Hello, r/bangtan! We're hope you're all enjoying our post-military Tannies (we're looking at you, Kim Taehyung) and looking forward to whatever comes next. While we're waiting for the next chaotic posting spree, your favorite mod team is back with a few updates, reminders, and topics for discussion! On the agenda is:
- Privacy and official schedules
- SNS rule changes
- Rumors and misinformation
- Polarizing discussions
- Other subs
- Implementation of image galleries
- Special projects
Please feel free to comment with questions, concerns, or suggestions. If you don't feel comfortable noting them here, our modmail box is always open.
Your Idol? Not always
These seven men have given us SO much, right? One of the most important things we can do for them now is to respect their privacy. If the members want us to know where they are or where they’re going or what they are doing, they will tell us. Unless it is an official schedule or a BTS member tells us directly, posting/commenting about their location will not be allowed.
We know the definition of ‘official schedule’ can be murky waters when it comes to airport photos/videos, but a rule of thumb is that if legitimate news sources are covering an airport departure, it is considered an official schedule, and allowed to be posted after the fact.
A legitimate source should be independent, published sources with a reputation for fact-checking and accuracy. Note that some sources may be allowed or disallowed based on content.
Random videos/photos from “reporters” who are following members or happen to see them at the airport are not allowed.
Going hand-in-hand with this is…
SNS Posts and Location
With all seven just doing whatever they want right now, tagging their locations for official schedules or SNS updates can be difficult and confusing. Therefore, moving forward, location should not be included in SNS(BTS) posts.
The issue then becomes the date of the post. In order to make this simple for everyone, all dates for BTS SNS posts should be KST.
What It Sounds Like…when the tea is a rumor
Before commenting potentially harmful information or speculation, make sure to check legitimate or reliable sources. Even big accounts on social media platforms get things wrong or share incorrect information. Please check carefully before posting or commenting instead of just following the party line. Twitter is not always a reliable source. If you feel it is critical or are unsure if a source is legitimate, feel free to send us a modmail!
Please be mindful that some questions cannot be answered without breaking the rules regarding rumors and misinformation. Try to do your due diligence before asking the sub.
Which brings us to…
Strategy for Polarizing or Political Discussions
We want to be a place where ARMY feels comfortable expressing opinions, and yes, contrary to popular belief, that includes negative or critical opinions. There is room here for everyone.
That said, when it comes to polarizing situations involving BTS, we will follow our guidelines for non-constructive negativity, drama, and civil commenting very closely.
We want to emphasize that often comments break the rules not because of what is said but of how it is said.
Let’s look at an example:
-It’s obvious Rumi doesn’t care about the Honmoon. ❌
-I’m disappointed that Rumi made this choice. ✅️️
The first comment is a full-stop statement that assumes the thoughts and feelings of the member, leaves no room for constructive conversation and will more often than not devolve into fighting and incivility. The second comment is still offering criticism but in a way that is more conducive to nuanced, constructive discussion. Be mindful of how you express your opinion and how you speak to each other.
If you need more examples, see the State of the Subreddit regarding Non-constructive negativity during music releases.
Speculative comments about a members’ character or that insinuate things about their character OR that openly insult them will not be tolerated.
All of that said:
Discussions in the sub should always be approached with kindness and an open mind. ARMY is widely diverse. Not everyone is going to feel the same way about different situations, and that is okay. What is not okay is demanding everyone feel the same and support the same things in the same ways and treating those who don’t badly. Yelling at ARMY to act the way you want them to is not welcome here. We want to continue to be able to have the hard discussions where everyone is comfortable sharing their thoughts.
Calls for boycotting in any manner will not be allowed here. If you want to do something, or you want to share your activism, make it actionable. Set up a fundraiser (the sub has an open fundraiser for World Central Kitchen HERE), share humanitarian aid campaigns, share contact information for government officials. Posts like these, where people can actually help in tangible ways, are more than welcome.
Please try to keep in mind that it is never our intention to invalidate a user’s opinion or their experience. While implementing our guidelines may mean some of your comments are removed, we hope that you can remember that these rules are in place to maintain a civil and welcoming community for over 700,000 ARMY.
Speaking of civil…
TAKEDOWN of other subs
We are aware of certain subs that are…uncivil, to say the least. Unfortunately, these subs are not breaking any of reddit's rules, so the best way to deal with them is to mute and ignore. Every visit, mention, and downvote worms its way into the algorithm and makes the subs more visible and recommended to more people. We cannot control what people say about BTS but we can control how we react to it. Let’s not give them more attention than they deserve (which is none).
At this point, we have no intention of policing users over the subs they visit, unless indicated by behavior in r/bangtan. Our sub exists because we love BTS, so we will focus on love. If a user is disingenuous about BTS or being ARMY, it will show itself eventually.
On to some more pleasant topics…
Free…the Image Galleries!
We have decided to open up the image gallery option for photos! We hope that this will make posting and viewing some posts a bit easier. Please note that this change will be on a probationary basis. If using this option for SNS posts is too cumbersome or confusing for posters or users, we may reverse course.
Important note: Once posted, image posts cannot be edited. Keep this in mind when posting. If additional images need to be included, they will need to be added as a comment.
Here are some examples of when an image gallery would be appropriate to use:
- Member and official SNS posts with one or more photos
- Official Photo Sketches from Weverse, X/Twitter, Instagram
- Marketplace and Giveaway posts with one or more item photos
If you are unsure how to post an Image Gallery, see here!
Guidelines for using Image Galleries
- All images from an SNS post must be included in the gallery.
- A direct link to the source must be included in the body of the post.
- Additional posts/stories posted on the same date should be added to the comments.
- Multiple posts from the same day should still be compiled
- Include a mirror for any video content included, if available.
How It's Done…when you want to do a project
Have an interesting idea for a fun ARMY project? Want to form a Purple Line Brigade to combat messy comments on Weverse? Itching to celebrate members' birthdays in a tangible way? Spearheading special projects is not just for mods! We’d love to have our community be one in which ARMY can organize and share projects – whether for a good cause, to show support, or just to have fun! If you have an idea for something you want to try in the sub, please send us a modmail to discuss!
Again, please comment if you have questions or suggestions. This sub is a place for YOU so we want to hear from you! We are open to all feedback; however, please keep in mind some suggestions may not be implemented for various reasons.
r/bangtan exists so we can celebrate BTS and their music. Please keep this in mind when engaging in the sub. While constructive criticism is allowed, it is not the purpose or spirit of the sub and should never overshadow the good. Let’s all remember why we are here.
Your r/bangtan Mods With Luv!
*Please note that all comments/questions/suggestions may not be answered right away as we are humans who have to sleep and work and live in the real world, too. Please be patient.
by lisafancypants
15 Comments
Just want to say I appreciate the K-Pop Demon Hunters reference for the example. 😁💜 Thanks for all your hard work!
I appreciate all you mods for these thoughtful guidelines and keeping this a safe space. Thank you!
u/lisafancypants perhaps some of the content about SNS posts and locations was cut off?
Appreciate you and all the mods for keeping us updated & organized!
We appreciate you all, modly mods!
Oh my goodness – Tae in all his baby girl cuteness in the thumbnail. 🤭😊
Would be nice to have open discussions about their music here but too frequently the harassment when we don’t agree, has shut down the idea that contrary opinions are safe here. Maybe that will change. 🤷🏻♀️
The mods have been watching too much Kpop Demons Hunters I think… thanks for all your work ❤️
I disagree that people shouldn’t be banned here for participating in that sub
I’m against a ban in the general kpop discussion subs because that locks out people who have certain opinions about one topic about discussing anything at all even if it’s unrelated, given there’s such a breadth of topics and groups in kpop.
But here, isn’t it extremely clear cut? They dislike members and their work to the extent they’re going to participate in a sub dedicated to criticising them – what benefit is there of allowing them to participate here? Especially, as this post said, expressing disappointment and criticism etc without shaming members or assuming their intent *is* already allowed here. Wouldn’t allowing users to freely participate in both subs be the biggest booster to the algorithm recommending that place more, much more than browsing or downvoting?
Anyway just my 2c – thank you for the work you do to keep this place bright and beautiful
Thank you mods for the updates, and great job as always 💜 the K-pop demon hunters references were duly noted and appreciated too 🤭
I think the new rule about SNS posts makes a lot of sense. The boys keep moving back and forth, some officially and some not, and I’ve seen confusion in the posts and comments a few times. Additionally, thank you for the reminder about privacy rules. I feel it’s sorely needed, unfortunately. Also LOVE the update about the image galleries. It’ll hopefully make posts less cluttered and encourage more discussion.
>**While constructive criticism is allowed, it is not the purpose or spirit of the sub and should never overshadow the good**
A very important thing to keep in mind as the boys continue more activities as a group, which will undoubtedly generate more attention and discussion, both good and bad.
Thanks for all you do, MODS
Still hoping that one day we will post members’ own posts&comments in chronological order instead of compilation post
but not too heavily invested in that because another sub does so I just go there a lot
Also, always hoping for the day that videos that members posts on their socials can be included here too, rather than omitting it causing incomplete archival records plus forces people to perhaps follow links that go outside the sub to problematic places like X
What will and won’t fall under “posting about their location is not allowed”? If I say “they seem to be having fun in LA right now” simply based on their most recent postings being from LA, and their last official travels were them going there, would this be allowed, or not allowed, since of course I don’t know where the heck they are literally on this exact day lol? For all any of us know they could have gone somewhere away from LA since any of their last posts or last official airport travels involving that specific place. Or is this rule more so intended for people who might want to post theirs or others sightings of the members, like someone saying “I saw some of the members at x cafe in y place”?
Also appreciate the addition of photo galleries! Especially now that instagram lets people post a whopping 20 photos per post, and while I don’t think any of the members truly abuse this…there are some photo dumps from them that make use of that amount of photos lol. If there are photos I want to save, I like to save on my computer, and not necessarily my phone, and also somehow when the OP of the sns posts adds the photos from the sns, particularly from instagram they are somehow able to get them without the marks in any of the corners for like when there’s sound on the post (if member added a song to the post), or if it shows at the top corner like “1/20” for what photo in the roll you’re currently on. But I’m always having to scroll through a long comment thread of all the photos stacked together lol, and I like to like each one to show appreciation for the person who posted them. That’s not a huge hassle, but having them be put into one photo gallery together does streamline all that really well!
Chef’s kiss!! Thank you to the mods for their ongoing work and this excellent state write up!
I think these rules make a lot of sense, especially for SNS posts.
Thank you for all the hard work you do!
I just want to say that I appreciate mod’s hard work. It’s not an easy task to manage a subreddit of 700k+ people. I totally agree with every approach implemented. This mirrors my thoughts and expectations of how the situation should be managed. Thank you for keeping this space safe and positive.
Also, I would like to take an opportunity to say that I am impressed by how quickly the BTS news and updates are posted in this community. Sometimes, I get information here quicker than I get Weverse notifications on my app (I often receive delayed notifications). We receive updates almost immediately from various social media. This is some kind of magic.
Phew, for a second there I thought I was going to have to burn down the sub in defense of Rumi 😉
Thank you, mods!
Thank you so much for this and much appreciation for the time and effort all the mods here put in!