u/Zealousideal_Honey80

Hello everyone. A few days ago, I made a post that showed my dislike of the sub's stance when it came to posting memes. A few hours later, a discussion post about the "low-effort content" rule was created by one of the mods.

Now, based on the comments and discussions on both posts, I think it's fair to say that I am not the only one who is having issues with the way memes are handled here, and many people have shown numerous options in how the "low-effort content" rule should be updated, from allowing high-effort memes to be exempt from the rule, making a special day where the memes can be posted without an issue, and more.

With that in mind, I fully believe it is time to decide this matter the only way we can: with a poll vote. I know there was an original vote 10 years ago where the "low-effort content" rule was approved in the first place, and another one a few years ago (although I wasn't able to find the results for that one), but I fully believe it is time to do another one based on the responses in the afformentioned posts.

The one thing I want to point out, however, is what options should the poll vote have. Ultimately, I'll leave that to the mods to decide what options should the vote have, but in my eyes, based on one of the discussions, I can think of two ways to do this:

Option A: There will be two choices: No rule change and Some sort of a rule change. If the latter wins, then there will be another vote, where it will be decided how the rule should be changed (Allowing memes to be posted on a specific day f.e.)

Option B: Instead of a Some sort of a rule change the options on how the rule should be changed specifically will be put in the vote, so options will be No rule change, Allowing memes to be posted on a specific day, etc.

In the end, however, I think you guys should decide. Should a vote regarding the update on the "low-effort content" rule happen in the first place? And if yes, than what sort of options should the vote have? The options I have listed, or something else entirely?

Ladies and Gentlemen of the court, I am starting to get very, very tired of the extremely anti-meme stance this subreddit has. I understand that years ago, this subreddit faced waves and waves of extremely low-quality memes and shitposts, and so the ban on memes back then made perfect sense.

However, nowadays, with us still waiting for AA7 to be announced, this ban is getting really silly, especially since the memes and posts I have seen removed have gained traction here multiple times, and not because they were low-quality shitposts, but because they were well thought out, and/or opinion pieces that were presented by a meme.

Just yesterday, someone made a discussion post named "Ace Attorney Class Trial moments that had you like this:" and it had a meme of Speed reacting with shock. Several people expressed their opinions, creating waves of good discussion about what seemed to be the most shocking thing that happened in AA trials. Few hours later, the post was removed.

Now, tell me, if the post was simply titled "Ace Attorney Class Trial moments that had you react with complete shock", would said post have a) still have been removed, and b) still had just as many people replying and showing what moments shocked them the most? The answer to both questions is no.

Now, tell me, why is replacing two, three potential words in a post with a meme considered low-effort, when both forms of the post have the same goal: making people discuss what moments in AA trials were so shocking. Why is using a meme to better show what you mean and to gather more attention and therefore create more discussion, considered an unworthy post on this subreddit?

Second such meme that I can remember from the top of my head that was removed was an opinion piece about a Kay x Eustace ship. The OP used the meme to show his opinions on why the ship works. It gathered I think about 250 upvotes and maybe about 40 replies, many of which discussed the dynamics of the ship and the two characters involved. Several hours later, the post was removed.

Now, tell me, if the post was simply titled "Why Kay x Eustace ship works so well", would said post have a) still have been removed, and b) still had just as many people replying and discussing the ship? The answer to both questions is no, again.

Again, why deciding to use a meme not as a low-quality shitpost, but as a way to express your opinion on something is still deemed not worthy enough to be on the subreddit? Why such a use of meme that creates a lot more discussion, and a lot more activity on the sub, is being removed without giving it a second thought?

This subreddit badly needs to discuss whether it is time to update the ban on memes that has been here for a long time. The posts that gather most attention, create most discussion are being removed left right and centre. And aside from an occasional fanart and cosplay that shows up here, the sub is practically dead; discussions and opinion pieces without an image/meme to represent them are barely able to gather up to 15 replies and discussions, and almost everyone here is tired of tier lists that pop up here, but I cannot blame anyone who makes them, because what else is there to do here???

I love seeing discussions about someone's favorite cases, someone's favorite ships, some really funny moments, some really dark moments, some really sad and tragic moments, but with the way things are going, with us still waiting for an AA7 announcement (if it even gets announced), there is no way on earth to have such discussions here without being forced to repeat the same themes over and over again. If a meme is a clear shitpost, then remove away without a trouble. But I do wholehartedly believe it is time to allow memes that create serious discussions and are just another way to express an opinion to have a say in this subreddit, without the fear of being removed several hours later.