u/NihiloZero

I think music can help us get through tough times. And so, in light of current events, before I am unable to share these wholesome tunes… I decided to make a playlist. Because I’m old (and fairly punk rock), I figured I might be able to present (in the comments section) some of you with a few jams that you haven’t ever heard before. Of course, I also encourage you to try and enlighten me (and the unwashed r/collapse masses) with relevant musical offerings that I maybe haven’t heard before.

Some of the tracks chosen may be controversial in any of several ways. Some are covers of more popular versions. Some are performed by unwholesome rock stars and rappers who use naughty words. Most were chosen more for the audio quality, but some were chosen for their video. The view counts on some of these tracks might be shamefully low. For the mentally weak among you, the eclecticism may be too much to bear. You’ve been warned.

https://preview.redd.it/0t9266q37fjh1.png?width=504&format=png&auto=webp&s=44c422462cc63242a9bac7ae580914039b194a76

There has recently been a big uptick in low-effort, poorly-sourced, off-topic, fedposting, and AI content. On the positive side… I’ll take this uptick in derailing spam as a sign that we’re doing something right. On the negative side… it just kinda sucks and is a bit tiresome.

The most concerning AI content is coming in the form of video/images that sometimes almost look plausible. One recently upvoted image attached to plausible (but probably AI-generated) text showed the Amazon Rainforest having as much biodiversity as the Sahara Desert. Sometimes posts are emotionally charged videos of animals behaving in unrealistic and unnatural ways. The videos often include emotional music and text making bold but unsourced claims. A lot of this content is re-posted from smaller fringe subs which seem to be trying to grow at our expense.

We also get a lot of self-promotion from people trying to sell their memoirs, push their channels, or promoting their other projects. We don’t need people volunteering to do AMAs and it would be better if people just posted content they support without it always benefiting them personally and directly.

We’ve also had a slight uptick in fedposting, so also be aware of that. News about activism & protest is fine, encouraged, and expected… but this isn’t really the place for promotion of excessive illegality, even if just joking or trying to be edgy. It hasn’t really been a big problem, but… I want to kind of nip it in the bud. I’ve also had to remove posts from supposed “activists” wanting to meet up and who are trying to get the contact information from people in the sub. So, try to keep an eye out and report anything that is over-the-top.

There has also been a lot of inaccurate concern-trolling in regard to the supposed positions of myself as mod and the sub overall. If it’s not one thing, it’s another. We supposedly “don’t allow criticism of animal agriculture,” or we “allow all sorts of AI content,” or this, or that, or some other distracting nonsense. There has recently been a lot more meta-criticism based upon all sorts of dubious, questionable, or false reasons... and I’m not convinced that it’s all sourced in sincerely held beliefs. Sometimes I take the bait and engage, but... I’m trying to be more aware and conscientious about such things moving forward.

I will probably be removing a lot more low-effort, unsourced, self-promoting, and suspected AI content moving forward. We really don’t need to see more pictures of trash piles. We don’t need to see a video of you recycling you water bottle. We don’t need more random animal videos (there are other subs for that). And we don’t need people generally trying to drag this sub down in various ways.

A lot of moderation does come down to a subjective judgment call, but… even just properly upvoting and reporting would help a lot. If something is weak, false, or otherwise out-of-place here.. please downvote and/or report it. Leaving constructive or properly critical comments on such posts might also sometimes help.

Anyway… that’s all for now. Thanks for trying to keep this sub useful, constructive, productive, and all the other good things. There are a lot of serious environmental issues in the world and I believe this can be a good forum to share and discuss important information.

Thanks again.

As it is… I try to remove low-quality and low-effort content regardless of how it was generated. And, like many, I generally dislike the use of AI-generated images and text. That said, AI is becoming so ubiquitous that it can be difficult to spot it's use everywhere. Further, just because an article or video may have an AI thumbnail… doesn’t necessarily mean I will remove the post. I tend to remove content on a case-by-case basis. And, compared to other subreddits, I don’t know that we actually have bigger problem with AI slop than any other sub.

Also... I think it should be noted that AI is largely empowered by Reddit and the site makes use of AI to create users profiles and such. So, I don’t really need to hear from the self-righteous and holier-than-than-thou concern trolls who would remove all content on this sub under the pretense of it being AI-generated. I’d honestly take odds that the last meta-post criticism in this sub was driven by a bot (reposting the same comments to multiple users in other subs), but I can’t really prove it and that’s neither here nor there. The point is… if you see a post that is egregiously AI-generated, report it – you don’t really need to make a big histrionic meta-post about any possible AI content in the sub.

So, again, I will reiterate… content will be approved or removed on a case-by-case basis. If something seems like egregious AI slop… report it and I will possibly remove it. That's the best I can offer to do.

You’re also free to continue posting relevant articles and comments critical of AI. You can argue for or against AI and people can argue back. That’s what a public forum for discourse is supposed to be about. Obviously, people in this sub are largely going to be critical of AI – which should be both understood and expected. But don’t get mad if your content does or does not get reported, or if it does or does not get removed. Don’t get mad if people have different opinions, and try not to get mad if your vague 10,000 word essay gets flagged and removed for seeming out of place (or likely generated by AI). I'm reviewing, approving, and removing on a case-by-case basis with a general dislike for AI-generated content.

These are difficult times, we get a lot of content, and I'm trying to keep the sub running as smoothly as possible without everything constantly being reported or disputed as AI (or actually being AI and not getting reported).

Thank your for your consideration.

Just an update on what we’re allowing and what is preferred for the sub.

Recently on Reddit... major media outlets have started promoting their own content from their own accounts. This strikes me as a bit dubious considering how harshly Redditors have behaved in the past towards smaller content creators posting their own links. On the other hand, if the content is good… the content is good. My thinking is that articles from major outlets should be allowed in the sub BUT I’m inclined to remove such posts if overtly posted by the outlet itself. It’s not perfect, but... I feel better about doing it this way. If you don’t like an outlet… you’re free to criticize it in the comments and downvote accordingly.

We don’t need more posts with vague titles and unclear meaning. We get a lot of posts with titles like: “OMG, Do you believe this?!” Then OP will attach a picture of some product and any actual critique is just assumed. It’s low effort and may be more of an advertisement than anything else.

Similarly, a post with a title that’s just a sad emoji and a picture of litter on the ground… is weak and tired. Yes, we get it. Plastic litter is bad. But we know that, we’ve seen that, and there are better ways to address that issue. Such content may or may not be removed, but it would probably better if subscribers themselves took it upon themselves to upvote better content.

As the sub has grown… we’ve received a lot more troll traffic. And it can be difficult to distinguish between sincerity and “concern trolling.” It can be difficult to know if someone is really mad about something trivial or if they are only pretending to be mad in attempt to make a mockery of any values that folks here might have. I want to allow discourse, even heated conversation, but… there is a fine line between letting a troll get mocked and letting a conversation get derailed by hateful and misleading arguments. Once again... it’s an editorial judgment call and we can only do our best.

The various Automod actions in this sub (and on Reddit overall), for better or worse, are pretty darned strict these days. I find that if you use harsh verbiage at all… you might get throttled/restricted by the algorithms. I’ll often approve such posts – but won’t if it’s actually harsh and not really contributing too much. I tell you this in the hopes that people posting links and comments will try and be a bit more mindful or creative (so that the conversation can flow more smoothly). I think debate, discourse, and arguments can be very important, but… we’re not going to take an “anything goes” attitude with the sub.

In short, I just hope that everyone will try to post and upvote high-quality content. Having fun is allowed, but we also need to have serious discourse about important topics. And while “bad takes” are allowed here (you’re free to disagree as far as I’m concerned), don’t be surprised if you get downvoted, mocked, or have your content removed when you go a bit too far. Top-level meta posts about the sub are still not allowed... but you can still respond to posts like this one or message the mods if you’d like to suggest a change.

Thank you for you consideration. Have a nice day.

When might stoicism be the wrong thing with which to approach a situation? It just seems like the calm measured response might not always be ideal. The "this is fine" meme comes to mind. I realize that meme is not perfectly fitting or descriptive of stoicism, but hopefully it will give you some idea of how I'm thinking about this.

Should one be stoic as they consummate their marriage? It seems like there are some situations in which one ought to live more in the moment without overthinking things as a stoic might.

Beyond intimate relationships, it seems like there are other situations that might arise with which stoicism wouldn’t help much. Mike Tyson once said that “everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.” That strikes me as somewhat true. And it seems like staying in one’s head, instead of reacting more instinctively or passionately, might sometimes be disastrous.

It occurs to me as I write this that no one is perfectly stoic and... I’d have to wonder why? Is it better that no one is perfectly stoic? Could one learn or train in regard to when it is better or not to be stoic?

And I realize that I’m probably using the terms "stoic & stoicism" loosely and in differing ways, but I’m asking broadly and generally for thoughts and perspectives on any of this.