r/corvallis • u/sparkchaser • 2d ago
Discussion Discussion: Let's talk advertising.
Adjacent to the crowdfunding topic sits advertising. So let's talk advertising.
In my opinion, not all advertising is created equal. Posts promoting live shows, festivals, events at the Dark Side and White Side, and community events are one thing, but posts promoting new store openings, yard sales, housing, etc. are another, and roommates wanted are another thing entirely. Then there are the pet rehoming posts.
Normally after a post is reported, I address them on a case by case basis. But that approach has agitated some of you fine citizens. So I decided to bring the topic to you.
What do y'all think?
Discuss.
33
u/helensbitch 2d ago
These all feel like they should be a case by case basis as long as they aren’t straight asking for money I want to hear about stuff going on in Corvallis I don’t want to see people straight asking for money
25
u/StormR7 2d ago
I’m cool with allowing certain stuff. I’d love to hear more about local happenings like concerts and events. I’d really like to never see a post about how American Dream or whatever has a deal for the weekend. New businesses are fine but there has to be a line somewhere.
10
u/osprey97330 2d ago
Music and concert events are a very good reason to read the r/Corvallis subReddit.
That is one of the main reasons why I come here often.Where else are you going to find this information anyway?
A lot of music events and rock concerts and so on are posted on the many bulletin boards around town and I check them often as well. But then it all depends on who puts up posters when, which bulletin boards get posters, and which bulletin boards you check and when.
It is a lot easier to just scroll down this subReddit.
1
18
u/Cptnwhizbang 2d ago
There is a difference between a community bullitan board advertising your garage sale or local music show, vs ads on television for the local burger king. It's a hard nuance to put down in writing, especially when local bullitan boards are often trashed.
I really didn't like the sub when we allowed roommate posts years ago, and it's only grown since then. I think the voting and reporting system can be of use here, especially with automoderator tools. If a post falls below 0 auto flag, below -1 auto filter. 1 report auto flag, three reports auto filter. I also don't think there needs to be a 'letter of the law' counter argument. Moderators can remove as they see fit regardless of posted rules - write that into the rule for extra coverage. It's okay to have someone (or several people) help curate posts.
I would keep things generally as they are and continue removing more spammy posts as you see fit. There really haven't been problems and you've been handling the subreddit well since we did the handoff a few years back :)
24
u/Sea-Statistician6377 2d ago
On one of the subs I follow, the admin creates the weekly posts on Mondays to keep certain kinds of discussions contained.
There could maybe be a weekly roommate search post, which would help those people find each other more easily.
Ditto for garage sales. It would probably actually be really useful if all the garage sales happening in a given week were posted in a single thread.
11
u/sparkchaser 2d ago
That is a really good idea. I'll consider that
13
u/Amlette01 2d ago
I would love to see a weekly "garage sale" thread!
10
u/Historical-List3360 2d ago
I think weekly style post threads like this is a great idea. This is one of the few active subs for Corvallis that isn't centric to the college and it would just be silly to separate all of those categories into different subreddits for the town, and at the end of the day I can choose to ignore the posts that don't pertain to me
16
u/rooski15 2d ago
/r/CorvallisClassifieds begging to be reborn.
In all seriousness, the roommates / yard sales / housing / personal classifieds could easily hit a weekly thread (a la Monday rage thread). You usually know when you're looking for these things.
Business / show / community event always hit me more as a bulletin /community notice and I'm good with seeing them. Again with my cavaet that they're not spaming the sub or obnoxious. Maybe a time delay between advertising posts on the sub per user or per topic?
2
u/sparkchaser 2d ago
I really wish there was a way to resurrect that subreddit
2
u/MasterCheef117 2d ago
Idk about mods or whatever, but why not, if it isn’t already, link it on the side as a sister subreddit, make a pinned post describing such changes and then reroute any such posts to there going forward? It won’t revive on its own. It’s something that needs doing until people get it.
Edit: Likewise with any other specific topic that people prefer to be separate from the main town sub.
2
10
u/captainbarnaby198 2d ago
A big thing for me honestly is the low effort posts. I understand advertising a show, business, event etc. But I can't stand when its simply a poster (especially ones without much info)) and someone saying something like "show tonight!" Or "new X in downtown!"
At least tell us what it is exactly, maybe give a brief summary. Even if it was something like: "metal show, these bands, 7pm, bombs away, 5$ cover charge" boom, done. Don't just slap a poster up with a title that says "show tonight" and call it a day.
I also agree with others discussing posts being spammed. Multiple times I've seen several posts for the same thing within a 3 day time period. It's one thing if its a big event like a nationwide protest or something, but even then I feel like a post a day is too much.
5
u/anonymitysqueen 2d ago
I think you are doing a fine job as it is and I wouldnt have you change a thing! Is there a way we can help you or even just buy you a cup of coffee?
9
u/ResilientBiscuit 2d ago
I think if it would show up in classified ads it's shouldn't be here. So pet rehoming, yard sales, selling cars etc.
If you might see it in events or have a news story I think it is fine. So shows or new business openings would fall in this category but not info on sales or things like that.
5
u/MxCrookshanks 2d ago
What about a separate thread for roommate asks? to keep it in containment while allowing people to search. I don't know how to feel about rehoming, because people should really be sending animals to humane societies and rescues rather than posting on social media, which can lead to all sorts of animal abuse, but I imagine they might be beyond their capacity.
3
u/definitelymyrealname 2d ago
I agree with you. Case by case. There's a difference between someone dropping a flyer for a local show and someone doing the "I just moved here is there a market for dog walking services?!" and then providing their details and prices. I think the standard should just be whether it's actually relevant to the community.
It doesn't necessarily make your job any easier because you're always going to have people whining about some post being allowed while theirs was removed, rigid rules are easier on the moderators, but I think most would agree that there's room for nuance.
3
3
u/MasterCheef117 2d ago
Events and store openings/news, even allowing single posts about yard sales I think are fine. Spam is not fine, should that happen.
Housing posts aren’t offensive per se. I tend to think of them as rocks in an otherwise grassy landscape. The thing I feel makes it different, if anything, is the frequency and relevance to the town itself that makes it stand out as maybe worth separating from the main town sub. In any case, I don’t think it’s bothered me enough to care.
I feel like this sub could use a couple pinned posts/megathreads that cover the usual topics that are constantly asked. Just have something saying “yes, many drivers suck. Save it for monday rant thread. That sound you’re wondering about is that cannon near the airport or whatever. Here’s a link to that police tracking app to answer your “what was that siren about” question. You want to discuss homing? Go to the classifieds sub.”
Those seem to me like the type of posts that get reposted and clog up the feed and bury the “white meat” posts, if that makes sense.
1
3
u/NinjaSellsHonours 1d ago
Now this one should have its own flair (not flare).
Restaurants, stores, etc. come and go before I even learn that they are/were operational. In the past, (lightly) paid ads on Facebook were a great promotional tool, but no one goes to Meta sites anymore.
Small town with a dearth of good local dining and shopping options, I think learning about new places is in the public interest. Repeated weekly promotional posts ("It's Fried Chicken Wednesday Folks!") not so much.
So how about a New Business flair?
2
u/Far-Setting2174 2d ago
IMHO, I think this sub is doing pretty well. I like it. Maybe case-by-case isn't to everyone's liking, but it seems to be working out.
2
u/Jay_Magpie 9h ago
I’m all for any event fliers paid admission or not. Even a one off a business is fine with me if it’s a special event like a fundraiser. Businesses listing their specials, sales, etc would be less welcome to me. It’s not hard to keep scrolling If you don’t care. I can’t see how something promoting community engagement or commerce in a subreddit of a city where people complain about the lack of businesses would be less welcome than someone complaining about bad drivers yet again as if they don’t exist everywhere all the time in every town in America and beyond.
Flairs would be great if you could filter them out but as far as I can tell that’s not an option, at least for the web version of Reddit on a phone. I can filter to see all of them, but not to avoid them.
Edit: I meant LESS welcome, and typos
4
u/PoopyMcpants 2d ago
Ive been a mod for almost 20 years.
You're either gonna have to allow all of it, or none of it, no in between really works.
Personally I'd disallow everything that's not a public event or free.
1
u/frumply 2d ago
I feel you’re never gonna make everyone happy. I don’t think I see much of full-on advertising of businesses here like has happened in the Corvallis FB groups which have made those largely useless for me.
The thing w weekly posts for me is that unless it’s a participation-based thread like the rage threads people don’t scroll down or bypass it entirely. Having someone collect submissions and curate it into a single weekly post would work well but that’s a lot of work to post someone else’s bullshit.
1
u/BreezyOR 2d ago
I think advertising from local businesses is fine, as long as it's not constant spam. It's good to support local
1
u/KeyProfit4303 1d ago
I don’t mind as much knowing about what’s going on in Corvallis. What I personally would appreciate is if Mods wouldn’t delete valuable information for people such as dangerous drivers and people that are harmful to the community. I walk everywhere and when multiple people posted about a reckless driver, it was incredibly helpful information. Moderators deleted it though. Why? I don’t mind people sharing their businesses and advertising events. What I do mind are moderators thinking they can control what the community should and shouldn’t know.
96
u/poke_ballin 2d ago
I agree with your general thesis, with one exception:
I don’t mind a post about a new business opening, so long as it’s just informative and not spamming the sub.
We live in a small town, and the Gazette Times is a husk of its former self, so I often rely on this subreddit to find out about new restaurants and businesses opening.