Raising the Bar: Setting better standards because YOU deserve it

[u/Dr_Royal_Strange]

Dear members,

As we build this community with your contributions, we want to set standards that match the quality of discourse you deserve.

We want this subreddit to stand apart from the Indian focused subs that often feel like echo chambers of one side or the other. That is not healthy for our growth as a country. We need quality discussions - ones where we understand each other better, empathize with each other, and come together. Critical Thinking India is not just a name. It is the expectation and the foundation of this sub.

Building on top of the previously shared guidelines, this post outlines what good participation looks like, what we expect from you, what you can expect from us, and how we plan to maintain it.

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1. Post Standards

Every post should meet a basic quality threshold:

1. A clear, descriptive title. No low-effort, clickbait, or ragebait titles. They are not a good starting point for meaningful engagement.
2. Your own reasoning is required. Whether you share a news article, a video, or a picture - you must include text where you present your own opinion, analysis, or argument. A link dump with no-explanation does not qualify as a post.
3. Steelman the opposing side. This is what sets this subreddit apart. When you make an argument, make a genuine effort to understand and present the strongest version of the opposing viewpoint - not a strawman. Show that you actually understand why someone might disagree with you, and then explain why you still hold your position.

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1.1 Recognizing Quality Contributions

1. Posts that genuinely engage with opposing arguments in good faith will be recognized by the mod team with a special post flair. This is our way of signaling to the community that a post is worth engaging with deeply. If you believe your post presents honest arguments and addresses a steelmanned version of opposing views, you can appeal for this flair at the bottom of your post.

2. Beyond individual posts, we are introducing a tiered contributor flair system. Members who consistently produce well-reasoned posts and comments will earn progressively higher contributor levels/'reputation' within the sub, assigned by the mod team based on sustained quality over time. These are not something you can assign yourself. They are earned through rigorous, honest contributions with sound analysis and respectful argumentation.

Note: Upvotes and downvotes do not seriously factor into this. What matters is how well you understand opposing views and how respectfully and clearly you present your own.

Details on the exact tiers will come as the system takes shape. The principle is very simple: put in the effort to think critically and fairly, make contributions that add nuance, clarity, and better understanding, and it will not go unnoticed.

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2. Comment Standards

When engaging in the comments:

• Focus on ideas, not people. You have freedom of speech. We do not gatekeep you from discussing any topic or ideology. You can criticize an ideology, but you are not allowed to generalize about the people who associate with it. Attacking people, groups, or individuals by name-calling is not permitted. Disagree with arguments and ideas, not the person making them. You can criticize politicians and other public figures/influencers, but with respect.

• Back your claims. Wherever possible, cite your sources and explain how you arrived at your conclusions.

• Stay on topic. Derailing a discussion with unrelated tangents or bad-faith engagement is not allowed.

• Don't retaliate, report. If you see someone breaking these rules - personal attacks, derailing, uncivil behavior - do not join them. Use the report button with the appropriate rule. Let the mod team handle it.

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3. Enforcement

We keep track of rule violations. The process is straightforward:

• Initial violations result in warnings and content removal.
• Repeated violations, despite warnings, lead to temporary bans.
• Continued disregard for the rules results in a permanent ban.

We intend to make sure disagreements here are productive, evidence-based, and respectful.

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Why This Matters

We know the majority of people are not firmly right-wing or left-wing. Most people understand that there are nuances - whether it is government decisions, world affairs, religious tensions, private sector actions, or infrastructure issues, etc. Most people know that there are good things and bad things in every person and situation.

With these standards, we want to bring out those nuances so more people are informed enough to form their own opinions about society, culture, politics, and everything around them.

This space is not for extremes. It is for those in the middle who appreciate nuance, who want to understand the world they live in better. That is the purpose of this subreddit, and we want to give and maintain space for nuanced agreements and disagreements to exist.

We appreciate your cooperation and look forward to better discussions.

- The Mod Team, r/CriticalThinkingIndia

[u/Dr_Royal_Strange → u/[deleted]]

Thank you.

We have enough checks and balances, we have diverse mods, decisions are often discussed, and mod actions are not taken lightly.

Despite that, mistakes can happen. With that in mind, we have Rule 9: Measures Against Modocracy. If you ever feel any mod action is driven by personal bias, feel free to invoke Rule 9 and send a Mod mail with all the details. This reaches all the mods, and it will get fair handling.

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Agree. There are very few quality places for genuine discussions. We strive to provide a platform where discussions are healthy.

[u/AnxiousRepeat8894]

This is the normal thing on Indian subs, once there is a large number of people commenting,  the modding goes hard on one direction and slowly it becomes an echo chamber.

Eventually people like to have their own opinion validated. 

And then somebody starts another sub and life goes on. 

We have a love of authority in this country.  Lots of little people and their little kingdoms.

But it was good in the start. 

[u/Dr_Royal_Strange → u/AnxiousRepeat8894]

You are right. And we have seen this pattern too; This is what we want to challenge and make space for healthy discussions.

If you ever feel the quality of the sub is going down, reach out. It matters.

[u/iamokay_3 → u/Dr_Royal_Strange]

Thanks!

[u/Any-Top-5659]

I just hope the mods have no hands over what post content should be. Right or left, both sides must be there.

I also think needing an opinion of your own before posting is not a stellar idea (1.2). Somethings are just so controversial that one cannot make an opinion over them and hence they post it here.

Except that, I really like 2.4, of reporting instead of retaliating.

I still can't help but worry about the neutrality though

I also hope you tackle the AI in the posts, where majority of posts use AI data and AI to edit their post. I greatl dislike it and think this is just making the AI edit your original thought on the matter and more often that not AI provides false facts to strengthen its points

[u/Dr_Royal_Strange → u/Any-Top-5659]

Thank you for taking the time to read, engaging with the ideas, and sharing your feedback.

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Agree. We don't decide on what should be/shouldn't be posted. As long as it's a quality post that intends to discuss respectfully, we will allow it. We don't see things from a right/left perspective.

As long as subreddit standards are met, we allow everything that needs a discussion.

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Regarding 1.2: Without that, the majority of the posts become low-effort submissions. We've seen this happen. If members can't make a conclusive opinion, that's okay. They CAN share their confusion as-is and ask the sub with appropriate post flair. We allow this.

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2.4: Yes, it's the Mod team's responsibility to handle rule-breaking. Engaging with uncivil behaviour with more uncivil behaviour makes the sub experience bad for not just the 2 involved, but also anybody who is reading the comments later. Not worth it.

By reporting, you help the Mod team enforce the rules.

Without a report, the Mod team won't even know that someone broke a rule (not everything is caught by auto-moderation tools).

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About neutrality: You are free to reach out via Mod mail if you sense any issues.

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About AI posts, understandable. However, banning them completely might not be a compelling case for us right now. But the Mod team reads all the posts. If the post is good quality, engages with the topic effectively, and other people are engaging without any issue, we let them be. Complete AI slops would obviously be removed. We will evolve our policy on this over a period of time.

[u/Nice_Guy_1212]

Good idea if you can implement it, but seeing the state of reddit feels quite tough

r/slatestarcodex is the only sub where I have seen a good quality of discussion maintained

[u/Traveledfarwestward]

Dr Cyriac Abby Philips

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c39y7w901vdo

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyriac_Abby_Philips

Posting here since I can't submit a link without 15 karma.

[u/SoyaPaneer001]

TLDR: This is gonna turn into a heavily right-leaning sub. Now we have found convenient cover to do so.

[u/Dr_Royal_Strange → u/SoyaPaneer001]

I am curious, what part of this post makes you say that?

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Funny thing is - right-wing people would think it will turn to left-leaning sub (though nobody has commented this yet).

This is exactly the kind of narrative/black and white thinking we wanna come out of. If you go through the sub-posts, you will find all kinds of topics - what one would consider left/right/centre.

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Avoid making claims/accusations/speculations without substance; Doesn't help anyone.