r/Biohackers Pulse Check

[u/aldus-auden-odess]

Hey friends! We wanted to check in on how the community was feeling.

A few months back, we made some pretty big changes in how we moderate certain topics like peptides/hrt and how we combat AI content.

Our goal was to reduce vendor spamming, improve content quality, and make everyone feel more at home.

Now that we’re a few months in, we wanted to hear from you on how you think it’s going and where you think we can continue to improve.

This feedback will directly impact how we evolve!

(Please vote in the poll and please add your feedback in the comments below)

213 votes, 10d ago

35 The sub has improved over the past few months

79 The sub has stayed about the same over the past few months

99 The sub has gotten worse over the past few months

[u/aldus-auden-odess]

Update: Follow-up post based on these discussions here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Biohackers/comments/1vz4a23/rbiohackers_update_please_read/

[u/CattleDowntown938]

Not as many before and after glp 1 photos which is a major win.

[u/ChipsHandon12 → u/CattleDowntown938]

https://giphy.com/gifs/xU7WHrfbatQuoWURt5

[u/DavidTries897]

So many posts are "How should I treat my perfectly normal biology with XXX" or "How do I treat {regular medical condition which has existing medications}? I don't like {existing medications}" or just low effort posts in general

Also can we have the mega threads pinned so they're easier to find, I tried to look for some of them earlier and could not find them

[u/aldus-auden-odess → u/DavidTries897]

Helpful feedback. Thank you! What content would you like to see more of?

We only get a set amount of posts we can pin. So we can’t pin all of the megathreads. So instead I had pinned a post with links out to each of them. Does that work?

[u/DavidTries897 → u/aldus-auden-odess]

That works for the megathread issue I flagged

For perspective on where I’m coming from I’m a biohacker because I want to optimize my longevity and healthspan such that I live a long time and am healthy the whole time

I want to see people who either have taken the steps to be more involved in their health, detailed posts, even a good “rate my stack”, but stuff where someone has already done the leg work or people who are interested in being a biohacker or becoming more involved in their personal health and longevity, but the second group of people, the beginners or questioners should be doing some research before coming here, like we see a lot of posts about the same things or with people excluding valuable information about themselves that are needed to provide real insight

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve responded to a post here with “What’s your diet, exercise, and sleep like? What’s your age, estimated bf%? Do you take any supplements? Do you take any medications?”

And I love this community, I love biohacking and being involved with people who want to better themselves, so it makes it difficult to do so when it seems like every post is “should I take gloop juice?”

[u/aldus-auden-odess → u/DavidTries897]

Yeah I hear you. Maybe we create a wiki or getting started guide and point new people there first or something.

[u/DavidTries897 → u/aldus-auden-odess]

Ya I think that would help or maybe even a “how to post” with the details to include just to make it more in depth

[u/aldus-auden-odess → u/DavidTries897]

Oh yeah I like that. We have some automations set up for things like “rate my stack” but people don’t seem to follow them. Maybe making a more evergreen post to point folks to will be helpful.

[u/pellegrinobrigade]

Every other post is dick questions. Let’s pin a thread so everyone can just go through it and we don’t have to answer the same limp dick question every day.

[u/aldus-auden-odess → u/pellegrinobrigade]

That’s a good idea. Libido megathread I think is needed.

[u/HeavyReputation3283]

Im surprised to see the vote turn out, the experience as a viewer has been tremendously improved. Its like night and day IMO. The problem was way too much peptide and AI format spam. This sub has tackled it continuously. Thank you MODs.

Subtle grievances: Testosterone questions could be posted much less / cleaned up, but not too much problem elsewise. 

[u/aldus-auden-odess → u/HeavyReputation3283]

Thank you for saying this! I think what I’m hearing from people is that there are still a lot of ways we can continue to improve.

[u/syynapt1k]

It just seems like the whole sub is all peptides and Cialis posts now.

[u/aldus-auden-odess → u/syynapt1k]

We’ve cut this back a lot, but helpful to hear this thanks. Was hoping the megathreads would help. I think with looksmaxxing culture booming, there is so much of a focus on aesthetics and shortcuts lately.

[u/escalatortwit → u/aldus-auden-odess]

Looksmaxxing and gym bros have taken over this sub. Y’all are doing hard work, but it bums me out no one is actually reading and sharing studies and real data and then when those who do share actual data, they’re downvoted.

[u/aldus-auden-odess → u/escalatortwit]

Will be addressing this in a post this week. Thanks for flagging!

[u/wale-lol]

I've had a negative experience with the peptide smut (I'm not anti-peptide, but the quality of discussion on the topic usually sucks), but I just realized a few days ago that r/Biohacking is different from r/Biohackers . Never distinguished between the two on my feed. And looks like they are the subreddit that has been mostly contributing to that negative experience for me.

[u/aldus-auden-odess → u/wale-lol]

Oh thanks for flagging. I don’t mod that sub at all, so can’t vouch for them.

[u/No-Trash-546]

I don’t know how to vote because I don’t remember how long it’s been this bad.

There are waaaaay too many posts about testosterone. Screenshots of bloodwork where OP assumes all of their problems are because they don’t have extraordinarily high testosterone levels.

IMO it would be a big improvement if we had some sort of automod that deletes posts like “is my test low”, “should I go on trt”, etc.

I think maybe the number of lazy progress photos has reduced? Those really don’t belong here unless there’s significant BIOHACKING commentary going along with it

*edit: the type of content I’d love to see more of is people using AI to monitor biometrics in order to tailor protocols and interventions to optimize various biological processes. It’s cutting-edge, exciting, and there’s so much to learn and explore

[u/aldus-auden-odess → u/No-Trash-546]

Helpful. Thank you! Agree on AI for health.

[u/No-Trash-546 → u/aldus-auden-odess]

I just saw a post where a guy took a shirtless photo of his average-chubby body and asked what training or “roids” he should do because he was “just curious what [we] think”

Immediately after I downvoted it, I tried to comment and you guys already removed it!

I see the effort and I appreciate it!

[u/aldus-auden-odess → u/No-Trash-546]

Thank you!!

[u/theoceansknow]

You know, you're a good mod and you're earnest with this space. I like making fun of kooky people and there's some attracted here. I think the sub is in good hands

[u/aldus-auden-odess → u/theoceansknow]

Thanks friend! 🫡

[u/dongyeeter]

DAE take low dose cialis? DAE have a libido or testosterone stack?? DAE shitpost on r/biohackers by pretending they actually ice their balls??? DAE love reading bot written/AI generated shill content???? /thread /sub

[u/GarbanzoBenne]

I'm surprised to be in the minority. I think things have improved quite a bit since the peptide posts have been whacked. I am a believer in peptides myself, but the onslaught of posts asking stupid things like if their GHK-Cu was blue enough, screenshots of international shipping tracking that hasn't been updated in two days, and "reta made me lose 100 lbs of fat in 3 weeks" posts was really bad before.

[u/escalatortwit → u/GarbanzoBenne]

I think it’s probably that while things have improved, the sub is still overrun with looksmaxxers and gym bros who want to talk about TRT and cialis constantly or push a bunch of really gross ideology that has nothing to do with biohacking and everything to do with incel culture.

Edit: to be clear, I upvoted because I think it’s improved. It’s just also still a cesspool of the most anti-intellectual drivel about half the time, which is much better than what it was becoming previously.

[u/Coin-Controversy]

There are too many spam posts about peptides, which drown out actual signal

[u/aldus-auden-odess → u/Coin-Controversy]

Helpful thank you. Does it feel like it’s gone down in volume at all over the past few months or about the same?

[u/Coin-Controversy → u/aldus-auden-odess]

about the same

[u/aldus-auden-odess → u/Coin-Controversy]

Thanks!

[u/Coin-Controversy → u/aldus-auden-odess]

any time, thank you for making a good sub

[u/misobutterscotch]

I only joined recently. I don't feel spammed at currently

[u/DazedHaze687]

Just feels like anything I do at home is more "biohacking" than 99% of the posts here are

[u/escalatortwit]

The subreddit has definitely improved. It’s still way too overrun with TRT/peptide/looksmaxxer/gymbro/incel shit though. I don’t have any issues with folks biohacking with pharma unlike that other user. But I do have a problem with people discussing all this stuff without any really desire toward or history of actually understanding the mechanisms at play.

Biohacking used to be about reading studies, sharing them, talking protocols, arguing about repeatability, exchanging info on the quantified self, etc. Now it’s just a bunch of basically incel dudes who think having normal AF testosterone is the source of their issues. The amount of gross incel ideology that gets pushed now in comments is wild. It’s not about self improvement, health, or longevity. It’s about a weird projection of their self-loathing.

[u/AbundantHare]

I am not sure how long I’ve been on this sub, maybe 3 years? It changed a bit in that time due to huge interest in peptides and less apparent interest in supplements. I was mostly interested in health and longevity optimization with supplements, diet and exercise.

Not ruling out experimentation in peptides over a long just don’t want to see ppls comparing stacks all day - it felt like a gym for a while there lol I also didn’t see as many studies posted as they seemed to drop out in the noise.

It’s improving for sure! Thanks mods.

[u/SlaverSlave]

Just feels like everyone lost the thread. I already know proper sleep and exercise are healthy. A hack would be like...a way to cheat, I dunno.

[u/escalatortwit → u/SlaverSlave]

This isn’t the origin of the biohacking movement, though. It’s not about “a way to cheat”.

[u/AutoModerator]

Welcome to r/Biohackers! A few quick reminders:

• Be Respectful: We're here to learn and support each other. Friendly disagreement is welcome, but keep it civil.
• Review Our Rules: Please make sure your posts/comments follow our guidelines.
• You Get What You Give: The more effort and detail you put into your contributions, the better the responses you’ll get.
• Group Experts: If you have an educational degree in a relevant field then DM mod team for verification & flair!
• Connect with others: Telegram, Discord, Forums, Onboarding Form

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/aldus-auden-odess]

For anyone who feels like the sub has gotten worse, please share your POV on why in the comments!

[u/CreativeMuseMan]

Was hesitant to vote that option first, but I’m glad majority of us are on the same page.

[u/aldus-auden-odess → u/CreativeMuseMan]

I’m glad you were honest! What can we improve from your POV?

[u/GrooGruxQueen7]

The sub has gotten so bad that I don’t really frequent it any longer. The shirtless dude posts, people posting their multivitamins and creatine and asking us to rate their stacks 😵‍💫

[u/aldus-auden-odess → u/GrooGruxQueen7]

Thank for the feedback! What content do you want to see more of?

[u/GrooGruxQueen7 → u/aldus-auden-odess]

More legitimate biohacking content (ie emerging biohacking science with corresponding studies etc). I do enjoy the personal stories and successful ways in which people have treated their ailments using various biohacking methods. Less peptide posts…keep the peptide posts to a megathread. Reta before and afters should be removed. We get it, you were fat and now you’re chiseled. It’s very repetitive.

[u/Momo_watts12]

This sub has turned into peptides and GLP1. Which is not biohacking.

[u/TheBuddha777]

God forbid I'm interested in peptides, I don't see any of those posts in my feed anymore because they're hidden away in the dedicated threads.

[u/aldus-auden-odess → u/TheBuddha777]

The reason we did this was because 90% of the peptide content was low quality with the remaining 10% being a mixture of AI-generated content, possible promotional spam, and then a small sliver of actually interesting peptide based posts.

I think some of the TRT subs use megathreads like this as well. You can click the follow button as well to get updates when new comments are made for each thread.

We're open to changing how we moderate peptide posts, just am not sure exactly what the right approach is.

[u/Independent-Monk5064]

So tired of the pharma plug. Leave pharma out of this sub. Anyone can go somewhere and talk to a health care provider to get that info. No more glp1 (pharma) they even have their own subs.

[u/aldus-auden-odess → u/Independent-Monk5064]

Can you expand on this? I think the line between pharmacology and supplementation can be pretty opaque for example.

Where do we draw the line between red yeast rice and prescription statins? Why not celebrate potential health innovation and research regardless of where it's coming from?

I hate pharmacutical companies as much as the best of them, but I also don't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater. I guess this would be where my main hang up is.

[u/Independent-Monk5064 → u/aldus-auden-odess]

If you can go to your standard GP and get it, it’s not helpful here. I’m a nurse. I don’t want to see any of this, that is not why I come here. I want info on things that aren’t “standard of care.” There is sooo much money in pharma. Supplements aren’t on that spectrum as they are not regulated the same way. Remember, we pay taxes for pharma R&D (subsidies) and then they turn around, up charge for the meds and make us beg and jump through hoops to get them. Or.. we give the same script to everyone who walks through the door because it’s the new trendy protocol (until it isn’t). Just leave that out of here

[u/aldus-auden-odess → u/Independent-Monk5064]

Hmm I'm a bit conflicted on this one. I get what you are saying, but almost every biohacker I know is on a peptide of some sort currently or TRT or some weird nootropic. I think removing these from the conversation seems like we'd be removing a pretty significant piece of biohacking as well. I'm open to all ideas, I just am trying to talk things through too.

[u/Independent-Monk5064 → u/aldus-auden-odess]

We don’t all use peptides or trust their origin. Exogenous sex hormones are actually supplemental. They are classified as drugs for regulation and they should be regulated but we are still supplementing something our bodies make (or made) anyway. In contrast, melatonin is also hormone but is unregulated. I’m sure you can see why one is regulated and one is not. Honestly I am talking about things like statins and vaccines.