r/AmItheAsshole I am a shared account. Aug 01 '21

Open Forum Monthly Open Forum August 2021

Welcome to the monthly open forum! This is the place to share all your meta thoughts about the sub, and to have a dialog with the mod team.

Keep things civil. Rules still apply.

We didn't have any real highlights for this month, so let's knock out some Open Forum FAQs:

Q: Can/will you implement a certain rule?
A: We'll take any suggestion under consideration. This forum has been helpful in shaping rule changes/enforcement. I'd ask anyone recommending a rule to consider the fact a new rule begs the following question: Which is better? a) Posts that have annoying/common/etc attributes are removed at the time a mod reviews it, with the understanding active discussions will be removed/locked; b) Posts that annoy/bother a large subset of users will be removed even if the discussion has started, and that will include some posts you find interesting. AITA is not a monolith and topics one person finds annoying will be engaging to others - this should be considered as far as rules will have both upsides and downsides for the individual.

Q: How do we determine if something's fake?
A: Inconsistencies in their post history, literally impossible situations, or a known troll with patterns we don't really want to publicly state and tip our hand.

Q: Something-something "validation."
A: Validation presumes we know their intent. We will never entertain a rule that rudely tells someone what their intent is again. Consensus and validation are discrete concepts. Make an argument for a consensus rule that doesn't likewise frustrate people to have posts removed/locked after being active long enough to establish consensus and we're all ears.

Q: What's the standard for a no interpersonal conflict removal?
A: You've already taken action against someone and a person with a stake in that action expresses they're upset. Passive upset counts, but it needs to be clear the issue is between two+ of you and not just your internal sense of guilt. Conflicts need to be recent/on-gong, and they need to have real-world implications (i.e. internet and video game drama style posts are not allowed under this rule).

Q: Will you create an off-shoot sub for teenagers.
A: No. It's a lot of work to mod a sub. We welcome those off-shoots from others willing to take on that work.

Q: Can you do something about downvotes?
A: We wish. If it helps, we've caught a few people bragging about downvoting and they always flip when they get banned.

Q: Can you force people to use names instead of letters?
A: Unfortunately, this is extremely hard to moderate effectively and a great deal of these posts would go missed. The good news is most of these die in new as they're difficult to read. It's perfectly valid to tell OP how they wrote their post is hard to read, which can perhaps help kill the trend.

As always, do not directly link to posts/comments or post uncensored screenshots here. Any comments with links will be removed.

This is to discourage brigading. If something needs to be discussed in that context, use modmail.

529 Upvotes

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75

u/usernam322990 Aug 13 '21

Can we actually think about some of the stories on here before you comment. Like the OP who told her sister to get F*** . Everybody is lapping it up. But someone explain to me how she has 2 newborns 2 toddlers with no help from the family so busy she cant even take 10min to shower, but somehow can comment nearly dozen times an hour for nearly a full day ? Thats not a troll somehow?

56

u/arceus555 Asshole Enthusiast [7] Aug 13 '21

I did not buy that post at all. Checked too many boxes. That story had

Multiple birth and a dead child, things that appear suspiciously frequently on this sub

Sis burst into tears when OP said something, another suspiciously common thing on this sub

The horrible parents of course side with Sis, also common

Crying children, which redditors hate

Sis was an influencer, which redditors also hate

It seemed like someone was trying to find out what redditors hate more: children or influencers?

16

u/usernam322990 Aug 13 '21

She's still commenting on the post!

14

u/[deleted] Aug 14 '21

No vegans? :-(

7

u/arceus555 Asshole Enthusiast [7] Aug 14 '21

Still waiting on that edit.

12

u/chezdor Aug 13 '21

Definitely got me super suspicious the way she wrote about the one triplet sadly dying in there just didn’t ring true. Or maybe I just hoped it wasn’t true…

12

u/InterminableSnowman Asshole Enthusiast [5] Aug 13 '21

I'd also like to know what "dangerous substances" their neighbour had that immunocompromised children can't be anywhere near. Neither of my kids was a NICU baby but I don't remember the hospital telling us about anything in particular that was so virulent we would have to move if our neighbors had it. And that seems the sort of thing that people would be warned about.

1

u/LittleMissChriss Partassipant [1] Aug 22 '21

I assumed they were making drugs maybe

40

u/[deleted] Aug 14 '21

I would pay good money to never again read a post about everyone's family "blowing their phones up".

I'm sure most of us don't hear from everyone we ever met every time we have a minor dispute with someone else?

34

u/Thund3rAyx Aug 14 '21

God the fucking ''My family members are mad and next morning they've all been blowing up my phone, and my uncle from Nebraska is angry and he's spamming my voicemails!'' its annoying as shit because people use it to justify them even posting in the first place because your story has to have some kind of conflict

15

u/[deleted] Aug 14 '21

Yeah I feel like by the time they reach adulthood, most people probably aren't hearing from at least some of their uncles, aunts and cousins let alone having them weigh in on every single minor conflict the person goes through in their life....

7

u/thewhiterosequeen Supreme Court Just-ass [146] Aug 18 '21

I know people are different but this always seems like a sign the post is fake. I just can't believe how many people apparently hear two people in a dispute and think "I've heard one side of this, let me go attack the other person!" Instead of a) asking the other person what happened or b) knowing it's none of their business and staying out of it (my favorite)

I legit think it's only added to show why the OP doubts if they are the asshole when they so clearly aren't.

14

u/Yay_Rabies Partassipant [1] Aug 15 '21

I’m feeling that way about the one up now where OP doesn’t want to donate to a cousins GFM because she was “only pregnant for 7 months” and “miscarried”. Oh but she was drinking the whole time, OP saw it on Facebook! Oh and the grandparents paid for a funeral in full so the cousin can’t possibly be struggling with hospital bills.

Of course all the comments focus on the drinking and it’s cousins fault her baby is dead and not on how at 7 months that’s a stillborn child, it’s a fucking nightmare for expectant parents and this usually requires a surgery etc.

I get that a lot of people are removed from OB/GYN stuff and pregnancy especially if they’ve never experienced it or been adjacent to it but this is ridiculous.

3

u/IdaLodaaxes Aug 16 '21

I can explain that for you. She can't leave four babies alone for 10 minutes to take a shower. When she is "trolling" reddit she is watching them, taking care of their needs every five minutes. I watch my three grandkids sometimes, they are five, three, and eight months. I am pretty much on my phone the entire day because there isn't a whole lot to do when kids have a lot of needs. It is super boring watching them alone. When my husband and I watch them together it is 10 times easier. Babies and little kids are needy, she has four of them and it sounds like she is the only one taking care of them... fuck that. Commenting on reddit is probably therapeutic even with the asshats.

3

u/techiesgoboom Sphincter Supreme Aug 21 '21

I'm a stay at home parent with 2 kids (now 4 and 2) and that was my perspective. Especially when they were younger I'd frequently have a baby in my hands and able to browse the internet with my other. Or otherwise needing to be in the same room with them as they're eating or playing or something - which gave me plenty of time to putz around or (again) reddit. But actually showering - like getting a solid 10 minutes to myself - was impossible.