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Guidelines ​

This is a more descriptive version of the guidelines shown in the sidebar of our communities on Reddit and Lemmy. We expect everyone to abide by the guidelines listed below.

If you are ever unsure about a post or comment, please contact the moderation team, and we'd be happy to help.

At the discretion of the moderation team, users who violate these guidelines may have their content removed and/or receive a ban. In addition, we strongly frown upon reposts and LQ posts, and such posts may be removed. If you have a concern regarding a removal or ban, please contact us directly.

1. Be Polite ​

Please treat all other users with respect. Respect looks different to different people; always air on the side of caution. Please do not make discriminatory comments or slurs. This includes but is not limited to:

  • Gender
  • Sexuality
  • Race
  • Nationality
  • Mental health
  • Faculty
  • Physical appearance (weight, height, etc)

A slur is any insinuation or allegation that is likely to insult and/or damage the reputation of another user. This very definitely includes implied slurs. Insults can come overtly or covertly; we will be moderating for all of the above.

Lastly, please use appropriate language when addressing other users, even when you are joking.

2. Engage in Good Faith ​

  • If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say it. If you do not like what another user has posted, please do not put them down or attack them. Close the post and move along with your day.

  • If you see something that violates the guidelines, do not engage. Instead, report the post, and a moderator will address the concern. If you are concerned about a specific user’s continued behaviour, please message the moderation team privately. Please do not make a post or comment calling out the user. Harassing another user is against Reddit and Lemmy sitewide rules, and you will likely be banned from the community.

  • If you do not like the actions of one of our moderators, please message our moderation team. Once again, harassing a single user is against the rules and you will likely be banned from the community. Messaging the moderation team sends a message to each of the moderators. At that time, we can address as a team the concern you’ve brought forward.

  • Use a flair that accurately represents your faculty. In the past, students have opted for various flairs they deem to be ‘funny’. Unfortunately, this comes at the cost of those students who are participating in that program, and only serves to damage the community as a whole.

3. Megathreads ​

If your question can go in a megathread or stickied post, you must post your question there.

Our goal for r/UBC is to foster community. In order to do this, we try to maintain a front page that can be relevant to most students. At different times during the year, we may opt to post and sticky a megathread to collect an influx of posts surrounding a single category. Common megathreads include:

  • Admissions megathread
  • Course and registration megathread
  • Housing megathread
  • Exam megathread
  • New to UBC megathread
  • Snow day megathread

While each of these megathreads are stickied, we expect all posts that could go into one of them be commented within the megathread. If you see posts that are supposed to be in the megathread but have been posted elsewhere, please report them and move on.

What if my question didn’t get answered? Can I make it a regular post then?

If your question was not addressed in the megathread, please contact the moderation team. In special cases, we will approve posts. In most cases, if your question is sufficiently niche, we will not allow the post to be made to the front page. Once again, the purpose of r/UBC is to foster community. While it is a valuable resource for answering each other’s questions, it is not a question board. Specific and/or niche program questions should be directed to your program’s advising office.

But nobody answers questions in the megathread

According to our estimates, roughly 85% of questions were answered in the course registration megathread. Obviously this is subject to change, but generally, the megathread is a pretty strong resource for course questions.

4. Keep content relevant to UBC ​

Our goal for r/UBC is to foster community. In order to do this, two criteria must be met:

  1. The content must be something that UBC students can engage with
  2. The content must be something that is specific to UBC students.

Always remember: if your post specifically relates to UBC and other students can engage with it, it will almost always meet the content relevance guidelines.

Please note: all memes must be either explicitly related to UBC.

5. Follow sitewide & university rules ​

Sitewide rules can be found here for Reddit and in the sidebar here for Lemmy

We’d like to place special emphasis on these rules:

  • No doxxing. Please do not reveal the identity of other users in any circumstance. This includes posting names, genders, ages, ethnicities, or pictures of other users. This rule is enforced VERY STRICTLY, and instances of doxxing will almost always be directed to the site administration, which often results in a sitewide IP ban.
  • No illegal activity. For UBC communities, we also extend this to all activity that falls outside of the rules and prescribed by UBC. This means that the following are not permitted:
    • Links to unofficially released assignment answer keys
    • Transactions, including dropping a seat in favour of another student
    • Links to pdf textbooks (we get it, everybody does it. Don’t post it here)
    • Offers/requests for sublets that go outside of UBC Housing contracts
    • Offers/requests to perform an assignment for someone else
    • Information surrounding the purchase of illegal substances. This includes the sale of substances that legally require prescription (ex. study drugs)

6. No Advertisements ​

If you are a for-profit organization: You may not post advertisements. Please use the proper channels to reach out to UBC students. If you are on Reddit, the site has its own advertising services, which can be found here. Please note that market research surveys are included in this.

If you are a UBC organization not making money: Ads should be posted once per semester. However, this does not necessarily preclude advertisements for special events. If you would like to post an advertisement more than once, please consult the moderation team.

If you are a UBC organization making money: Please contact the moderation team before posting an advertisement.

7. Surveys ​

Surveys should only be posted if they related to UBC or of unique interest to the UBC community.

  • For studies, please modmail with your ethics approval number
  • For other surveys (ex.market research), a clear explanation of how your product/service is relevant to UBC would suffice)

Do not post surveys for an undergrad class.

8. No foreign politics ​

Unless there are clear and direct implications for the UBC community (ex. FAFSA, international research opportunities, students under house arrest), you should have that discussion elsewhere. If this is a special circumstance, please contact us first.

9. Lost & Found Posts ​

I lost ___: Lost item posts are only allowed for items that are high value, high sentimentality, those vital for school/personal reasons, and unique/unusual items at mod discretion.

I found ___: The same rules above apply for found posts. In addition, found posts SHOULD NOT include images or specific descriptors of items (ex. color, location found), so the owner can verify. Remember, pictures of personal information are also prohibited.