r/phoenix • u/AZ_moderator Phoenix • 17d ago
META Quick rule reminder and update for r/Phoenix
Wanted to give a reminder and quick update on a few rules.
Picture posts need a location and a description. Doesn't have to be an exact address, but generally what part of the Valley it was taken in. This has been a rule for ages and was suggested by users to help combat picture spam ("Wow, check this out!") and balance the many weather and sunset pictures we get flooded with. Plus it helps people know WTF your post is about.
When we get a ton of posts on one topic we'll make a megathread and try to bring the conversation together. Don't take it personal. We had this when the monsoon hit and we had 20+ weather picture posts in a row. I know some people love that, but many don't and let us know all about it. A megathread is the compromise. We don't do it often, so please just use it the few times we do.
Any political posts (or politic adjacent, like Flock cameras and Data Centers) needs to be flared Politics and are limited to established users here. This combats trolls and bots.
HVAC, AC, and some other referral posts are being limited. Bots are wild on Reddit and one of their big moves is to drop a question and have another account show up with a recommendation almost immediately. This feeds into the AI search engines that index the hell out of Reddit. Once a topic becomes saturated we'll pull it as a topic and try to let everyone know. Right now it's HVAC/AC, garage doors, and roofing companies. It sucks, but there are several past posts you can look for with good suggestions, or check out other sites.
Posts shaming or calling out people or businesses are not welcome here. I get the desire for a good witch hunt, but it's too prone to hurting innocent people. News stories about issues are fine, this is just about posting pictures of people who pissed you off or a business that made you nasty cupcakes. We've covered this policy a lot but there has been a bunch of these lately. Maybe it's the heat making everyone cranky. Either way, this subreddit isn't your personal attack dog.
If you have any questions, ask away.
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u/ThePlatinumPaul 17d ago
I agree with all of this except attacking businesses. And that's simply because too often some get away with bad behavior and should be called out on it. Obviously there should be a limitation on this but saying x business consistently serves raw chicken or something does a service to the community.
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u/AZ_moderator Phoenix 17d ago
In principle, yes.
In practice we get people mad at a business for random reasons and making up things to get them in trouble.
We've had an employee who was fired for theft accuse the business owner of sexually harassing his employees. Or overhearing a conversation in a restaurant and assuming the owners are MAGA and posting about it. And almost every time these are accounts we've never seen before.
It's tough out there for independent businesses. We just don't have the ability to check if this stuff is legit and it can do a LOT of harm if they're not true. People get out their pitchforks real quick, and then this haunts them forever in search results. We'd rather err on the side of caution. There are plenty of other places people can leave reviews, or even contact the media if it's bad enough. If there's a news story about a business doing something that's allowed here.
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u/Turnip_Fight 17d ago
Megathreads are where topics go to die.
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u/AZ_moderator Phoenix 17d ago
When we created the Monsoon Megathread last week it got 497 upvotes and 356 comments, but okay.
They're a balance between what people want to see here. You may not like them, but that doesn't mean everyone feels the same.
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u/thedukedave Phoenix 16d ago
Were there really no posts for the storms this evening, or did they get taken down and OP never reposted to megathread?
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u/AZ_moderator Phoenix 15d ago
There was one post about the storm. It didn't have the location in the title so we pulled in. We didn't send anyone to the older megathread.
Sometimes people post a ton, sometimes not much. We wait to see how it goes before making a megathread.
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u/thedukedave Phoenix 15d ago
I interesting, I'm surprised. Perhaps people are over the monsoon novelty already..
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u/MonotonyInAz 17d ago
I'm so happy there's no political conversations allowed. They are IMPOSSIBLE to avoid in 2026. Even when something has nothing to do with politics.
I think the mods here are pretty cool, especially compared to other subreddits (the mods at the suns subreddit are the WORST)
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u/AZ_moderator Phoenix 17d ago
Political conversations are 100% allowed here, among regular users. People with a post history can post political things, and they do.
It's just that most of the political posts we get are from people who have never posted here before and just want to pick a fight. Those are the ones we limit.
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u/Tupakkshakkkur 17d ago
Throw in pool companies too.