I could go into some long tirade about the reasons why we are introducing an offsite forum, but then I know that SRS, SRD, AMR, etc would have a field day. We all know the reasons, let's move on. It has been in the works for some time - the URL was purchased back in June - but we finally have something to release.

We have set up a phpBB forum, but we have also set up a blog. The blog was an idea I had a long time ago, prior to being a moderator, that I was finally able to put in place. The blog is being administered by the moderators here, but it isn't about us - it is about you!

Without getting too long winded, let me give you the lowdown on these two sites:

Forum:

This forum is set up to provide our users with a place to discuss issues off of the Reddit site. Similar rules will apply there, with regards to issues like doxxing, but it will give us better control over spam, and there will be less need to prune. Really, the goal is to promote a community, by having a place for off-topic posts, and a place for on-topic posts. No more of this "what does this have to do with men's rights?" If you feel it does, if you want to talk about it, you can do that - let's make this a community, not just a topical link aggregator.

There is also a private members area, which will be invite only for those regular members of /r/MensRights who would like to talk without the annoyance of disruption.

Our eventual goal would be to have a duplication of the Reddit code, also. But the system requirements for that are challenging. We will work on this for the future, but we thought we could provide at least a forum service in the short term! (We - the mods - all have jobs, so it is hard to fit all this into our already busy schedules.)

Blog:

The blog is a feature that I have wanted for a while. This is not meant to be a blog-soap-box for the moderators of /r/MensRights, but rather a way to showcase some of the great posts that are made by members of the subreddit themselves.

Did you see that great post one of our members made on /r/TIL? Or /r/ELI5? etc

Why not turn those into a feature post that can be saved and shared in the future! That is what the blog is for! If you feel like someone wrote a very well thought out post, and you would like to see it turned into an article, encourage them to post it to the blog - we will set them up with an account and provide editing services to help polish the article up.

Did you see a post that you felt you could expand or improve upon? Do you have an idea that you think you could flesh out into a full article?

Why not volunteer to write it up! Again, we will give you a blog account and you will be able to have a feature on the /r/MensRights blog!

There are a few rules, though.

  1. No one can submit a link to their own blog article on /r/MensRights. This is to prevent anyone from having to deal with the issues that arise from accusations of karma farming that come from people submitting links to their own material (recall reddiquette says you can post 1 of your own articles for 10 links to other articles - well, this way we can avoid it altogether). Encourage other people to visit the blog regularly and discovery/share your article!

  2. No moderator can submit a link to the blog, even if they write an article (as I have done with an introductory article). This is to prevent moderators from gaining karma. The moderator accounts, while anonymous, were not meant to be karma generators. Moderators may include links to the blog through comments, only. Moderators may submit articles, though.

  3. All articles must have the approval of two editors before going "live". The names of the editors must be posted as the first line of the article. Editors are not meant to control the opinion of the submitter, but rather to ensure three things: quality of writing (help catch poor wording, grammar mistakes, spelling errors, etc), claims backed up (if there is data, then link to it!), and assertions justified (if you make an assertion, you need to argue for it). It won't be super strict, but the editors are really there to help. (The editor team is small at the moment, but there is room to grow if people are interested.)

  4. No doxxing! This rule is still in effect. The moderators do strongly believe that doxxing is against the principles of free speech - a person feels less free to speak their mind when their lifestyle and livelihood are threatened, as has happened so many times in the past with doxxing situations. We would not want people to do it for us, so let's not do it to them. An open and anonymous internet is crucial for truly free speech.