[ COMMUNITY UPDATE ] New Mod, Update to Community Guidelines, and More! - 2023-08-07
Hello! I'm u/bauhaus and I've just joined the mod team here in the c/StarTrek community! I look forward to fostering discussion, and growth in a fun, active community of Star Trek fans!
I've added a new community icon and banner, and I've also updated the sidebar with a set of rules for posting and commenting. Most are pretty self-explanatory, however there are a few that I'd like to go through for the sake of clarity and to help set the tone.
On civility and mutual respect
We're all here becaue we're fans of Trek, and it's expected that everyone who comes here is coming hee to read about and discuss the shows, films, and related media, as well as the subjects they address. Since Star Trek often addresses sociopolitical issues as metaphor for contemporary issues in our society - issues which affect all of us - these discussion can ebcome passionate, even emotional. People may have conflicting views and even disagreements.
In the monents of passion, it's important that we remain civil and respectful of our community members and of the community itself. While you're free to disagree, assholery will not be tolerated. This ALSO includes saying unkind things about other Trek communities-- we're here to discuss Trek, not them. Such behaviours could result in the removal of the offending post/comment, and repeated offenses could result in a 2-3 day ban. Another thing which won't be toleated EVER is bigotry of any kind. Either of these can (and likely will) result in an immediate permaban.
If you see other users trolling, baiting, or just being bullies, don't engage. Just flag the post/comment and we mods will take care of it.
On the subject of critical discussion
In some other Trek subs, as it had been on Reddit, expressing negative opinions about characters, shows, etc. is fobidden by some unwritten rule and can get your comments removed and can get you banned without warning.
That's not the case here.
We can't have open, honest discussions about Trek unless we acknowledge both the good and the bad, however going on huge rants and tangents is counterproductive and toxic and won't be tolerated here, either. Keep comments relevant to the post and try to be constructive in your criticism. Saying, "X sucks balls!" isn't helpful, but saying, "X lacks character depth and could be improved by Y," is a much better approach which invites further discussion. Keep in mind critique vs crticism and the spirit of forstering open discussion of a topic, as this is not the place to simply come and vent your frusrations. Moderating on these lines is going to be difficult, and this rule may undergo some tweaking depending on how things go. We will be transparent about that, but, as long as eveyone is civil, we don't forsee too many problems. Keep in mind Rules 1-4.
On the subject of canon and what consitutues "real Star Trek"
CBS/Paramount/Whomever owns the IP rights decides what's canon and "Real Star Trek", not you or me or this community. That's not up for debate here. This is a subject that many hold in their hearts with the blazing passion of infinite Big Bangs, but it's not a matter for discussion here. EVER. Nothing good can ever ome from it, so it's simply not permitted. It's settled; move on.
That's all for now, but we welcome any feedback from the community you may have in the comments.
I look forward to engaging with you all!
This is good news! I’ve found other communities a little restrictive when it comes to certain types of discussion, and your guidelines are both more permissive and, more importantly, more transparent. Thanks for that!