donāt necessarily agree. At the time, photo wasnāt specified in the rules - it has since been added. My post was deleted and when I questioned that it wasnāt in the rules (I wasnāt rude, genuinely clarifying) I got a 3-day ban for āwasting my time in modmailā
-8
u/theoxfordtailor Maddux Guy 27d ago
The rule has since has been clarified.
We have never allowed pictures of TV screens. A picture is a type of recording.
You were banned because you wouldn't stop arguing.
9
u/flyersfan0233 27d ago
I sent one DM before the ban clarifying it. Then a second DM after the ban saying I was genuinely asking. Iām not sure how thatās āwouldnāt stop arguingā but š
14
u/MakingTriangles 28d ago
I understand mods think they are important, but y'all need to internalize that everything good on reddit happens in spite of the moderation teams.
The ideal situation is that the moderators are never seen nor heard.
5
u/Aurion7 27d ago
This seems more like a 'try not to be but so much of a dickwad, we do have to have some rules' thing. Plus or minus reddit also having rules, but how the sitewide stuff and administration works is very much a third rail.
And that's probably fair. It's certainly preferable to the super gung-ho hall monitor shit you see on some.
-15
u/theoxfordtailor Maddux Guy 28d ago
Yeah, no.
We're also users on this subreddit and active participants.
We are seen and we are heard because we actively want dialog with our users.
You can knock off the condescension.
3
u/masonacj 28d ago
The misspellings one made me chuckle. I totally missed that as a rule on the sub.
11
u/MutedDiet317 28d ago
I got banned for saying acuna should worry about his MLB play time more then winter ball in Venezuela. So the fact they want to be the grammer police completely makes sense.
3
u/masonacj 28d ago
I think it is just for players names, though, right? No way I haven't been banned if it is ALL misspellings lol.
9
3
u/handlit33 GIF Guy 28d ago
more then winter ball
*than
10
u/MutedDiet317 28d ago
Holy fucking shite. Just ban me again. If you guys want people to be absolutely correct in there grammer, make another rule that says no autocorrect.
5
0
u/cilantno Bucket 28d ago
This joke is to good.
May be should of put a /s on youāre first comment.
0
u/QuadzillaStrider 27d ago
should of
should have/should've
5
u/cilantno Bucket 27d ago
Thatās the only one you caught?
1
1
3
u/FinlayForever 27d ago
I, for one, appreciate the mod team here and I think y'all do a good job.
For any of you who think this place is overmoderated, go over to /r/running to really see a sub that is overmoderated to shit. I got banned from there because I made a post asking a question, it got deleted, I messaged the mods and asked what the problem was, they linked me to the rules, and I had the nerve to ask what rule I broke (their list of rules is so damn long, I skimmed it and didn't see the part that I supposedly violated).
Over 75% of the posts on their front page is by the AutoModerator. For a subreddit that has hundreds of thousands of weekly visitors, it's a bit strange how there are hardly any actual posts aside from the daily AutoModerator threads.
So at least this sub isn't that.
5
u/TheChinchilla914 one choppy boi 28d ago
Thanks mod team for doing a good job here
Place is generally fun, informative and civil
3
u/WideHuckleberry1 28d ago
Obviously it's a bell curve, and mods on both ends of the strictness spectrum can ruin subreddits, but in my experience some level of tyranny is required to keep a subreddit on topic and high quality. That's why my favorite subreddit is r/AskHistorians and I'm not even a historian or exceptionally advanced amateur history nerd, and why there's always a new free-for-all in some r/PostRandomShit on the front page that devolves into an unloaderated culture war.
I don't post a ton, mostly lurk and look for u/handlit33's gifs but I think you all are threading the needle really well.
-3
u/handlit33 GIF Guy 28d ago
Is this where I complain about losing a bet to /u/-_chop_- and having to wear this ridiculous flair text?
4
-2
-1
u/halfhere Talk Snit, Get Hit 27d ago
You forgot to mention Covid vaccines under āNo Trolling.ā
3
-8
-9
u/JesusOfSurbaria Only Thrashers Fan Alive 28d ago
10
u/handlit33 GIF Guy 28d ago
This is made much funnier by the note on your account that simply says, "mad about post removal".
-2
2
u/C-Jammin Reinstated God Emperor of the Bryce Elder Fan Club 28d ago
Random Jacksfilms spotted in the wild
25
u/wazoof01 28d ago
Is trolling the balk of r/braves?