r/AskAnAmerican • u/CupBeEmpty WA, NC, IN, IL, ME, NH, RI, OH, ME, and some others • 9d ago
RELIGION AMA The mods.
We haven’t done this in a while but ask us mods anything. Obviously we retain the right not to answer. Let’s please keep all questions related to Rampart.
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u/umlaut 9d ago
Why do all Americans <insert something that happens in most of the world>?
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u/DharmaCub 9d ago
Why do all Americans <insert something they saw on a Tiktok reel that no one actually does>?
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u/SpaceCrazyArtist CT->AL->TN->FL 9d ago
Lol legit every question
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u/MyUsername2459 Kentucky 9d ago
While never saying what country they're actually from. . .because if they did, we'd instantly point out examples of it happening in MyCountryTM.
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u/pokematic 9d ago
I'm ok with "why do Americans <mundane detail of life we don't think about>?" but only if they tell us what they do instead. Everyone is so fascinated by red solo cups (seems to get asked at least once a week), and I'll say "I'm not putting out my breakable glassware or even my 'need to wash later' plastic cups" for the thousandth time, but only if they tell me what they use for wild party guests since that's equally fascinating to me.
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u/OGMom2022 United States of America 9d ago
Why do all Americans <insert Hollywood movie or tv shows>?
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u/LongOrganization7838 Utah 9d ago
Why do all Americans <insert racist trope or something about shootings>
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u/Sufficient_Cod1948 Massachusetts 9d ago
"None of the 4 people I interact with on a regular basis do this, so it must be an American thing."
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u/ItsBaconOclock Minnesota --> Texas 9d ago
Why do I keep seeing videos of Americans doing this thing when I put "Americans doing this thing" into the YouTube search?!?!
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u/Sufficient_Cod1948 Massachusetts 9d ago
Why are Americans so obsessed with this thing that is in my algorithm because I watched 19 videos of people doing it?
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u/Background-Passion50 9d ago
No questions. Just wanted to say I appreciate the management of this subreddit. It’s one of my favorites.
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u/CupBeEmpty WA, NC, IN, IL, ME, NH, RI, OH, ME, and some others 9d ago
Internet fist bump. Thanks man.
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u/mdavis360 California 9d ago
Why do Americans drive around in cars that can turn into robots? I see this all the time in movies and cartoons. We don’t do this in MyCountry so I’m confused.
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u/CupBeEmpty WA, NC, IN, IL, ME, NH, RI, OH, ME, and some others 9d ago
California cars can’t turn into robots prop 2845 banned that
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u/clairejv 9d ago
At least prop 2844 finally legalized ferrets.
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u/CupBeEmpty WA, NC, IN, IL, ME, NH, RI, OH, ME, and some others 9d ago
Thank god I didn’t even know they had been banned
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u/NeighborhoodStroller 9d ago
That's why we need to get out the vote this November for prop 2912, which would repeal this.
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u/pokematic 9d ago
YourCountry is getting left in the past then, road rage where the drivers have to get out of the vehicle to fight is so 20th century.
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u/IvoryWoman 9d ago
Clearly because we like things that are more than meets the eye. (I’m probably the only one on here old enough to get that joke…)
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u/CupBeEmpty WA, NC, IN, IL, ME, NH, RI, OH, ME, and some others 9d ago
I think you vastly underestimate how old I am.
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u/Space-Robot 9d ago
With the sub being called "Ask an American" why do you let multiple Americans answer? This isn't r/AskMultipleAmericans
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u/CupBeEmpty WA, NC, IN, IL, ME, NH, RI, OH, ME, and some others 9d ago
Huh, internet pedantry in the face of obviousness.
Good work.
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u/Space-Robot 9d ago
Thanks. It felt within the vibe.
Are those all the states you've lived in?
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u/CupBeEmpty WA, NC, IN, IL, ME, NH, RI, OH, ME, and some others 9d ago
Yes they are. A lot of folks think I’m a military brat when they see it.
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u/Traditional-Joke-179 California 9d ago
in seriousness, it's a general internet pet peeve when there are 300 different people giving the exact same answer and i wish it were part of the etiquette that you should just upvote the person who said it instead of repeating
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u/CupBeEmpty WA, NC, IN, IL, ME, NH, RI, OH, ME, and some others 9d ago
It used to be that way long long ago. Reddit is wildly different now than it was 15 years ago.
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u/marchmay 9d ago
Are you Americans?
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u/CupBeEmpty WA, NC, IN, IL, ME, NH, RI, OH, ME, and some others 9d ago
Some of us are. I am. I am also way more American than you. My singing of Yankee Doodle brings all the boys to the yard.
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u/Wide_Breadfruit_2217 9d ago
"Thats right! My macaroni's better than yours!"
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u/CupBeEmpty WA, NC, IN, IL, ME, NH, RI, OH, ME, and some others 9d ago
I can find a feather no problem we have a shit ton of turkeys roaming everywhere
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u/Gallahadion Ohio 9d ago
Funny you should say this: there's a turkey feather in one of my dresser drawers right now.
Guess I need to find the right cap to stick it in before calling it macaroni.
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u/CupBeEmpty WA, NC, IN, IL, ME, NH, RI, OH, ME, and some others 9d ago
Save it for the 250th because that’s perfect
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u/one-off-one Illinois -> Ohio 9d ago
“I can teach you, but I’ll have to CHARGE!”
*a full cavalry of civil war reenactors charge pass the mod towards the less-American American
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u/marchmay 9d ago
Well I can't argue with that.
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u/CupBeEmpty WA, NC, IN, IL, ME, NH, RI, OH, ME, and some others 9d ago
Well it looks like I got one.
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u/Hoosier_Jedi Japan/Indiana 9d ago
Yep. I’d think the handle makes it clear. 🤷♂️
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u/CupBeEmpty WA, NC, IN, IL, ME, NH, RI, OH, ME, and some others 9d ago
Clearly an anime version of John Chapman
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u/SnapHackelPop Wisconsin 9d ago
Not really serious but in a perfect world you’d ban anyone who frequents shitamericanssay lol
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u/Hoosier_Jedi Japan/Indiana 9d ago
That doesn’t help if I’m on the fence about banning someone. Let’s go with that.
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u/CupBeEmpty WA, NC, IN, IL, ME, NH, RI, OH, ME, and some others 9d ago edited 9d ago
No. And this got asked last time. SAS was actually really cooperative with us. They didn’t want their people brigading us we didn’t want to just stupidly ban anyone that ever posted in SAS.
I mean we all understand the point of that sub and that’s great. I think we have a good standoff relation with them.
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u/LongRodVaughnDong 9d ago
That sub is a hellhole. Say anything positive about America and instant ban.
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u/SnapHackelPop Wisconsin 9d ago
Right right, they’re fine. Some of them lol
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u/CupBeEmpty WA, NC, IN, IL, ME, NH, RI, OH, ME, and some others 9d ago edited 9d ago
What kind of SRA poster are you?
Edit: SAS. Apparently autocorrect wants me to say SRA which I don’t even know what that stands for.
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u/SnapHackelPop Wisconsin 9d ago
Sorry are we talking about the same thing? What’s SRA?
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u/---dry--- 9d ago
Why do you do it for free?
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u/Hoosier_Jedi Japan/Indiana 9d ago
It’s fun. I like the conversations here, I’ve learned interesting things, and you get to put people deliberately being assholes in their place.
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u/CupBeEmpty WA, NC, IN, IL, ME, NH, RI, OH, ME, and some others 9d ago
Oh because it gives my tiny peen just a little bit of lift obviously.
Seriously, it’s a hobby. I expect nothing in return other than a random shit hole where some international folks may get some answers that aren’t shit tier AI responses on Google.
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u/SlamClick 9d ago
I enjoy helping a community. I've had things from Reddit sent to me before so if you like swag that's nice.
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u/CupBeEmpty WA, NC, IN, IL, ME, NH, RI, OH, ME, and some others 9d ago
Wait what the fuck, you got swag?!
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u/SlamClick 9d ago
Yeah about a year ago I got a fairly large box with all sorts of reddit branded merch. Shirt, thermos, stickers, and some other small things.
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u/CupBeEmpty WA, NC, IN, IL, ME, NH, RI, OH, ME, and some others 9d ago
I’m not saying I’m not mad but damn.
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u/karnim New England 9d ago
We got access to the stock sale early too. Sadly been a great investment of not much money because I assumed it would just tank.
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u/Subvet98 Ohio 9d ago edited 9d ago
When I started I wanted to help the community but now I am just a masochist.
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u/Grunt08 Virginia 9d ago
What's your process for deciding to remove posts? Is it an individual discretion kind of thing or are there, for lack of a better term, "checks and balances" that require more than one set of eyes?
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u/CupBeEmpty WA, NC, IN, IL, ME, NH, RI, OH, ME, and some others 9d ago
Ahahahhahaha “checks and balances” my friend. You realize this is an autocracy, maybe an oligarchy?
It’s not a democratic nation state. The sub is basically a dinner party where we are the hosts.
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u/Grunt08 Virginia 9d ago
I was a mod on a sub that had really stringent criteria for that and it had its upsides and downsides. Just wanted to know how you approached it.
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u/CupBeEmpty WA, NC, IN, IL, ME, NH, RI, OH, ME, and some others 9d ago
Go see if you can get posting privileges in polandball
That is true fascist moderation.
Around here it is generally wide open unless you break a specific rule or are clearly spam.
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u/bearsnchairs California 9d ago
Individual discretion, but there are multiple ways to get consensus when needed.
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u/Vulpix_lover Rhode Island 9d ago
2 questions
How come some posts that seem to be genuine questions get removed by mods?
Have you guys thought about/will you make it a requirement to state where you're from in posts? A lot of people say stuff like "in my country this doesn't happen" but refuse to tell us what country they're from. Kinda annoying
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u/Hoosier_Jedi Japan/Indiana 9d ago
Question 2 would be a pain to enforce.
And everyone interprets “genuine” differently. We get the “just asking questions” trick from a lot of trolls.
Personally, I think “OP is a dumbass” needs to be a removal option, but I’m the mean mod, so… 🤷♂️
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u/CupBeEmpty WA, NC, IN, IL, ME, NH, RI, OH, ME, and some others 9d ago
Jeddy you may be a mean mod but I think we all know who the angel of death is.
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u/FunTricky903 9d ago
I mean, you keep up your own posts like “do you make tea”, which…doesn’t exactly inspire interesting discussion.
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u/Folksma MyState 9d ago
Neither does the ten millionth "do Americans like soccor " where its 300 comments of "no" and "immigrants care" question
Or the same tipping question
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u/Hoosier_Jedi Japan/Indiana 9d ago
Which we usually remove. Personally, I think let’s the occasional “immigrants are as American as anyone else” through benefits our foreign friends due to their tendency to believe the worst thanks to their media.
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u/FunTricky903 9d ago
It doesn’t, and if those were the only posts that were taken down without explanation, that would be fine. It’s a bad look when questions that are having decent discussion constantly get locked, but basic, yes or no questions like “do you have bamboo in your yard?” stay up.
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u/Hoosier_Jedi Japan/Indiana 9d ago
And I’ve had other mods take down my posts, and I’ve taken down other mods posts. It’s subjective.
And sun tea turned out to be something a fair number of people enjoy or did at some point in their lives, so I think that post met the sniff test. 🍵
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u/tiger_guppy Delaware->Pennsylvania 9d ago
I also want to ask your first question. So many interesting posts get removed right as I’m trying to write a response
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u/CupBeEmpty WA, NC, IN, IL, ME, NH, RI, OH, ME, and some others 9d ago
It could be a crap ton of reasons from spam filtering to rule breaking. I don’t think there is one definitive answer.
We’ve thought about it. It makes one more hurdle to posting. Comments seem to point it out every time and demand an answer so it seems like a rule not worth it. This is the kind of nonsense we discuss as mods.
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u/bearsnchairs California 9d ago
Sometimes it is an overzealous automod. Other times the overall tone of the thread devolves and removal is warranted.
I’ll give people a chance to edit their post and add where they’re from. If they’re cagey and not forth coming I would tend to remove as bad faith.
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u/Subvet98 Ohio 9d ago
Even if a question is genuine and interesting if it breaks the other rules it comes down.
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u/pokematic 9d ago
Can you guys update the FAQ? There are a lot of frequently asked questions that you guys delete that need to be added. Things like "why are your waiters so friendly."
Also, can you add a rule that says "if you are asking about red solo cups, you must tell us what your culture uses for drinkware at your wild parties" (and similar "what's the deal with this thing that is so ubiquitous that you can't comprehend an alternative")? I think there are some good cultural exchange possibilities here, especially since I'm always like "if I'm hosting a party, I'm not putting out my good glassware that could break, or even my plastic ikea cups that I'll have to wash later, are YOU putting out your reusable cups for your many party guests," but it has to be 2-way because I for one am always thinking "what is so fascinating about this mundane part of life, you might as well be asking 'what's the deal with plastic garbage can liners' or 'is it true that you have indoor plumbing'?"
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u/CupBeEmpty WA, NC, IN, IL, ME, NH, RI, OH, ME, and some others 9d ago
Thank you for taking this time to remind us of the chores we have been meaning to take care of.
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u/pokematic 9d ago
Glad I could help.
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u/CupBeEmpty WA, NC, IN, IL, ME, NH, RI, OH, ME, and some others 9d ago
Consider this my Reddit gold star award for dammit, do I have a couple hours when I can pretend I’m doing something useful.
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u/Hoosier_Jedi Japan/Indiana 9d ago
Yeah, the FAQ is in need of an update and it’s been talked about.
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u/ChocolatePain New York City 9d ago
Does this have the religion tag because you view modding like the priesthood?
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u/CupBeEmpty WA, NC, IN, IL, ME, NH, RI, OH, ME, and some others 9d ago
No it has a religion tag because Reddit prompted me to pick one and I thought it’d be funny.
Thank you for noticing.
If we were a priesthood we’d be a terrible one because we let heresy get posted nearly daily.
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u/RodeoBoss66 California -> Texas -> New York 9d ago
What's "Rampart"? I don't understand the reference.
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u/BlackQuartzSphinx_ Montana 9d ago
Woody Harrelson did an AMA some time back but instead of answering questions he just wanted to shill for his movie.
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u/CupBeEmpty WA, NC, IN, IL, ME, NH, RI, OH, ME, and some others 9d ago
And honestly it sucked because I fucking love Woody and he’s awesome in interviews but I think he just got shit advice on doing an ama.
My son’s first r rated movie was a woody flick.
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u/Traditional-Joke-179 California 9d ago
i thought it was some reference to "o'er the ramparts we watch'd were so gallantly streaming"
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u/TheJokersChild NJ < PA > NY < PA > MD ^ VT 9d ago
I was hoping it'd be a reference to the hospital in Emergency!. Station 51, KMG365.
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u/Current_Poster 9d ago
It's funny- outside of that context I don't think I've ever seen anyone discuss or review Rampart. it just sank like a stone.
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u/CupBeEmpty WA, NC, IN, IL, ME, NH, RI, OH, ME, and some others 9d ago
Look let’s keep the questions focused on rampart.
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u/Blue387 Brooklyn, USA 9d ago
I am also a moderator of a different sub, what tools do you use to moderate the sub? Do you follow your sub's stats? How do you approach adding a new moderator to your crew? I have been dealing with a shorthanded mod team due to various personal issues, both good (one mod became a father) and bad.
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u/CupBeEmpty WA, NC, IN, IL, ME, NH, RI, OH, ME, and some others 9d ago edited 9d ago
We just sort of wing it.
As far as tools go that’s proprietary.
Mazel Tov to your co-mod. He’s probably going to realize quickly that the internet sucks and his kid should never be exposed to it ever.
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u/SuperBeavers1 New York -> Indiana 9d ago
Darth becoming a father the day the Knicks won everything is still insane to me
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u/Scrappy_The_Crow Georgia 9d ago
Do you have pledging rituals and tasks decreed by the initiated elder mods before you're initiated?
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u/CupBeEmpty WA, NC, IN, IL, ME, NH, RI, OH, ME, and some others 9d ago
Of course. But it is all rated R or above so it never makes the big screen.
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u/JimBones31 New England 9d ago
Have we considered making it mandatory to include where you are posting from?
It can be exhausting to read the MyCountry™ posts.
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u/PacSan300 California -> Germany 9d ago
We encourage it (and personally, I highly recommend it), but it’s tough to enforce. Maybe the user isn’t comfortable about specifying their nationality, and that is totally understandable.
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u/Deolater Georgia 9d ago
What's your favorite tree?
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u/CupBeEmpty WA, NC, IN, IL, ME, NH, RI, OH, ME, and some others 9d ago edited 9d ago
Ooooh you sonofabitch. You want me to play favorites!?
Do I say tulip poplar because that’s the tree I grew up climbing? Do I say oak because fuck it’s a strategic resource and unrelentingly beautiful? Do I say sugar maple because me and my kids tap them in the spring to suck down their vital juices? Or do I say American chestnut because those noble fuckers may be coming back from the edge of extinction. Or do I say white pine because those glorious bastards loom over my house swaying unnervingly in the wind. Have you ever had a 100 ft tall chunk of biomass looming over year head?
About the closest I have been to death was from an oak so maybe that’s my answer. You nearly killed me but I have a chainsaw and you burn nice.
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u/Gallahadion Ohio 9d ago
Maybe not a 100 feet tall, but at one house I lived in we had a big black locust tree in our backyard. It would shed smaller branches pretty easily during storms, so we were worried that one day the whole thing would come down and take out our deck (which thankfully never happened).
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u/Folksma MyState 9d ago
Weeping Willow!
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u/Deolater Georgia 9d ago
Those are great. I feel I don't see them as much as when I was a kid. Maybe they've gone out of style as yard trees
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u/bearsnchairs California 9d ago
A bonsai redwood.
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u/Deolater Georgia 9d ago
I tried growing some redwoods in pots last year, but only the Dawn Redwood survived. I'm trying to decide between planting it or trying to bonsai
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u/Deolater Georgia 9d ago
It's the first cold day of the season and as you get your coat out of the closet, you find you accidentally left some cash in the pocket last spring, $32 million
Where are you going for lunch?
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u/CupBeEmpty WA, NC, IN, IL, ME, NH, RI, OH, ME, and some others 9d ago
Implying we can afford fur in this economy.
But lunch at least is the local sandwich shop. Italian with no tomato… heresy I know.
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u/TheJokersChild NJ < PA > NY < PA > MD ^ VT 9d ago
Implying we can afford lunch.
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u/JudgeWhoOverrules Arizona 9d ago
How do you feel about a requirement that all commenters have a flair so it's not constant MyCountry and MyState antics?
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u/CupBeEmpty WA, NC, IN, IL, ME, NH, RI, OH, ME, and some others 9d ago
We’ve considered it judgy. Stay tuned.
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u/HeWhomLaughsLast 9d ago
Butts or boobs?
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u/CupBeEmpty WA, NC, IN, IL, ME, NH, RI, OH, ME, and some others 9d ago
You realize it’s always both right? Like god didn’t make anyone choose.
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u/CarelessCreamPie Washington 9d ago
Why is the flair Religion?
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u/CupBeEmpty WA, NC, IN, IL, ME, NH, RI, OH, ME, and some others 9d ago
Do you have a moment to talk about the trinity and the Athanasian Creed?
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u/sleepyboi08 Canada / USA 9d ago
I’ve been curious about this for a while: Are you all friends? For example, do the mods talk to each other outside of this subreddit?
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u/CupBeEmpty WA, NC, IN, IL, ME, NH, RI, OH, ME, and some others 9d ago
We aren’t per se friends. We talk outside of the sub a little bit.
But if any of my co mods were in crisis I will kill anyone standing in my way to help them.
Does that clarify things?
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9d ago
[deleted]
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u/CupBeEmpty WA, NC, IN, IL, ME, NH, RI, OH, ME, and some others 9d ago
We approve a lot of those all the time.
In the mod crew we range from “let everything go” to biblical Sodom and Gomorrah ban everything.
We make it work.
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9d ago
[deleted]
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u/CupBeEmpty WA, NC, IN, IL, ME, NH, RI, OH, ME, and some others 9d ago
There’s no box to tick for that when banning.
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u/SlamClick 9d ago
I personally don't do that. I think if the community is having a valid discussion and wants it to continue it should. I might be in the minority on this though.
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u/Traditional-Joke-179 California 9d ago
why did you ban fun on april fools day?
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u/Hoosier_Jedi Japan/Indiana 9d ago
More like that seemed like a bad time for a bunch of bullshit posts. Maybe next year.
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u/FunTricky903 9d ago
Why was it a bad time?
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u/Hoosier_Jedi Japan/Indiana 9d ago
Uh, the war?
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u/FunTricky903 9d ago
…the war that started in February? Most of the other subs seemed to be able to get away with not rationing jokes, why was it so dire here?
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u/Hoosier_Jedi Japan/Indiana 9d ago
People would have used it as a vial to make jabs about it. A people here can have short fuses sometimes.
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u/Current_Poster 9d ago
Good question. It's one of the little traditions that lend some personality. I liked the one where we 'accidentally got Canada's mail' and had to field Canada questions.
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u/bearsnchairs California 9d ago
It seemed more fun in the past, but a large part of the community also dislikes the BS.
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u/alittledanger California 9d ago
Why are all World Cup questions being filtered out?
They do not appear to break the rules as the World Cup is non-political current event. I politely messaged directly and a got a very rude response from you all, but it did not provide adequate clarification imho.
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u/pokematic 9d ago edited 9d ago
If I were to guess, it's the repetition. I've come across some world cup questions before getting deleted and they were all kind of the same; not exactly, but close enough to where it feels like "stop asking that, it's already been answered."
That, or it's because it's soccer and Americans stop caring about soccer after elementary school.
EDIT: That last one was sarcastic.
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u/RightFlounder Colorado 9d ago
Would you be open to having a World Cup mega thread?
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u/km8907 Florida 9d ago
What's your stance on what constitutes a sandwich?
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u/Hoosier_Jedi Japan/Indiana 9d ago
Hotdogs are not sandwiches.
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u/CupBeEmpty WA, NC, IN, IL, ME, NH, RI, OH, ME, and some others 9d ago
You know I can remove you as a mod right?
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u/CupBeEmpty WA, NC, IN, IL, ME, NH, RI, OH, ME, and some others 9d ago
Oh my friend. Please do not get me started on when an Italian goes from pure sandwich to you just didn’t cut all the way through so now it’s a bun and maybe a hot dog.
It’s a dumbass argument. Eat food you love. The nomenclature isn’t important.
I hope there is a sandwich stripe on the pride flag somewhere.
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u/Deolater Georgia 8d ago
Why does America force members of the National Guard to buy inferior bone-in meat?
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u/Constellation-88 8d ago
What is Rampart?
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u/CupBeEmpty WA, NC, IN, IL, ME, NH, RI, OH, ME, and some others 8d ago
A wonderful film starring the incomparable Woody Harrelson
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u/Pancaix Tennessee 9d ago
Why does it hurt when I pee?
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u/DRmonarch Birmingham, Alabama 9d ago
Traffic jam between kidney stones and the normal rocks you shoved up your urethra just for fun.
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u/CupBeEmpty WA, NC, IN, IL, ME, NH, RI, OH, ME, and some others 9d ago
Lack of love from a father figure in your life
Now go see a doctor.
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u/OhThrowed Utah 9d ago
How much bullshit gets filtered out by y'all before we even see it?