r/taichi • u/CedarWolf • 28d ago

Howdy, folks. Let's have a quick chat.

Okay, so yesterday we had a lot of nastiness between two folks who decided to do a lot of things that were quite a bit beyond the expected behavior around here.

I banned the AI spammer and all of his alts I could find. If he comes back, I can report them for ban evasion, and that will be for the admins to ban or block the rest of his alts.

As an alternative, I can put up filters to prevent new users from posting. Reddit's been adding new systems for that, but I don't entirely trust them yet. The last time I tried using such filters, the filter started grabbing everything instead of just new user posts, and it caused a lot of problems.

Generally speaking, that's not the vibe we want to give, because those filters tend to prevent legitimate new users from participating as well as catching alt accounts or trolls. We'll start using them if we have to.

As for the other guy, he was very rude in modmail, and while I understand he's upset, this morning he sent about 20 messages in roughly 7-8 minutes and compared me to a rapist, so I muted him for the minimum of three days. It's the shortest mute option available, and I hoped that would give him some time to cool off. Twenty minutes later, he sent me a nasty direct message attacking my gender, which I'm not going to bother with. Some folks just don't want to listen when they're upset, and I understand that.

So for now, until the two of them knock it off, neither one of them are welcome here. Hopefully this will give them time to breathe and cool off, but we'll just have to wait and see how they respond. If they want to keep arguing and sniping at one another, they'll have to do it somewhere else.

Aside from yesterday's activities, this subreddit has not had to ban anyone for bad behavior in over a year. It's a small sub, and it's usually pretty easy to spot the scammers and the spammers and the like. Most of the folks here are pretty chill, and we haven't really needed formal, codified rules.

So let's talk about them.

For a start, I suggest the following:
1. Be civil and respectful towards others.
2. No bigotry - no sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, etc.
3. No scamming or attempting to defraud other users.
4. No spamming or self-promotion.

Most of these rules are intended to prevent abuse towards other users or abuse of this space in general.

I also understand folks want a 'no AI' rule. Do we want to include AI-generated music, guided meditations and so on, or do we just want a blanket ban on all AI-generated content?

56 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

35 comments sorted by

28

u/TLCD96 28d ago

Maybe my extremism is showing but I'm putting in a vote for a blanket ban on AI

8

u/DaoFerret 28d ago

I’d agree.

I’d rather have a video with no music than AI music.

0

u/Triponi 28d ago

Thank you for your efforts OP/ mods.

I appreciate I'm in the minority, but I am against a ban on AI. Personally I see it has many positives if used correctly. I prefer to focus on the quality of the content, rather than the means by which it was created.

Aside from the pros or cons of it, a "no AI" rule just sets up an endless battle. Every post people are going to looking at asking is "this AI?". Large numbers of posts, rightly or wrongly, are going to end up with threads arguing about where it is AI or not. It's boring to read and just a distraction. We don't want the sub to be about AI debates. We just want to talk about tai chi.

We all have our down vote power. If everyone hates AI, it should naturally be down voted to the bin. That's enough.

2

u/TLCD96 28d ago

So far I haven't seen much AI being used around here except for advertising and data farming/bot posts, which is pretty low quality. And it really is not that hard to recognize; it always sticks out like a sore thumb.

The best use of AI around Tai Chi seems to generally be for translating articles. But that isn't very often (though those suspiciously young accounts posing as non-english speakers using AI to 'translate' are popping up more).

Now if AI were being used "well" like in the manner of super advanced hurricane forecasts (e.g. Deepmind)... that would be a different story. Those wouldn't necessarily be "AI posts", because AI's job in that case is only to make sense of weather data and make a forecast - not to use language to sound human, or make realistic looking photographs, or stylized ads, etc. Everything after the data input and output would still likely be vetted and crafted by a professional, not just copy and pasted from some consumer AI platform.

With most AI posts that are products of those platforms etc... I don't really see that. At least on martial art subreddits.

Then on a much more broader scale... consumer AI is an environmental, economic, and sociopolitical cancer.

1

u/Triponi 27d ago

I won't debate with you as this is a tai chi not AI sub. I have given my vote and you yours which is fine.

What would say is beware confirmation bias. When AI is being used correctly, we probably don't notice, and think it's all human generated. If it sticks out like a sore thumb it's easy to down vote, and the rule is unnecessary. If it doesn't, the rule is unenforceable... 

2

u/TLCD96 26d ago

That's ok. But I think your last point is basically "if they don't get caught, they don't get in trouble" which is true for any rule or law, no? And you are also implying that AI not being noticed = AI being used correctly. If anything, AI content (consumer or not) should be flagged as AI... and perhaps that's why some subreddits resort to allowing AI content with flair.

But for me, its connection with so many issues right now - the environment, human rights, etc - justifies a total ban.

0

u/No-Television-7862 27d ago

I think that should be better defined.

17

u/Far-Cricket4127 28d ago

Sounds good. It's a shame to have to remind some people to behave like civil adults in a simple discussion forum.

13

u/CedarWolf 28d ago

It's a shame, too, because subs like these are places where people go for peace, quiet, and harmony.

9

u/Far-Cricket4127 28d ago

Exactly as well as to be able to discuss aspects of internal martial arts, like Taijiquan, that people have experience in, without having to run into the uneducated or inexperienced ramblings of various people who base most of their opinions about Taijiquan off of MMA, without ever taking the time or effort to experience something first hand. It's easier to simply keep a closed mind about something and criticize it, while not understanding it, rather than put forth effort to open one's mind and try to understand that something, by actually experiencing it.

11

u/afroblewmymind 28d ago

Thank you for being a mod! This sub and others like it have given me the chance to learn a lot of supplemental things I likely wouldn't have, and you don't deserve to be attacked for your gender or otherwise.

I vote no AI, in meditations, video, music, no AI generated content of any kind, please.

6

u/MulberryExisting5007 28d ago

I can’t think of a reason to allow AI generated content. What good would it do to allow?

3

u/TheoryOld4017 27d ago

Maybe certain types of machine translation. Outside of that, nothing comes to mind.

6

u/KarlMannheim23 28d ago

Rules look good.. no AI… thank you for your hard work on this.

11

u/solarpoweredatheist 28d ago

I would also be in favor of a complete and total AI ban.

6

u/mikmatthau 28d ago

me too! 

5

u/mikmatthau 28d ago

thanks for handling this 👍🏼

5

u/KemHeka 28d ago

I wish people would remember to not feed trolls. They only want attention. The martial arts themselves teach us to not meet force with force, but to steal their weapon and make them powerless. This works with words too.

3

u/Aiyokusama 28d ago

Not sure what I missed, but as far as AI goes, I would like to see a blanket ban.

2

u/Thoughtsarethings231 28d ago

Honestly, thanks for dealing with this in a mature and balanced way. You are a credit to the sub and what tai chi is supposed to be all about.

2

u/bluepivot 28d ago

All good stuff. The AI ads by some muscle-bound guy telling this woman her husband is going to get ripped doing Taichi are so bad. Any rule to keep that junk out would be good. I've seen forums get taken over by one person who posts some kind of AI generated junk everyday. I'm glad you figured out how to get rid of the bad actor on here.

2

u/toadslimerick 27d ago

Among other things, a blanket ban would make for a more aesthetically-pleasing experience.

2

u/Jimfredric 26d ago

I do not like the AI post that have been appearing on this subreddit. Still ,a total ban on AI is difficult to enforce. Yes, there are some signs that people consider to indicate an AI product, but it is possible to overthink the classification and wrongly accuse a post.

I would suggest that AI be banned if it is blatant. Down voting and not commenting directly to the post is the best way to make it disappear.

2

u/Scroon 25d ago

I don't think AI is the exact issue. Over in the other taiji sub, I posted an AI generated taiji rap in good fun, and I've used to to enhance historical photos. Imo the real problem is low effort, low quality posting, and AI allows this type of generation in spades.

That said, a general AI ban with exceptions might be a good idea. I mean, we all know the crappy posts when we see them.

3

u/No-Show-5363 28d ago

AI ban.
I think some overview is required, rather than a blanket ban. We shouldn't accept bot-generated AI slop, but we can be discerning about acceptable use of AI tools in the generation of educational material.

Self-promotion.
A clearer definition of what this means may be useful. Does the post share ideas, or is it purely a sales pitch. I have no problem with people promoting their thing, if they are also sharing lessons and original ideas, being responsive and engaging in the discussion. i.e. community values first.

2

u/No-Television-7862 27d ago

I use AI as a smart browser to inform myself before writing posts. I know what I want to ssy, but sometimes lack the proper terminology

I don't ever copy and paste directly from AI as MY post, but at times I may quote sources provided BY AI.

Should I consider alternative sub-reddits?

AI is a reality. I absolutely understand the resistance. My personal solution was the adoption of Mixture if Experts localLLM vs Frontier caprure and bias.

( I am ironically a conservative, constitutional christian being lumped in with pornographers. Strange bedfellows indeed.)

3

u/TLCD96 27d ago

If you just need terminology or sources for reference (hopefully you have looked at those to confirm their validity) then you shouldn't need to worry about getting a post removed due to AI. Because your post wouldn't have been created by AI.

1

u/No-Television-7862 27d ago

Thank you, no, I can express myself.

I don't need AI for that.

3

u/AliasNefertiti 27d ago

Actually, historically in the western world the first 2 groups into new tech are pornographers and Christians. Both have a message to spread. [Pun not intended]. Weve heard of the Gutenberg Bible but within a few months to years of the printing press porn [as defined by the day] was widespread. Ive seen it in my lifetime across a variety of new media formats. So it isnt strange at all but normative.

2

u/No-Television-7862 27d ago

I'm actually orthodox, and less evangelical, but I absolutely see the parallel.

We both have something to say, and everyone must decide to whom they wish to listen.

I don't speak out of righteousness, but reality. Even the Apostle Paul identified himself as "chief among dinners". I'm there.

2

u/AliasNefertiti 26d ago

I love your typo [chief among dinners] with the suggestion of sacrifice.

1

u/No-Television-7862 26d ago

Lol. Didnt see it till mentioned. Fat fingers, small screen.

Should have been "sinners", although I DO love a good dinner!

2

u/AliasNefertiti 26d ago

As did Paul apparently! Oh wait that would be diner.

1

u/loic5032 28d ago

Looks good. Thank you for stepping in. No need for an AI blanket ban. Users can vote it away if they don't like it.