Welcome everyone to our new Melbourne-flavoured slice of the internet!
I am RustyRaven one of the moderators of this community (AKA BrightFadedDog). I am working to develop some community guidelines so we can make sure that the community stays a productive and welcoming place, and would like to hear what you want.
What would you like the group to focus on? Do you like to dip into the group for a quick update on the latest local news and carrot man sightings, or do you want to spend time with deeper ongoing discussions? Would you prefer to keep the posts strictly to things concerning Melbourne, or would you prefer to be able to be able to get a local perspective on wider issues?
Suggestions for the best way to arrange posts are also welcome – particularly if we should separate some areas of discussion into separate regular or ongoing posts. We could for example have a post for restaurant recommendations or activity suggestions.
I’d also like to know whether you would value having a wiki or other reference source connected to the community.
Feel free to add any ideas, suggestions or things to aim for.
That pretty much sums up what I think the overarching rule here should be. If we adopt that as the complete community guidelines it would also allow me to remove posts with the comment “your comment was totally bogus, dude” which would be sort of fun too.
I’ve been doing some reading about how to develop guidelines for a forum, and definitely prefer the “values-based” approach over “rules-based”. Which is basically having things like “be helpful and relevant” and tends to be more positive.
The Aussie.zone itself does have rules to be respectful, no bigotry, and “don’t be a dick”, so we have a good start there already.
+1 for the values based approach. Rules based tends to end in “its not explicitly spelt out in the rules! therefore I’m not breaking the rules!” arguments.
“Be excellent to each other” is a good partner to “don’t be a dick”.
I’m cool with this, all I really care about is that noone is being aggressive or vindictive.
most outstanding
I’d really like to see the culture outside of the DT develop nicer compared to the sub. I might get dovoted into oblivion for saying this, but everytime I dared to step foot out of the DT, it felt like stepping into a toxic hell hole. I know that’s not always something mod can influence/control, since intonation can be just as important for the vibe as what’s actually being said. Also, there seemed to be some resident bridge trolls that would downvoted literally everything initially. Even the most popular and upvoted posts were initially downvoted. That can be discouraging for newbies to see their post being downvoted in droves, even if the score does pop back up later on.
I also think that reposts shouldn’t be gone after as hard as they were. I mean, I get it with things like sunset posts and major events (earthquakes, etc), but to be honest, people asking for advice on what suburb to move to is just half the point of a forum such as this. You can go off as much as you want at the people that were too lazy to do the most basic of searches, but two thoughts on that: firstly, it’s a bit of confirmation bias. The people who did search before posting no longer need to post because their question was answered in previous posts, even if you go hard out and completely ban anybody who doesn’t search before posting, that still won’t fix it. And secondly: if absolutely nobody ever reposted anything, the sub would probably be empty and boring. Plus, some people that do read posts will think their situation is somehow unique or different. The last post may be asking whether Fitzroy is a good place to move to as a family with two kids and two incomes, but then the other person doesn’t feel confident in that answer because they have four kids, not two.
Again, this isn’t necessarily something the mods can change since it’s often the community itself being a bit toxic, but I think if that’s the sort of community the mods try to build and foster, and they lead by example, it could work out really well
I also think that reposts shouldn’t be gone after as hard as they were. I mean, I get it with things like sunset posts and major events (earthquakes, etc), but to be honest, people asking for advice on what suburb to move to is just half the point of a forum such as this.
Honestly whenever I needed to search something on Google and Reddit was one of the first options usually it was a reposted question. So I’m not so much against the same question because also if you ask “where’s the best bruger joint” and then seven years later someone asks the same question, some of those businesses are probably gone. So yeah, I think some reposts can be annoying (i.e. earthquakes, helicopters, sunsets, etc.) but there are times where it’s not so bad.
Normal conversations tend to cover the same ground over and over. If people are jumping in to join the discussion it is probably a good indication it is acceptable. I would tend to lean towards the idea that if there is an active post about a topic people should be directed to that to continue the conversation, but if the last post has died down then starting a new one seems reasonable.
One of my concerns is that longer-term conversations can tend to get lost amoung new posts. Sometimes good discussions on the internet can take place over weeks or even years, if they don’t get lost in the flow of new posts.
eli5 what is DT?
Daily Thread
I hope we have at least a bit of a honeymoon period here without the toxic people. My personal suspicion is that a lot of the people who are negative prefer the easy route of taking pot-shots at what everyone else has created, and will stay away until there is something more substantial here to come and denigrate. Hopefully we will have built a more resilient community, based on the culture in the DT - I think it’s pretty obvious that it is largely DT regulars that are here now, so there is no reason the nice vibe can’t extend to the whole community.
It’s why I want to start discussing this sort of thing now though, I have no idea if/when problems are going to start cropping up, and want to have some sort of plan in place first as to how to deal with it.
OK, rant incoming (sort of).
One of the things I liked most about the old DT was that it was inclusive. I think it’s a very bad idea to silo topics. There is, after all, nothing to stop users from making their own community if they want to barricade themselves against barbarian invasion. It didn’t take long for ausfinance to set up a siloed community here too.
I guess my rule of thumb would be to allow any topic on the Random Discussion Thread, but insist that the discourse is civil and respectful. More detailed or particular discussion of a topic probably belongs in a separate post/thread to the community. Eg sunset pix. I do agree with keeping iMelbourne very very Melbourne, and the random discussion thread very very random.I think everyone here likes the DT vibe. Possibly the biggest risk right now is that everything goes in the daily thread and nothing in the main community!
It will be interesting to see what happens with things like sunset pictures, given the increased ability to post pictures within the comments. It might make it easier to consolidate things in one post - like sunset pictures developing into a thread full of pictures, which is good. It also has the potential to overwhelm comments with picture/meme content instead of discussion - “sky pretty” in the DT is good, 28 individual sunset pictures takes the focus away from discussion and has the potential to change the feel of the thread. Hopefully people can self-moderate enough that it won’t be an issue.
Random blurry brain morning thoughts incoming… I think the random thread should be “anything goes” convo wise as long as it’s respectful. Maybe we could let the more detailed rules evolve as needed. Sometimes it bothered me that the mods of our previous place would not allow more posts on a current hot topic eg. earthquake. Whoever got in first got the “right” to have a post and everyone else had to comment on that, leading to a hellishly long post that was occasionally hard to find. For me anyway.
I think the DT is pretty much sacred - it is also why most of us are here, so what is happening there obviously works. I’m definitely not contemplating introducing lots of rules or trying to tie everything up with restrictions, my main concern is that I understand what everyone else wants so I don’t end up just pushing my own preferences onto everyone else.
The other side of things like the earthquake posts is that having them all there tends to fragment the discussion into lots of posts, and makes it hard to find posts about anything else. I’m not sure there is a perfect solution, at least with the current technology. A slightly more hierachical structure with sub-groups would probably work well for larger groups, if it was possible.
That’s a good point re. fragmented discussion. And it is good to hear a mod describe the DT as “sacred”!
I like Melbourne but haven’t visited since before covid times and I don’t follow the melbourne reddit sub but you are the standout community on this lemmy instance. I love that you have enough engaged people to just about make this place work. I hope you guys stay engaged on the platform and keep it alive long enough for others to find it.
I like your point on a local perspective on wider issues. Just cause it’s a Melbourne group, shouldn’t limit discussion to just Melbourne based topics. I’m sure Melbournians (Melbournites?Melbourners?) have opinions on things outside of our lovely city :)
It’s Melbournonians just FYI
I’d love to have a separate thread for Melbourne people with ADHD/ASD :)
Having a wiki and reference source will be useful too! Even if it’s a google doc type of link where people can add things that have been helpful for them :)
Same! It’s one of the things I hated on Reddit, was that the main ADHD subreddit was just post after post of depressive shit. And I’m not saying that we need a toxic positivity train going, like yeah ADHD is hard, people suck. But it felt like constantly “no one understands me”, “my x took my meds”, “doctor doesn’t think adhd is real”. etc. And then most of the people are American which is fine, but there were so many posts that didn’t concern me at all, thus you’d think the Australian ADHD subreddit was a good idea but nope, it was so dead.
So basically, yes, I too would like something related to ADHD (whether it’s its own space or combined with ASD, I don’t mind). There is a lemmy group for ADHD (adhd@lemmy.world, I don’t know if I’m doing that right), but obviously it’s slow right now.
Agreed! The AusADHD subreddit was helpful but very dead at times…though it could be from forgetting that it exists haha.
Yeah I checked that one out but it seems slow and having a more local group for Aus ADHD folk will be cool :)
I am creating a post to index ongoing discussion groups, so if a general ADHD discussion post is started I will link it there. I can also add any recommended resources to a a reference list, if you would like to suggest any you can either message me directly or tag me in the comment they come up in.
I am creating a post to index ongoing discussion groups, so if a general ADHD discussion post is started I will link it there. I can also add any recommended resources to a a reference list, if you would like to suggest any you can either message me directly or tag me in the comment they come up in.
It sounds like an area that really deserves it’s own community, hopefully a decent one will develop in time.
In the meantime I’m thinking about trying to use a system with either a pinned meta-thread or links in the sidebar to direct people to specific interest posts, which can then work as sub-groups for ongoing discussions. The way the Reddit sub worked meant that trending and new content was always prioritised and ongoing discussions struggled to get a foothold, but I think if we can keep specific posts linked from the top then there is no reason why a post on something like ADHD discussions could not stay active working like a sub-group for years.
That would be awesome :) Thank you
I am creating a post to index ongoing discussion groups, so if a general ADHD discussion post is started I will link it there. I can also add any recommended resources to a a reference list, if you would like to suggest any you can either message me directly or tag me in the comment they come up in.
Thank you! I’m happy to start a post, likely after I finish work :) I’m working on a doc with resources and stuff I’m compiling which I’m happy to share once I finish it :)
I’d love no posts about Wordle scores or just emojis about food, but maybe that’s nitpicky of me.
I think the Wordle scores were really only an issue when they were new and flooded the DT. Having a few all contained in one comment is something you can skip over fairly easily. I think a few people have PTSD from the initial flood and get triggered by green boxes, but a few deep breaths and moving on should fix that.
As to food emojis, that is the DT love language! Removing food emojis would be like hacking off a limb.
I’d like to see less bashing against other eastern capitals. Same goes for those relevant communities also. I’ve lived for extended periods in each and they are more like eachother than they are different. The cheap shots like bad drivers from interstate for example. Or in the other direction, brisbanites shitting on southerners relocating. As an ex Melburnian living in Brisbane I feel so lost sometimes haha!
i’m a foodie so food places are welcomed. i think being able to agree to disagree is something that is important
Draft Community Guidelines based on the feedback I have received is now up in a new post. https://aussie.zone/post/53977
I’d love to not see any sunset photos or posts about things flying overhead… 😂
Where do you stand on “what was that bang!?” and “does anyone know why there are police cars/fire trucks/ambulances at…” posts?
I fully expect r/melbourne to be back online soon enough and for this place to lose traction / users. We’ll be back at the whims of the mods there. I wouldn’t put too much effort into this place until /r/melbourne has been down for a month… unless you like coding and working out a new site then go hard.
We will have to see what actually happens, but I am definitely doing it because I am interested in learning how - both in terms of planning how to operate a group and in how to do coding/automation. And just in case the little sewing group I created takes off it could be handy there too - you never know when a darning discussion could get out of control 🤣
My philosophy at the moment is it is better to assume this is long term and prepare for it than have it happen unexpectedly and have to scramble to try to catch up. A good structure and setup can’t hurt anything, but not having it potentially could.
