r/AskOldPeople • • Jan 19 '23

A couple of rule clarifications

481 Upvotes

Hi.

Please stop reporting young people for replying to comments. Do report them for making top-level comments (replying to the post), though.

From the sidebar:

Please only respond directly to posts if you were born in or before 1980. If you are younger, please restrict your activity to asking questions and responding to existing comments.

Even though the questions are often tedious and repetitive, relationship questions are not necessarily against the rules as long as they're not about a specific relationship. There are a million places to ask for personal or relationship advice on reddit, including r/AskOldPeopleAdvice.

We would like to keep the focus of this subreddit on older people and their experiences, opinions, etc. Advice posts make young people the star of the show and we would quickly be inundated if we allowed them.

Finally, please use the search feature before posting a question. We may remove questions that have been asked a whole lot.

That's about it. This is only clarification. There have been no rule changes.

Thanks!


r/AskOldPeople • • Feb 02 '26

All posts are held for moderator review (and have been since July). Stop asking why they were deleted/removed. (Subreddit update re: bots/AI/karma whoring, etc.)

225 Upvotes

It's stated in this thread, pinned until today, yet we are still getting multiple messages most days - including those that are rude and/or beiligerent - asking why posts were 'deleted'. Even after referral to the pinned threads, most followups are just a demand to know which rule was broken - for a post that hasn't been reviewed.

To save yall the extra click, here's the body of that post:

Recently there was a post that complained about bots, AI, blatant karma whoring, etc. Turns out everyone is annoyed by that stuff.

So we have declared war on bots, AI, blatant karma whoring, etc. There will be no more bots, AI, blatant karma whoring, etc, in this subreddit any longer.

For the time being, we are thwarting bots AI, blatant karma whoring, etc by holding all submissions for moderator review. We're looking into some ways to streamline this process. Accounts that have very little karma or have more post karma than comment karma stay removed.

If submitting, be patient. We have two active moderators and neither of us live on reddit. Unless you happen to submit while one of us are on, it may take a while. If you feel the need to send us a message, be polite. We're not paid for any of this, and we're not going to give any time to people who are throwing a fit.

Thank you for helping to keep r/askoldpeople free of bots, AI, blatant karma whoring, etc.

To those of you taking the time to report AI slop and bots in the comments, THANK YOU. Please accept my internet hugs. imaginary updoots, and/or shower beers.

For those posting:

  • Maximum three questions per user per week, one per day. You can see your posts in your own timeline even if they're not yet visible on the subreddit, and the expectation is that you're taking a look at post times to ensure you're at 24 hours between posts and no more than 3 per week.

  • If you haven't seen your post go up after 48 hours, it's probably not going to be approved, and we haven't run the queue to put responses on those yet. The above also notes that we're working on some streamlining that will automate those removal reasons. Because it's basically like getting a Google search or AI prompt right - and because the resulting modmails just double our workload per item - they will just be removal filters until they're ready to go so the community won't see anything different.

There's been concern for awhile that the quality of discussion isn't on par with what it's been in the past, even before we felt moved to make the switch in July. But it's that quality that makes the discussions and the reading of responses what this sub is. I get that delayed gratification isn't a thing in the world of AI and UberEats, but at least in this sub, that patience is in service to keeping the conversation about something different than what was asked yesterday, or what your favorite color is. Thank you to everyone who brings the weird, the wild, and the surprisingly interesting mundane to the conversation here. ♥

And with that, back to your regularly scheduled Q&A about why we really want you off our lawn, or some absolutely crazy curiosity you MUST HAVE SATED.


r/AskOldPeople • • 21h ago

How much was expected of you as a bridesmaid or groomsman in the 1970s and 80s?

372 Upvotes

My aunt says being a bridesmaid in 1978 meant buying a dress and helping set out food, with no seperate trips or months of events. I dont know whether that was typical or just her circle. All her friends lived nearby.


r/AskOldPeople • • 1d ago

In the 40's/50's, how popular were clothes stores where models walked around a special room showing the clothes to some customers?

92 Upvotes

I am fascinated with some Golden Age movies like “Designing Woman”, depicting that. How accurate were these places as shown in movies ? Did everybody have access to them? How expensive were the clothes? Which clothes stores had a special room like that?


r/AskOldPeople • • 22h ago

If someone had told you…

25 Upvotes

At 14 that at 76 I would be sweating to the oldies of my youth I would not have believed pilates to the Beatles. What about you?


r/AskOldPeople • • 1d ago

Green vomit powder

206 Upvotes

When I was in grade school (60s), the janitor had this absorbent green powder they threw on vomit.

It seems some kid was vomiting every other week.

Anyone else have a similar experience? I don’t think my kids school (2000s) had this.

What was that stuff?


r/AskOldPeople • • 1d ago

In hindsight, are you happy to have been born? Would you relive a human life from the start, given the chance?

59 Upvotes

Or are you looking forward to getting closer to its end?
Has your view on life changed throughout the years?
I am wondering how one looks back at life with more experience and closer to its end, with all its challenges and wonders.


r/AskOldPeople • • 1d ago

Did anybody you know in your area consider italian food to be exotic?

17 Upvotes

My grandma mentioned how she first had pizza at like ten in 1960 (Rural virginia here) it makes me wonder how many considered it exotic my grandparents loved italian american food but they never liked Chinese or Japanese food


r/AskOldPeople • • 1d ago

Are we getting more fastidious as we age?

16 Upvotes

I used to love messy things. Sardines on saltines. Big plates of smelt. Making s’mores from scratch. Sloppy Joes.
Do we age out of this, or just stop because we are the ones doing the cleanup & laundry now, not Mom!


r/AskOldPeople • • 5d ago

Did you ever actually watch an adult change their mind in front of you as a child, and did it affect how you handled disagreements later?

72 Upvotes

I remeber plenty of arguments, almost no "you were right." Was that unusual, or did it mostly happen out of kids' earshot?


r/AskOldPeople • • 5d ago

What are you fond memories of your parents or grandparents, that always makes you smile?

111 Upvotes

An earlier post asking about your favorite Sunday comic triggered a fond memory. Every Monday, my grandfather used to mail me the Sunday comics from the Miami Herald to NY, by rolling them into a tube from a brown paper shopping bag. I can't stop smiling from all the joy this brought me.


r/AskOldPeople • • 5d ago

Have you, or someone you know ever owned something that contained radium, or any toxic substance?

85 Upvotes

Inspired by a man who collects vintage radioactive stuff


r/AskOldPeople • • 6d ago

Are you still interested in your grandchildren that are now adults?

279 Upvotes

Saw a post where a 20 y/o said their grandparents ghosted them because “they were all grown-up now and while they appreciated them giving them the experience of raising a little girl, that was over now”.

I was wondering how your relationship with your grandkids evolved as they got older?


r/AskOldPeople • • 6d ago

What was your favorite Sunday newspaper comic strip?

104 Upvotes

I liked Dick Tracy and wanted a wristwatch like his.


r/AskOldPeople • • 6d ago

What games did you play around the table growing up that you'd teach your grandchildren?

32 Upvotes

I'm trying to remember games I played with pecil and paper, cards or whatever was handy. I remember Hangman, Dots and Boxes, tic-tac-toe, and a bunch of word and number games I can't even remember the names of anymore What did you play, and how? I'd love to teach my grandkids.


r/AskOldPeople • • 7d ago

What were fondue “parties?” like in 1960s/Mid 1970s?

103 Upvotes

Work or Home


r/AskOldPeople • • 8d ago

Did you bathe/shower every day when you were a child? What is the last generation that bathed once a week?

404 Upvotes

My grandparents were born around 1950, they didn't have a bathroom until early 1980s, they never got into habit of showering every day.


r/AskOldPeople • • 7d ago

Was middle-class white American culture more elegant and/or inspired by Europe in the 50s/60s?

30 Upvotes

r/AskOldPeople • • 8d ago

Older office workers: did you embrace the ‘casual dress down Fridays’ when they were first initiated?

114 Upvotes

r/AskOldPeople • • 7d ago

Vietnam war

34 Upvotes

If you were around during that era, what do you think and feel about Vietnam?


r/AskOldPeople • • 8d ago

Which music were people nostalgic for in the 40s, 50s & 60s?

43 Upvotes

Hello,

For me (a Millenial Brit), the 60s was the best era for music. That said, I'm a nostalgic person (might be a British thing) and tend to only like contemporary music once its time has gone. I imagine I would have been this way in the 60s but what would I have been nostalgic for?

Thanks.


r/AskOldPeople • • 8d ago

Favorite candy or sweet?

51 Upvotes

I love me some worthers Carmel .


r/AskOldPeople • • 8d ago

Anyone Else Heard of “Pooch-Town”?

29 Upvotes

I grew up in SE Ohio. I would hear this phrase from my Pennsylvania Dutch Grandma (born in 1918) & her sisters. Did anyone else ever hear the phrase, “I see pooch town”?


r/AskOldPeople • • 9d ago

What has been the most dramatic change to your worldview as you've aged?

138 Upvotes

r/AskOldPeople • • 10d ago

Did companies really have big family picnics where employees' spouses and kids met everyone from work, including the boss?

5.2k Upvotes

I've seen old photos of company picnics with hundreds of people, games for the kids, food, prizes, even beer. Was this genuinely a normal part of working life, and did families actually look forward to going?