The reason for all of this is really simple.
When PMYB2 set up Poal originally he created both /whatever and /anything. However his vision for what these core default subs were and what they were for differed from what a few other popular sites like Reddit and Voat did with their /whatever subdomains. This confused many users and they turned off /whatever because they are sick of trying to explain it and don't want to be constantly moderating rules for the sub that no one understands. They could have been flexible and realized that he community did not want to use /whatever in the the way they had envisioned and modified the sub rules but they opted for not having two subs with the same purpose and so just killed the one causing all of the confusion.
The Details: When we first started bootstrapping Poal they was not a lot of content and there was usually not a proper sub for something you wanted to post. On Reddit and Voat /whatever was the "no rules! post whatever you want" subs. On Poal this was supposed to be /anything. On Poal /whatever was set up as a temporary sub for "There is no sub for what I want to post so use /whatever until the site grows and we have a diverse set of sub forums." This is clearly explained in the sub rules and in the side bar but users rarely read the rules... /whatever was supposed to be a catch all while the site was growing and it was assumed we would eventually outgrow it.
Part of the problem is that /anything was not well advertised as the sub we all should be posting in if we do not want to use a more specific sub-forum. Also, the there is not a great way to search for subs only a big list to look through... All this means that users were continuously using /whatever the "wrong way" in the eyes of the sub's owner and creator. Too many Reddit fags that see /whatever and think "oh I know what that means! It must be just like Reddit!" that never actually read the sidebar. People started getting unreasonably butthurt when a post was moved and AOU got sick of trying to explain all of this. This problem is caused by 1 part admin stubbornness and 3 parts user stupidity.
So I guess we have to start shitposting in v/anything now?
That doesn't seem too bad.
I wasn't even aware of an s/anything.
I would just post in s/whatever because I knew would know where to move it to. I thanked him each time.
I salute you, Romanly.
\o
At the top of the site its included as the last entry of the "main" subs. Problem is you might not see it since there is no proper way to scroll to it if your device cuts that section off. Also there is no proper site map making this place dependant on a search function that makes you guess.
Most dont post things for them to be hidden away from all but the few who stumble across it.
People started getting unreasonably butthurt when a post was moved and AOU got sick of trying to explain all of this. This problem is caused by 1 part admin stubbornness and 3 parts user stupidity.
If this is undesired user activity, this is 100% dev stupidity. Trying to repurpose an established design or feature is inevitably going to cause friction when users use a feature intuitively. The easiest solution would have been to set "/whatever" as your catchall and "/anything" as your "no sub for this yet".
If the confusion and mess IS desired user activity because of admins trolling or whining for enjoyment, they are doing a good job. It's juvenile and unproductive to call users stupid for using a feature intuitively and in an established way, unless friction is a desired effect. It's shortsighted not to look at design issues first and then to user behaviour after. You can train a community to toe the line to fit your design, but you will always come back to the intuitive design vs repurposed design clash with newcomers. It's like having a storefront and constantly correcting customers that you decided the entrance is at the back and the exit is at the front: "Stupid customers trying to enter through the front."
The question comes back to where do you want to spend your energy? Continually calling newcomers stupid for thinking a downvote button and a sub name should be used intuitively? Or cultivating a good community culture? Moving submissions endlessly is just a reminder that if the admins suddenly want to become malicious, they could change your listed submission behaviour to 100% in "gay porn" or whatever they so choose. That potential isn't inconsistent with the "whining" tags that are thrown on some submissions. Trolling is trolling, good job if that was the intent. But if the intention is to maximise market share of quality users, this isn't the way to do it.
never actually read the sidebar
There are design issues with mobile I've noticed (e.g. overlapping or missing ui elements, vote buttons not showing up, & inability to post comments "method not allowed") that likely interfere with this in some cases. "Can't you read the sign!?" -- "No, actually."
Great answer. Seems in line with what I experienced when posting to the sub as well. Thanks.
This is the best explanation.
(post is archived)