[Metathread] Updating the Text of our On-Topic Rule - Politics

[Metathread] Updating the Text of our On-Topic Rule
The "What happened in your state last week?" Megathread, Week 23
Joe Manchin blasted as "cowardly, power-hungry white dude" over vote rights
Trump and his allies try to rewrite, distort history of pandemic while casting Fauci as public enemy No. 1
Progressive rep: 'Joe Manchin has become the new Mitch McConnell'
Trump is a 'clear and present danger' and his words will 'surely kill again' says Lincoln Project co-founder
Fact Check: Obama says with filibuster, 'maybe 30 percent of the population' controls U.S. Senate
Stormy Daniels says her attorney is in contact with prosecutors investigating Trump Organization
Why Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley Won’t Be Punished for Fomenting a Riot | The U.S. Senate is incapable of policing itself—and the two Republicans are too shameless to resign.
Senate Republican: 'You really have to treat Russia like it's virtually a criminal enterprise'
Jen Psaki says she wants to stop reporters turning the White House briefing room into 'a forum for propaganda'
Bernie Sanders Reminds Americans 'Not a Single Republican Voted' for $1,400 Stimulus Checks
Opinion: Time to call Manchin’s bluff
Republicans pledge allegiance to fossil fuels like it’s still the 1950s
Frozen But Not Forgiven, U.S. Student Loans Are Coming Due Again Soon - Pandemic Freeze On Payments Is Set To End In October, With No Moves So Far Toward The Loan Forgiveness That President Joe Biden Campaigned On.
Rep. Jamaal Bowman accuses Manchin of becoming "the new Mitch McConnell"
Cheney: Trump inciting January 6 riot 'the most dangerous thing' a president has done
Cheney compares Trump claims to Chinese Communist Party: 'It's very dangerous and damaging'
MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan questions Joe Manchin's intelligence: "Just not very bright"
Video appears to show Oregon state Rep. Mike Nearman explaining how to get inside state Capitol building
Rep. Bowman calls Manchin ‘the new Mitch McConnell’
‘Operation Hall Pass’: Vid Shows Lawmaker Coaching Group Ahead Of OR Capitol Breach
After big losses, GOP 'simply does not want to participate in democracy'
Russian Accounts Still Active on Pro-Trump Sites -Researchers
Liz Cheney compares Trump's rhetoric to Chinese Communist Party
Democrats don't have to let Manchin win: Holding Trump accountable is fulfilling the Biden agenda
Cheney: Trump inciting January 6 riot 'the most dangerous thing' a president has done

[Metathread] Updating the Text of our On-Topic Rule

Posted: 06 Jun 2021 11:47 AM PDT

Hey all,

We've made an update to the text of our topicality rule. The purpose of this change is not to change how the rule is enforced, but to emphasize how we have historically enforced it and make it easier to understand.

The crux of how we have always enforced our rule is that topicality is tied in some direct way to governmental policy, either the process in which it is developed or affected (eg. bills, laws, regulations, appellate court caselaw or judgments against any level of government), or elections at any level of government and the capacity of sitting politicians (eg. criminal cases against them or health reasons that may either cause them to be unable to carry out their duties, or precipitate resignation/death). This is evaluated for each individual article, meaning that something non-topical can be topical if an article draws a connection. For instance:

"President Biden says his favorite ice cream flavor is chocolate": NOT TOPICAL. Even though Biden is a sitting politician, his favorite ice cream is not related to policy in any way.
"President Biden's love for ice cream shows the need for more dairy subsidies in America's heartland": TOPICAL. An article that connects something off-topic to a current policy debate may nevertheless be appropriate.

In the previous administration, a number of topics that would have satisfied the capacity of politicians prong of our topicality rule may have been appropriate to the extent they impacted the ability of the president to carry out his duties in office which are no longer appropriate now that those individuals no longer hold positions in government. We recognize that our rule may appear narrower than a broader construction of "politics", but we believe that it encapsulates the core functions of government in a way that is more coherent and enforceable than taking a subjective approach to determining topicality..

The updated language of our rule is as follows:

Posts on /r/Politics must be directly related to and have a significant involvement/impact on any of:

Policy. This includes any discussion of specific governmental policies or the development of such policies. Government policy can be developed at any level of government (from elected school board to Congress). It also includes court decisions which either create law itself (appellate court decisions) or involve the government.
Electioneering. This includes polling, events directly pertaining to elections, and discussion of candidates and political parties, including their platforms and policies.
Politician Capacity. Any incident or potential incident that could prevent a current politician from serving in their capacity in government (e.g. death, injury/sickness, criminal prosecution or resignation) is topical. We consider politicians to be either (1) elected members of government; or (2) members of government confirmed/voted on by elected members of government.
Advocacy. Any efforts to influence or promote a position on the above 3 areas of topicality. This includes protests, demonstrations and the positions and advocacy of interest groups.

All posts must at least have a significant internal discussion or focus about current US politics as defined above. Therefore, if only a small part of an article contains topical discussion, it may still be considered off-topic.

Moderators make topicality decisions on each individual post, not events as a whole. A non-topical post that draws a significant connection to a topical category described above can still be topical. The moderation team resolves edge cases to the best of its abilities in its sole discretion.

What is Not Topical

The following are some common examples of inherently off-topic content:

Nonpolitical actions of politicians or their relatives, meaning (1) anything a politician does that doesn't impact one of the 4 areas of politics defined above, (2) discussion of the non-political actions of a politician's relatives.
International politics or US military actions, unless the significant focus of the piece is on US internal ramifications or US foreign policy positions.
Media discussing other media outlets.
Crime stories without direct relation to current US politics, such as (1) shootings, (2) crimes of non-politicians such as donors or activists, and (3) and court decisions not tied explicitly to US politics as defined above.

Feel free to let us know of any questions or comments by messaging us via modmail. Thanks!

the /r/Politics Mod Team

submitted by /u/PoliticsModeratorBot
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The "What happened in your state last week?" Megathread, Week 23

Posted: 07 Jun 2021 09:00 AM PDT

Welcome to the 'What happened in your state last week' thread, where you can post any local political news stories that you find important in the comments. This is a weekly thread posted every Monday, in order to facilitate more discussion on local issues on /r/politics. Since this is intended to be a thread about local politics, top-level comments that are exclusively about national issues will not be allowed. When commenting, please include the state you're living in, and don't forget to link sources. Also, please actually describe what happened. Things like "I live in X, you know what happened", "Nothing happened" or "[Politician] continues to be an idiot" isn't helpful to users and will be removed.

If someone from your state made a news round-up that you think is insufficient, feel free to comment to that round-up with further news stories. Enjoy discussion, and review our civility guidelines before engaging with others.

Hi there, /r/politics. Because this thread is about local politics, I'd like to reiterate that news about President Biden or any other national political figure is off topic in this thread and will be removed. Thank you, and have a good week.

submitted by /u/optimalg
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Joe Manchin blasted as "cowardly, power-hungry white dude" over vote rights

Posted: 07 Jun 2021 05:00 AM PDT

submitted by /u/Barack_Odrama00
[link] [comments]

Trump and his allies try to rewrite, distort history of pandemic while casting Fauci as public enemy No. 1

Posted: 07 Jun 2021 03:50 AM PDT