Is anyone else tired of r/Protestantism losing its identity?
I’m posting this because the current state of this sub is getting out of hand, and we really need to talk about how rules are being enforced here. Right now, r/Protestantism is completely losing its identity because we are letting ourselves get drowned out by non-Protestant users. I know the usual argument is that this is an open forum, but letting our own community get buried by a sheer numbers game is ruining the space.
To be clear, nobody is asking to ban people just based on their user flair. This is about stopping behavior that constantly derails the sub. We are regularly dealing with users who have zero interest in the health of this community but still dominate our front page. You see it every day: apologists looking strictly for a theological fight, recent converts trying to validate their choices by tearing down Protestant doctrine, and an endless influx of bad-faith "just asking questions" threads meant to mock our faith. Calling this "productive discussion" is a joke.
The lack of reciprocity across Reddit is something we can’t ignore anymore. If you go to r/Catholicism or any Orthodox sub, they enforce strict rules to protect their space. Try stepping out of line there and see how fast you get moderated. Meanwhile, our sub is a total free-for-all. When someone comes here looking for actual Protestant fellowship, they just find a hostile battleground. When solid Protestant answers get buried under downvotes and endless counter-arguments, it drives our own people away.
If a non-historian isn't allowed to hijack r/AskHistorians, why are we allowing other traditions to hijack a Protestant sub? I’m asking the mod team to look beyond the report button and actually protect the original purpose of this community.
My proposal for the mods:
We should implement a [Fellowship Only] post flair. In these specific threads, top-level comments must be restricted to verified Protestant users. Non-Protestants should still be allowed to read and learn, but they shouldn't be allowed to hijack the discussion.
To the community:
The mods need to know how the community actually feels about this. If you are tired of staying silent and want to see this sub protect its space, please upvote this post for visibility and drop your thoughts or suggestions in the comments below. Let's see where everyone stands.