Slight update to subreddit rules

[u/Appropriate_Volume]

In response to increasing amounts of spam and spammy posts, the mods have adjusted the subreddit's rule 4, relating to self promotional content:

• Previously this rule indicated that while standalone promotional posts (including surveys) would be removed, this type of content was OK in the weekly general chatter thread.
• It has now been changed to clearly specify that only non commercial and genuinely personal content can be posted in the general chatter thread. For instance, this could be a link to a personal blog/vlog about your travels.

The wording on the handling of commercial/spammy posts better reflects the mods' longstanding approach. We get several such posts a day, and they are always removed.

However, we have changed the rules on links to surveys, and they are now no longer accepted. This is because the surveys that were being posted were increasingly market research or ads, sometimes thinly disguised as being academic research. The people posting these surveys rarely had any history of contributions to the subreddit so it also felt very one-sided. While some of the survey links were to legitimate academic surveys, it has become onerous on the mods to try to identify them among the much larger number of spammy surveys. Many other subreddits have also implemented blanket bans on links to surveys, presumably for the same reason.

Rule 9 (on low effort posts) has been adjusted to clearly specify that AI content isn't permitted: this includes material in new posts as well as in responses to posts or other users' comments. We've had a ban in place on this for two years but the wording on rule 9 didn't explicitly state it.

[u/nobody65535]

What's the mod view on Rule 1?

On my front page, I see two visa questions, one question about not seeing everything, three what should I see/itinerary questions about the allocation of cities and days, one question about hiking poles, none of which are particularly solo-y adjacent even. (~1/4 of the posts) (fwiw, I consider things like injured or robbed, or hard of hearing/hurt to be solo-related, since you don't have a travel companion to compensate or assist)

[u/knead4minutes → u/nobody65535]

imho you can't ban that or this sub would be even more dominated by "I feel lonely" posts

I take it more of a "this is the travel sub for people who travel solo" and not necessarily "everything has to be specifically solo travel related"

[u/lucapal1 → u/knead4minutes]

Yes,I completely agree.

It would be 80% 'I feel bad type' posts and the other 20% 'My Mom doesn't understand why I want to.....'

Lots of 'general' travel issues are relevant to solo travellers too.

[u/Swebroh → u/knead4minutes]

I agree, and I would also like to add that a good itinerary for someone travelling solo could often be quite different than for someone travelling with family/friends/spouse - this is often missed in other subreddits, even if you specify that you are travelling alone. 

[u/nobody65535 → u/knead4minutes]

imho you can't ban that or this sub would be even more dominated by "I feel lonely" posts

In a way, that's true, but there's a lot of perfectly good not "I'm lonely" posts. Again from the front page, the hard of hearing and the injured shoulder, traveling while brown, singles cruising, disney while solo, am-i-naively-not-worried-enough-traveling-solo-as-a-woman, why don't any of these people in the hostels have any ambition.

[u/Leading_Fee_3678 → u/knead4minutes]

This sub has kinda made me want to solo travel LESS because of all of the lonely posts 😖

[u/WalkingEars → u/nobody65535]

There's some case-by-case and potentially mod-by-mod variation on that. For me, Rule 1 removals are usually for pretty egregious cases of someone posting about traveling with their brother for two weeks haha. Which happens surprisingly often.

I do sometimes try to remove more "general travel" questions and redirect to the Weekly Common Room thread, but the, for instance, "review my itinerary for my solo trip" posts are IMO not rule 1 violations since, among other things, when traveling solo, you don't have a travel buddy to go through your itinerary with, so some extra feedback, including from others with solo travel experience, is useful. The big hurdle for "itinerary check" posts is rules 9 and 10. We get a lot of "what are your suggestions for X country" posts with zero info provided on the person's interests, budget, etc., and in my experience the majority of deleted posts are ones like that.

[u/nobody65535 → u/WalkingEars]

Yea, I sort of agree with that. But I don't think itinerary feedback is particularly solo-related unless it's because of transportation reasons (e.g. "For 3 people, you would definitely just get a taxi/private tour, since save more in time and it's cheaper 3 tickets anyways"). An itinerary check, after it passes the low-effort check, is not likely going to be different, two people to the Tower of London takes the same time as one. Well, maybe not at an amusement park -- "You only need one day at DisneyWorld, you get through the line so fast as a solo"

[u/segacs2 → u/nobody65535]

Rule #1 just means you need to be posting about a trip you're taking solo, i.e. not a trip you're taking with your spouse/family/friends. It doesn't mean your post specifically has to be about loneliness or relationships. Itinerary reviews, gear questions, logistics questions, all of those are fine as long as they pertain to a solo trip.

[u/RobustFoam]

I'd like to see a specific ban on posts about group tours. Group tours, by their very definition, are not solo travel.

[u/Important_Wasabi_245 → u/RobustFoam]

Solo != alone (in all cases). Some of this tours are advertised for solo travelers and/or singles. Going on a trip alone doesn't automatically mean that you're alone most of the time, some book such group tours or day trips/excursions in order to automatically have people to talk to and a guide. It's much more comfortable and safer than being on your own.

[u/Appropriate_Volume → u/RobustFoam]

Lots of group tours are oriented towards people who are traveling without friends or family, so seem in scope. Likewise, solo travellers who stay in shared accommodation in hostels seem in scope.