Woohoo!!

The submission statement will also discourage spamming of political bullshit articles from shills....I hope.

I don't know if I have just been too busy with other stuff, but it's like all the political hack battleground posts are gone.

Oh hush. Don't even invite those demons to dinner.

That's a very possible scenario although I feel some would feel compelled to still comment even off the clock.

I wish we had access to which general area a commenter posts from and how many are in the VA/DC/MD area. (Assuming no VPN.)

Definitely a noticeable improvement.

I hope it continues going well. There's nothing wrong with being cautiously optimistic especially if it cuts down on spam around here.

Thanks for this info and insight. Definitely an improvement in recent days, though I also wonder whether any of it has to do with the holidays and asshole-types taking the time off. I know I did, LOL.

I think it is working, because this sub has been inundated with few word 1 sentence repliers who are just douchey AF especially the r/politics crowd. Now everything seems like the good old days from before the campaign. Those low intelligence posters basically have a stroke when asked to write a submission statement

I agree, it does feel like before the campaign.

What are you able to do with that info, if anything? Able to somehow mark them so other sub mods are able to see them as likely spammers, and ergo give them less slack with future offenses?

Yay!

I'm personally loving it. Brilliant idea! Thanks for coming up w/a clever way to improve the sub; it was sorely needed.

Do you have a list available?

This mod is the GOAT.

Mass downvotes in New seem to have stopped somewhat also

how could that be attributed to the rule change?

Maybe the bots are off line for an upgrade.

christmas leave

I'm liking the slower pace from less junk. Makes it less lilely to miss something good. That's how it was when I first started coming here regularly.

Yeah, great idea. Now if you would just put all posts into contest mode automatically for 24-48 hrs you will have just about solved the shill problem.

Doesn't seem like it would be too hard to script automod to do it.

It should be doable, r/asktrumpsupporters does it. At least they set the posts to contest mode automatically. They don't remove it automatically though.

Maybe the mods of that subreddit could help you out.

would it be something you and other mods would consider if it was feasible to do? As a member, it seems something that would be attractive to see happen, atleast at first glance.

It's doable, I think even just in vanilla automod. We can discuss this, but I'm not really a huge fan of the idea. I'd be more apt to hide comment scores for a longer period. Contest mode on non-contest posts just makes reading comments a chore. It wasn't designed for that and doesn't work well IMO.

I have noticed a big difference and it's pretty great.

This makes me very happy.

The amount of self posts on the front page of this sub is higher than I've seen it in a long time. And personally, as I've said in another comment, self posts (with a link if one wants to add one) are so much better than simply links, just because you can't spam them and you have to give context and argument your point (which leads to better debate in the comments).

The same will hopefully happen on link posts as well (more discussion in the comments), with submission statements, but as I said, I think the best thing about this change was a large increase in self-posts.

So, maybe it's too early to say, but I think we did it. Or at least we are slowly changing the sub to a higher quality version, taking it back in time to the "good old days" one could even say perhaps.

*The only problem I can see in going forward is people making one sentence submission statements, which again is too easy, doesn't give enough context for the link and won't stop shills from spamming. I really think that there should be a minimum length for submission statements of at least a few sentences. But maybe we should just wait and see how this evolves and have that rule added later if problems arise.

Could it also be that people are more inclined to post as it is less likely that it'll be lost in the 4000 Assange posts. I'll be more likely to post now.

I for one welcome our submission statement overlords.

Could it also be that people are more inclined to post as it is less likely that it'll be lost in the 4000 Assange posts. I'll be more likely to post now.

Bingo.

Well done mods. Much needed change.

To think that people are complaining that we will no longer be subjected to dozens of 'yournewswire' propaganda pieces in the new section per day.

Some people will complain about anything.

I've actually clicked on so many links/posts and enjoyed reading the discussions, content and the paths it's lead me down or sent my brain down. Before i found I'd load the sub, scroll down maybe opening 1 or 2 links at most and then moving on.

I'm digging it so far.

conspiracy theories are going "mainstream"

I started watching tv again earlier this year, an have noticed this in commercials and shows. An we are not shown in the best light, which tells me someone is close to something an we need to become pariahs. recently I was watching Criminals Minds an it was an episode about Truthers in Roswell NM killing each other. They fucking shitted on us as a people pretty good, and sprinkled that episode with bs fbi propaganda. Even touching on SH. People are waking up and they are getting nervous.

Conspiracy went main stream when a certain ex-governor got his first tv paycheck.

Jessie Ventura did have an impact on normals, but they viewed it as entertainment.

I don't disagree with you. But, why would you go back to tv when you seem to know that regular tv programming is aimed at the lowest common denominator?

I pay for cable so when my father visits he has something to watch. He has no desire to learn how to use my kodi. Since I pay for it I watch from time to time. It is interesting to see since I have come to see things a lot differently. You start to notice the propaganda more. How they use the tv to skew the public. It is an on and off thing. I only really watch the science network, cause I cannot find it on kodi, but only when they are not having their 45th mythbusters block of the year.

I get it. You are just entertaining someone else. That's cool.

I noticed the propaganda, too. Every time a commercial comes on. It hurts the brain.

Interesting... I've seen the opposite. Lots of content and ads that would resonate with the conspiracy-minded. Maybe it's because the new season of x-files is coming soon and it's in my Hulu history...

I wouldn't doubt for a second that marketing companies profile users by connecting data between TV history, browser history, and other info to serve relevant ads.

I'm actually surprised that we haven't seen x-files ads on this sub. Fox would absolutely pay a premium for ads here. We've kindly helped out Reddit by segmenting ourselves in a neat package here.

I wouldn't doubt for a second that marketing companies profile users by connecting data between TV history, browser history, and other info to serve relevant ads. (edit - I know for a fact this is true).

This is something that has creeped me out a few times this year. I would be at work talking of a specific episode of the Simpsons an within a day or two that episode would be on. Now I know program line ups are created before my thoughts. but when it happened the third time it felt weird.

I've experienced that too but I don't think different episodes are target-broadcasted to individual users. I'm sure there is a french word like deja vu to describe that experience. Or it could be some sort of subconscious precognition / remote viewing.

I do know for a fact that different advertisements are target-delivered individually. At it's most basic your IP address is being collected whenever you watch Netflix, search Google, and now everything you do since ISPs can sell your data, etc. Mobile is a little harder since your IP bounces around. Ever wonder why Facebook is so kind to let other companies use their authentication to log into third party sites?

Try and surf the internet with a VPN and a clean browser. Crazy different experience.

Like i said, i know the program line ups are created before I have my thoughts. It is a weird feeling though. I will look that up. I guess it would be similar to when you think of someone you have not thought of in awhile and they come around.

context-less titles in this sub...

Like how your title doesn't explain what the rule change is so it doesn't provide context? What is the rule change? Is it a secret? Doesn't seem very effective to keep it a secret.

You could just look in the sidebar and view the new rule 13.

Or see the current top stickied post in this sub.

Interesting, but it doesn't explain what a "Submission Statement" is.

Since it isn't defined i would imagine we would use the generic definition - It is a user's statement that accompanies the submission, giving a brief outline of the piece and/or the user's opinion on it.

That's in my own words, someone else could probably put it a lot more elequently. Anyway, I would imagine if you stick to that brief, you wont go too far wrong.

WTF a post similar to this just got removed for Rule 12

https://np.reddit.com/r/conspiracy/comments/7mc7au/ive_noticed_a_slowdown_in_the_frequency_of/drtnin8/?context=3&st=jbpbim8l&sh=a7256b06

Self posts that lack context or content may be removed.

Seems that post lacked content. What's the problem?

i think its a matter of opinion

if i was a mod i could justify deleting OP based on my interpretation of the rule

What you've more likely seen was a completely slowdown in submissions as posting has simply became confusing and troublesome.

It is just a useless hassle from what I've seen. Yes, bots will have to have two lines of code added, but the bots can do this easier than real people. Requiring OP to comment with a submission statement is one thing, but the pointless hacky hidden input field part just seems like confusing run around.

How would you code a bot to create an original statement for each link posted in its own words? Copy/pasting a line from the article of video description isn't good enough, it needs to be unique each time.

Requiring OP to comment with a submission statement is one thing, but the pointless hacky hidden input field part just seems like confusing run around.

What does this mean? All that's being asked for is a statement written in a comment of the post. Not sure what the "hacky hidden input field" you're referring to is.

It seems you might have missed these instructions found in the instructions linked in the sidebar:

https://i.imgur.com/Fs8tPJ0.png

You are supposed to write the submission statement in the text post field of the submission page, copy it, then switch to link post, make the post, and comment the same submission statement.

You don't have to do that, that was just a tip for those who find that method easier/quicker. You can also just post a comment with the statement inside your post. It doesn't matter how you do it as long as a comment with the statement ends up in the thread.

Excellent, thank you.

I read the 7 step posting instructions; was confused.

Its an idea worth trying but how strict is the enforcement going to be as far as doing things in a timely manner? I don't expect mods to spot on remove something after exactly 20 mins, people have lives, but the top post of the sub right now is a link post made 3 hours ago with no submission statement. Soooo?

Gotcha thanks

As an update, we've set up a bot to remove posts without a submission statement. It should remove them within about a minute or so of 20 minutes if the OP hasn't made a top level comment. I imagine there's going to be some snags with it as we try it in a live environment, but it seems to be working well. So far since about 5PM EST it's removed 25 posts, and no false positives (yet).

I think it's preventing waves of people upvoting title alone.

You're too nice to use the word "people" while referring to sockpuppet shills accounts.

Useful idiots too. I can't get the shills to be more human that's a loss cause

Yeah, I was a bit weary about how well it was going to work, but I'm really satisfied with how well it's doing so far.

Thanks to the mods for setting this up!

I'm definitely loving that the trashy video spam is gone anyway. Nice.

So this post needs reporting because it's missing it's submission statement right?

Don't see the comment.

Super news, a welcome change to quality for a small investment of time.

Bots 2.0 must be working...you will pine for the days when you could tell fake comments.

what's the rule again? There's a post on the front page submitted 5 hrs ago which links to an article and has no submission statement. Wasn't a submission statement required on all posts linking to media?

If you consider a massive increase in troll self posts and the almost complete lack of interesting links to be an "improvement" then yes, your new rule is successful.

If you consider that the mods now don't have to enforce the other rules that would have accomplished what they claim they really want then yes, it's an "improvement".

If you consider that you've alienated most of the long time users here then yes, it's an "improvement".

If you consider that most of the people in this thread that agree with you are well known spammers (and tagged as such) then yes, it's an "improvement".

The past two days have proven what many predicted would happen with this rule. A sub that's degraded into self-post spammers and true trolls.

What a waste.

Too late already. I've been being patient for the past couple years but now you've broken the camel's back. The infiltrators of the mod team from worldnews, tmor and conspiratard have done their job.

Time for me to move on.

https://i.imgur.com/dzyrUl2.gifv

Do the mods have access to any quantitative data that can be shared?

Personally, I've seen the qualitative result and the trial run looks to be going well. Would be great to get some data to back it up.

Possibly. What metrics would you like to see? Even as mods, we're somewhat limited in what we can view due to restrictions on reddit's API, but I might be able to find something if you knew what you wanted.

We also have to remember that the week after Christmas is vastly different than a normal week, on this sub or any website for that matter.

I honestly don't know what's available - let me do some research into the reddit API and get back to you.

I think you are right that the seasonality will skew the data. I'll set myself a reminder for a few weeks and PM you on suggested data to pull once we get back to "prime time". I'm happy to do the analysis myself with the raw data and share the backup with everyone.

Thanks!

Sounds good, man. You might find r/pushshift to be pretty useful in pulling the needed data that can be pretty hard to get directly from reddit. Keep me posted.

High fives all around

Actually OP, it hasn't.

They are censoring everything that THEY think is not newsworthy. Look at the frontpage of r/conspiracy. Conspiracies that take away stories from what is happening right now that is very interesting. http://prntscr.com/ht61rn

Therefore people need to realize this and make another conspiracy sub and move there. Sorry, this place has now turned into a shithole.

It was all spam and karma whoring before. It's already so much better, I agree!

I like the statements so far. I'm interested to see how well it works going forward.

OP is a Mod-shill /s

The quality has definitely improved!

I don't know if I have just been too busy with other stuff, but it's like all the political hack battleground posts are gone.

I've actually clicked on so many links/posts and enjoyed reading the discussions, content and the paths it's lead me down or sent my brain down. Before i found I'd load the sub, scroll down maybe opening 1 or 2 links at most and then moving on.

I'm digging it so far.

https://i.imgur.com/dzyrUl2.gifv

I get it. You are just entertaining someone else. That's cool.

I noticed the propaganda, too. Every time a commercial comes on. It hurts the brain.