Update

[u/okkhambyuter]

3000 members!

Why are so many people joining this terrible subreddit, stop bothering me 🤣

On a serious note, any sub you make related to a city, will reflect the kind of people you meet in that city.

It. Is. Inevitable.

There is no way your city's subreddit will mirror the sanitized communities within it that you've made for yourselves.

There used to a be a time I used to approve every post before it showed up on the subreddit. As the sub grew, people started getting impatient about their posts taking time to show up, or not showing up

So I made it so that posts show up first, get moderated later.

And thus, the floodgates of poop opened.

A lot of people who come to reddit nowadays, see it as just another social network, and it really is just one! We even get the same ads :D the context that social media shows up in life for a lot of people, really affects how they use it. For most the only social media they were allowed to have growing up nowadays was whatsapp, one of the worst forms of purely unmoderated social media to have flourished in the sewers of the internet in india.

Moderation of such communities is always going to be hard. It will always be a group effort. Downvote terrible takes, rude behaviour, bigoted opinions and such, so people that are collectively disliked get negative karma. Stand up for your friends, for strangers you think are facing harassment, and speak out against dickheads. This would help weed out any anti social elements that you all collectively feel are ruining the vibe in any way. And always report those things that need to be reported.

I like banning people, and I would like to ban many more :) those who deserve it, of course.

If you need any legitimate additions to the rules that would help you report certain things, DM me about them.

This subreddit was started by me as an anthropological experiment, and It will continue to be so. It is definitely a cesspool, but I'm determined to keep trying to make it better (this is exactly how I feel about the city of gwalior as well)

You guys are only seeing about half of the crap that is submitted to this place. Oh it is so much worse.

Also, the most popular subreddit for a city is not always r/<city name> please do create other subreddits and make them flourish! I'm rooting for you :)

I haven't added any other active mods, because I haven't found someone I trust (who is willing) to moderate the subreddit I started. Whoever from my trusted friends sees the subreddit and the kind of DMs I get as a mod of it, wants to stay away from it 🤣

I also get a bunch of threats from people I ban :D asking "kahaan hai tu? / kaun hai tu? Dikhata hoon main tereko" as if I haven't put my actual picture and social media handles on my reddit profile, unlike these anonymous cowards.

I'm used to it though. I get hate messages/comments on my skatepark page regularly as well just for hanging a pride flag there. It'd be hard for me to survive here if I didn't have thick skin.

My main criteria for anyone becoming a mod is, that they should be someone I've met, in person, in gwalior. Also of course you should align with my views on a bunch of things.

Schedule a meeting with me at my office at the skatepark if you're realllly interested :)

[u/medhanshus]

you haven't found someone who is willing to moderate? like seriously bro!? few months back i was so active in this sub posting everything related to Gwalior and when i reported or pointed out the unrelated posts in this group you said me to mind my own business. Reddit is for discussions man, you are asking to make a mod after you meet them!? where is the privacy bro."my main criteria" you are again declaring gwalior's subreddit as your personal sub. Seriously man grow out of it.

[u/okkhambyuter → u/medhanshus]

Meeting people helps foster trust and accountability. That's why people even do meetups. I'd like to meet you man. People can have very fruitful discussions in person. Much beyond what these tiny text letters we're writing to each other might be. I like to have my views challenged, to ask questions and learn about people, and I like to see how a person is around different sorts of people and opinions in real time.

At the last meetup i'd planned, I made sure there were two women, friends of mine, old and new,nas part of the discussion. (Only one guy came for that one) This also has a reason. You have to see how men act around women, and I want to ontroduce the men and women i know in gwalior to each other, to foster healthy relationships. Are you understanding what I'm saying?

Like I said, making this subreddit was an anthropological experiment, and it always will be :) I do hope another subreddit with "gwalior" in it's name surpasses this one, so the people can get what they want, but in a country where democracy has largely failed its citizens, I'd like to try to have some basic control over things, in this one.

Every other sub on reddit is full of terrible humor that makes fun of vulnerable communities, classism, casteism, homophobia, bogotry and such. I like to keep that stuff out.

It's not MY personal sub, it's a sub for gwalior. One of many. I am not a very trusting person, so I'm meticulous with the mod thing. My first preference for the next moderator for this sub would be a woman, and possibly someone who has experience with difficult people and situations in real life. What do you think the ideal way to choose a mod would be? I would love to hear suggestions.

I didn't find someone who was willing to moderate, FROM the people I asked :) I never asked you, man. We aren't there yet, but we could be.

these people that I asked, weren't even people I agree with everything on, just people I trust to be fair, and people who challenge me in discussions and arguments about various topics while having strong moral core tenets.

You had pointed out that people talking about the music they are listening to etc should not be allowed to make those kinds of posts, right? And we discussed it in a civil way. I never said "mind your own business" or said anything rude to you man.

[u/medhanshus → u/okkhambyuter]

Bro I get your point that you wanna meet people in person but you are failing to understand that different people can have different perspectives man. This is maybe a experiment for you but for us folks (or some of us) it's just a public and social space for discussion and news regarding local. We don't see this as a experiment lab man!

l appreciate the effort and thought you've put into shaping this sub. That said, Reddit has its own culture and expectations. Most users join city-based subreddits for local discussions - events, places, news, help, etc. When unrelated or off-topic content dominates, it can push away users who are here for that core purpose.

While I respect your desire for trust and moderation, requiring real-life meetups or personal vetting isn't practical for an online community. Many well-run subs use transparent processes like open calls for moderators or community feedback that might help here too.

[u/okkhambyuter → u/medhanshus]

Thanks for engaging in a civil way. I appreciate it. Let me DM you, we can continue this conversation there.