Hello r/bangtan,
Chapter 2 has been quite the experience, not just for BTS, but as fans we’re also going through something new, exciting and oftentimes quite different. BTS aren’t the only ones getting to know their colors; the sub has grown so much, and we know it continues to do so because of everyone here who considers this place as a community.
We want to make sure that it will remain a welcoming, considerate and healthy community for everyone who wants to be a part of BTS’ journey. That’s why we want to take this opportunity to remind both new and regular users of the sub’s rules and guidelines, so that everyone can experience BTS’ music and their content in a fun and pleasant way.
The mod team would like to address the issue that we have been observing recently becoming more prevalent during new music releases. There has been a sharp uptick of non-constructive negativity, drama, speculative and disrespectful comments in the threads during new releases.
While this was already brought up in a previous [State of the Subreddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/bangtan/comments/14ib9wu/230625_state_of_the_subreddit_update_on_instagram/), we would like to directly discuss and focus on this issue so we can share our thoughts and hear from the community. We’re hopeful that together we can take action to tackle this and keep r/bangtan a healthy space for all of us.
# r/bangtan is meant to be a place for ARMY to discuss with other fans, enjoy and celebrate BTS and their music
*Do you still remember why you joined this subreddit?*
To a lot of fans r/bangtan is HOME. We want to continue making this a space where ARMY **want** to come to celebrate all the wonderful things BTS gives us, new music, concerts, and everything in between.
While it is and will *always* be okay to not enjoy everything BTS does, this space exists first and foremost for people to connect over their shared love of BTS’ music. And ARMY, better than most, can understand how difficult it can be to enjoy the things we love when we are surrounded by people who constantly demean them.
Of course it’s not reasonable to expect that every ARMY will always sing the praise of everything BTS releases, but every release will appeal to SOME ARMY, and these ARMY deserve a space to discuss and be excited about that one release that doesn’t appeal to most but does it for *them*, without a constant cloud of negativity following them from one thread to the next.
It’s also important to remember that if you feel like something doesn’t bring you joy, it’s okay to skip it. Not enjoying certain releases does not make you any less of a fan, nor does not consuming every piece of BTS content, or not commenting on every release thread. Not having anything nice to say doesn’t mean you have to say something not so nice.
We would also like to remind everyone that whether it’s in this subreddit or on any other social media platform, the things you write online do not exist in a vacuum and can affect not only other ARMY, but also anyone surrounding BTS, as well as the members themselves.
So if you wouldn’t feel comfortable saying it directly to their face, please consider leaving it in the drafts sometimes.
# How can you help? The answer is R E P O R T
When encountering a comment or comment chain that you find upsetting, downvoting it and moving on with your day would be most people’s reaction. Some may find themselves upset enough to decide to reply, and this may very soon devolve into good old fisticuffs.
While we understand these reactions, the most effective way to deal with such comments is to **not engage with them and instead report them immediately to the mod team**. Reporting rule-breaking content helps the mods get to it considerably faster, meaning less ARMY will have to be exposed to it.
So protect a fellow ARMY’s smile by hitting that report button TODAY!*
^^\*(not ^^literally ^^today, ^^please ^^find ^^rule-breaking ^^content ^^first)
**Unsure whether something actually constitutes a rule-breaking comment?** No worries, we’ve got you covered with a quick guide, and remember that ultimately this isn’t an exact science, there is context and nuances to consider, even the mods often need to discuss certain comments between themselves!
#Here are some common types of rule-breaking comments and how to report them
1) **Non-constructive negative comments** are negative comments that are unnecessarily rude/hateful and don’t really add value to the discussion. When engaging in a thread, let’s try to be cognizant of how we express our thoughts and engage with other fans.
Example:
> Ew! Won’t give this one a view!
Or
> This song sucks cASSerole!
**How to report this type of comment:** Report > Breaks r/bangtan rules > non-constructive negativity
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2) **Off-topic negative comments** are a subset of non-constructive negative comments, but which are posted in threads that have nothing to do with the subject matter and do nothing other than to rehash or repeat a negative comment that was already made in the proper dedicated thread.
Examples:
> “We get it, Chimmy! You like crocheting 30 days a month 🙄. Cringe” – in the choreography thread
Or
> “I still can’t believe RJ rhymed cook book with crochet hook, how corny” – in the milestone thread
**How to report this type of comment:** Report > Breaks r/bangtan rules > non-constructive negativity
—-
3) **Disrespecting the artist, their work and the people they work with** – exactly what it means. If you’re uncertain on what this rule entails, a good rule of thumb is if you couldn’t say it to their face, maybe you shouldn’t say it in a public forum.
Examples:
> Bam’s bark hurts my ears! His vet needs to be fired!!!
Or
> After how dirty they’ve done him, I really hope Min Holly leaves MinTS!
**How to report this type of comment:** Report > Breaks r/bangtan rules > Drama or Bashing
—-
4) **Speculative comments about the members’ character/personality** are comments that speculate about aspects of the members’ personal lives (romantic shipping, dating, finances, emotional/mental state, health, etc.) and sometimes either insinuate things about and/or openly insult their character.
Examples:
> Isn’t Mang basically an out of control chocolate hoarder since they released the song “CHO-COCO IS LYF”?
Or
> This is clear to me now that Koya *really* despises outdoor Koalas since the song mentions climbing trees is boring
**How to report this type of comment:** two possibilities here
* The comment speculates about their private life or mental/physical health : Report > Breaks r/bangtan rules > Rumor/Invades BTS Privacy/Private Life Speculation
* The comment is offensive toward a member’s personality or character : Report > Breaks r/bangtan rules > Drama or Bashing
—-
5) **Being rude to other fans that may have different opinions** whether directly replying to them or shading them in a separate comment.
Examples:
> Do the Vans in here even have ears?
Or
> Can you stop pretending they can’t do wrong and admit this song sucks!
(These usually go hand in hand with the downvoting of all the comments from people that truly liked the release or simply had nothing negative to say.)
**How to report this type of comment:** Report > Breaks r/bangtan rules > Not Very Nice or Civil
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6) **Bringing in Drama** or drawing attention to what is happening on other parts of reddit or other social media platforms
Examples:
> It’s so refreshing that I can say I hate the song here! They’re being so dramatic and unhinged on Barkstagram!
Or
> Over on Woolster, the RJ solos are making a petition to pressure the company into releasing mohair ponchos for his birthday! They say he’s being mistreated cause he’s the only one without a proper concert ponchos release.
**How to report this type of comment:** Report > Breaks r/bangtan rules > Drama or Bashing
—-
# Some things you can do to help us
* It is natural to want to share our thoughts and engage with fans who have similar opinions as ours. But before commenting, please **remember that this space must remain welcoming for fans who want to celebrate and be mindful of how you express your opinions**.
* **Consider if your words are constructive or not**. Be mindful of your tone, intent and if you have something negative to say, consider if it adds any value to the conversation.
* **Know that it’s okay to not keep engaging or participate further when you already know you won’t be satisfied**. We know that there will be times when you don’t enjoy or agree with content or music. While your feelings are valid, it’s okay to skip threads about content you can’t feel excited about. Missing out on one music video or performance won’t make you lose whatever you have with BTS or this community.
* **Hit the report button** If you see any comments which fall under the above categories or break any of the sub rules, please report them. Your reports really help us keep tabs on the threads, especially since it is not possible for the team to comb through thousands of comments spanning multiple threads.
# Action plan for future releases
* Whether you are new to the sub or have been here awhile, if you haven’t read the sub [rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/bangtan/wiki/rules/) please check them out. Comments/Posts that go against sub rules may be removed.
* Negative comments not relevant to a particular thread may be removed.
* Repeat violations of sub rules may lead to a ban. If you need clarification on why your comment was removed please send modmail. Complaining in the thread and reposting the already removed comment may be considered a repeat offense.
# Team work makes the dream work
Please note that there may be times when we implement rules which may cause some of your interactions, comments, and posts to be removed. It is never our intention to single out or invalidate a user, an opinion, or an experience. We only try to remind the community that we have [guidelines](https://www.reddit.com/r/bangtan/wiki/rules/) in place, and we hope you can remember to respect that enough to remain civil while you engage with this community.
If you feel like this space just continues to be different from what you need, there are other subs and other platforms for you to engage with as well. But we hope that should you want to stay in this community, you would want to help us continue to make it grow and move forward.
This subreddit has been built by many passionate ARMY over the years and we are keen on preserving its ethos of being a safe space for ARMY to interact and share their love of BTS. We need to remember what is the essence of this community, what this space’s *raison d’etre* was and remains, and be considerate of others that are here to peacefully discuss and enjoy the music.
—-
So… *Do you still remember why you joined this subreddit?*
Despite all our differences, please don’t forget that the one thing that brings us all together is that we are all **[ARMY](https://i.imgur.com/5WmyKIs.jpg)**.
by lisafancypants
![[EPISODE] SUGA Birthday support event - 140314](https://www.btshubs.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/QqD5k_9sPN3xqhjGePfWvsHmq9Un0tqdRBy0zGc-YwA.jpg)
Thanks for all you do mods! And props to whoever made all those examples 😂
I think this was much overdue and very necessary; thank you mods 🫶🏻💜
Thank you, mod team!! <3
I appreciate that r/bangtan tries extremely hard to allow everyone to participate in the conversation, but above all it should be a fun place to be! Thank you for the reminder!!
Thank you so much, mods, for addressing this situation in a super respectful and constructive way. I have been avoiding opening some of the latest posts to do with music releases (specially if it had already a lot of comments) because of all the non-constructive comments and bashing of song/album/member(s) so I’m really relieved to know I’m not the only one that was feeling some type of way about some of these opinions and I’m happy that it’s being addressed and resolved.
I’ve been guilty of downvoting but not reporting some unsavory comments, so thank you for the reminder that such a thing as the report button exists hehe I’ll definitely be using it in the future.
Again, thank you so much, mods, for keeping this amazing community running smoothly. 💜
Thank you so much for the update and as always, the way you write things. 🤭🤭. Thanks again for all the work you all do, it’s much appreciated! 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜
Well, I see Reddit forum as a discussion, which can be civil, but oftentimes, on Bangtan, you can not have an opinion without being downvoted.
It’s like we are sheep and have to be happy, clappy all the time. It’s not healthy or normal.
We live in a democracy and should be heard. No, I’m not saying to be rude, just respectfully honest. People downvote if you don’t agree with the masses.
Thank you for all you do to keep this a safe and positive space! 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜
Thank you for addressing the issue and giving specific examples of non constructive comments, your post was very enlightening and detailed. I’m sure some people will be unhappy about these rules but I think your point is very well made, this is a space for fans to share their excitement together. There are plenty other places where negative or non constructive opinions are welcomed, let this sub be the place for excited fans to share their enthusiasm together without having to encounter totally destructive and toxic comments.
On a personal note, I’ll never understand the people who feel the need to bask in the negativity and toxicity. If I dislike something, I will drop it and go do something that entertains me or brings me joy. I may talk one on one in a private chat with friends how I didn’t like something but I don’t try to post publicly how much I hate something and try to make people who enjoy that thing, feel bad for enjoying or liking it.
Mods, thank you for your hard work in keeping things from getting too out of hand, especially with how much the sub has grown over the past few years.
It seems as though this thread would be the best place to seek clarification on one aspect of negative discussion: There have recently, unfortunately, been some very specific lyrics, or non-Bangtan artists tagged, which made some ARMY deeply uncomfortable, and they used this subreddit as a place to come together and have discussions and work through those feelings. I know that walks a tightrope on whether that could be considered “constructive,” but I personally feel like in those cases most of us were able to approach said discussions in an appropriate manner. I was wondering what the mod approach to things like that would be moving forwards.
Thank you SO MUCH. I really mean it, for some releases, this sub have been so welcoming and I enjoyed it thoroughly, but recently with the uptick of negativity surrounding Jungkook’s releases among other things, it’s been hard for us to enjoy anything, I really want to enjoy his album, to share with fans who are as excited as I am about his album or collaborations. I see enough negavity on k-pop subs or social media, I really don’t want this sub to turn into something similar, ruining our experience for the sake of some fans expressing their ‘opinions’.
So thank you, so much. 🙂
Edit. *I really want some people to drop the fake narrative that this sub is about toxic positivity, “cult-like”, only for positivity or worship. If this thread was create it is precisely because there are overwhelming waves of negativity and mods allowed criticisms, sometimes even going outside of the designated threads, for everyone to see (many did) and spilling over threads of fans who just want to enjoy the content, and now it’s diminishing fans’ experiences. People need to remember it’s often not about the opinion itself, it’s about the wording as well.*
**”Constructive” criticism =/= searching for an echo chamber about your personal discontentment and ruining it for some fans.**
*We are here to exchange with different people, to enjoy BTS or discuss with people even if we have opposite opinions, but be thoughtful about it.*
*As the mods said, it’s okay for people to move on from what dislike.*
Since this posts suggests that other forums exist, can anyone point to another space that allows for open discussion in a forum format (so, not Twitter or TikTok) where any comment that isn’t straight worshiping will get removed? Specific to BTS of course…I’m aware of the Kpop Uncensored subreddit but would like to discuss with other Army. Is there a BTS uncensored subreddit that’s active? As others have alluded, many want a space to maturely discuss (valid) critiques of BTSs recent releases. I think it’s important that people who have been not totally on board with the direction of things lately can discuss and work through feelings without being gaslit into thinking that their opinions are invalid or that nobody else agrees.
Thank you for the detailed post, mods. It’s
Good to get clarification on what this particular sub is for. I don’t think this means we all have to be sunshiny and happy if we aren’t feeling it. There are a lot of Kpop related subs that have long discussion threads to join for times when we have negative opinions they want to express. There are so many negative spaces, if this sub wants to be a happy one, that great.
I love reading y’all’s updates and announcements. The Bangtan Mods bring it every time!
But now I’m concerned if Mang has a chocolate hoarding problem. And has RJ seriously not had a concert poncho release?
Can I just say “this song sucks cASSerole” is hilarious though.
Thank you mod team for continuing to volunteer so much of your time and effort to make this a safe space.
It does seem like there’s still a desire from some for there to be a safe space for folks to express their feelings about certain topics that aren’t necessarily positive.
I think it’s okay for people to say things like “I’ll be honest, I’m a little disappointed that none of Mang’s new tracks are in Dotoheese” and to not be downvoted and attacked. They should be able to say that and have someone agree without being accosted. It should be okay for someone to respectfully disagree as well.
I don’t know what the best solution is, but I do hope that we can all have a mature adult conversation around these things. Discourse can be positive and constructive. I do see what other subreddits say about this one sometimes and it’s disappointing to see that people have the perception that this sub only wants to be flowers and rainbows and not have deep meaningful discussions (even if it’s not true.)
Thank you Mods!!! I really appreciate this. I know it must be a incredibly tough trying to find the line to keep everyone happy. Impossible really. So just thank you for doing your best.
And the clarification on what to report was great, I’ll do my best too!
I want to make sure I understand, since my brain is being a lil slow today. In the spirit of “don’t yuck someone else’s yum” (lol I’m dating myself) the rules more or less make sense to me. To clarify if I want to discuss things I find problematic or things I want to critique in a civil way, and I understand this may be a case-by-case basis sort of thing, are there basically examples of more acceptable constructive ways to do this here or would I have to go to a different sub for that?
Thank you for all the effort all of mods give to make this sub a safe and constructive place to discuss Bangtan related things.
I’m one of the people who’s had some strong feelings about recent releases so have tried to step back and let others enjoy them in peace, and be respectful with any comments. I hope none of them crossed any lines but if they did or if I upset anyone, I’m genuinely very sorry. And I appreciate the mods’ hard work on the sub, it’s the only place I come to talk about Bangtan!
I do think it’s important to be able to respectfully air an honest opinion and have a healthy discussion, as some things do provoke strong emotions and people need a space to work through them with others who can understand. It’s one of the things I love about the sub, how mature and reasonable ARMY are here. But I agree there’s no need to repeat the same view across every related thread – once is enough, and if it’s not then we can take it offline and let others enjoy. I’m telling myself this mainly! Thanks mods for the reminders.
Mods have a difficult job. Thank you for the clarification examples. Thank you for working hard to create a happy home!
I’m seeing comments referencing downvotes, but that’s a different issue to me than mod decisions. Unless I’m missing a connection?
Thank you, mods!
I’ve been guilty of just giving up reading recent threads about JK’s new music because I get so upset having to read so many comments from people (not sure if they would describe themselves as ARMY) who don’t like it for various reasons. I dont know any ARMY in real life so I used to come here to enjoy other people’s excitement and appreciation. Even if I dont add a comment myself it helped me feel part of a community. But I realise I need to help the mods with their hard work of trying to keep this a space for ARMY so I’ll try to risk the upset feelings and read the threads and report where relevant going forward. Thank you so much for your hard work to all our wonderful mods.
I’d just say to those people who really want a space in which they can write about how disappointed they are in the members’ work and choices that you are of course absolutely entitled to your opinions, but could you please consider instead expressing those opinions somewhere that isn’t a dedicated ARMY space? because I don’t think you realise that this sub is all that some of us have as a place to discuss Bangtan and you expressing your negative opinions here genuinely causes distress to some of us who don’t want to have to argue about it/discuss it with you. There are so many other places you can go to talk about how you don’t like stuff the Tannies do, I genuinely don’t understand why you feel you want to.do it here to be honest. Even if you word things to make it arguably within the rules maybe you aren’t aware that it puts such a downer on so many other ARMY’s enjoyment of the new music or contents so I would respectfully request that you consider if there may be more appropriate places to chat about your dislikes and disappointments?
I’ve been active in this subreddit since 5 years ago and I think this is an issue that periodically gets brought forward, almost always whenever there are new music releases that appear to be polarising (inside the fandom more than outside of it).
From what I remember, it has happened for the English trilogy, for Set Me Free pt. 2, for People pt. 2 and now with JK’s singles.
The main rules that I think might cause misunderstandings between those cited in this post, are number 1 and numer 3.
While it is pretty clear cut that threads for teasers, trailers, choreography videos, etc… should be meant to discuss only those things and nothing else (basically what is described in point 2) and it is easy to understand rules such as number 4, 5 and 6, in my opinion the other ones are a bit more ambigous and therefore difficult to interpret depending on the situation for me.
For example, some comments that are considered non-constructive for some, could not be considered as much by others. It’s easy to discern comments that are obviously insulting, but it’s a bit harder for comments that could just be generally negative, especially in those threads meant for discussion.
Some of this also apply to point 3, as this is a community for fans of BTS it might happen (and has already happened) that not everyone always appreciate the artists BTS have collaborated with. That doesn’t mean it should be allowed to be rude towards them or towards people who like them, but I think it should be allowed to discuss respectfully about them in a way that sometimes might be different from how we, as armys, discuss BTS.
I understand though that it’s a matter of compromise to maintain a place for discussion as welcoming as possible for everyone and that it is really really hard to do, especially in certain situations.
Personally, whenever I don’t like a certain music release, I wait for a while before commenting.
I like to sit with what I consider my more “controversial” opinions for a while to decide whether it’s appropriate to comment or not and how to phrase it in a way that leads to productive discussion.
For example, in the release thread for People pt.2 there were many negative comments about the lyrics which initially bummed me out since I personally loved it, but then after those feelings I started to reply to those who felt different from me and explained why in their comments and this lead to some very interesting and productive discussions.
Of course there were also a number of disrespectful comments and those were rightly removed, but that didn’t mean that there weren’t any negative or of constructive criticism left at all and those were just as valuable for me as the ones that agreed with my thoughts.
Anyway, whenever I feel that negative comments will negatively affect my listening experience, I just decide to look for comments only after I’ve already made up my mind.
And whenever I particularly dislike something, I might just decide to not comment at all if I’m not able to word my opinion in a constructive way.
The reason why I’m writing all this is that I hope that these rules, which are very important and essential for any community, won’t dissuade people from commenting whenever their opinions don’t align with the majority, because that would hinder what I think could be very thought-provoking discussions.
Thank you so much for all that you do, this needed to be addressed.
I really want to be here discussing different things when Golden drops but it’s gotten to a point where I’m honestly scared to even open threads regarding any of the latest releases. And just to be clear, you can have negative opinions, this sub has always allowed criticism, I myself enjoy hearing different povs which is why I use Reddit so often, but that and speaking on the members characters, making assumptions, hating on the work continuously under every thread weather it relates or not, is not cool. Some of the comments made about Jungkook were genuinely triggering. Especially knowing that they came from Armys.
I’m of the people who enjoyed 3D, I found the main thread not agreeing/very negative so I just didn’t read it because I didn’t want to dampen my mood (this is generally what I do with new releases, unless I have a negative opinion of my own). Then the performance video dropped and I was *so* excited, I enjoyed so much of it.. I come here to see the comments.. well.. not so exciting.. I hardly even saw comments discussing the video..
I’m genuinely so sad over what happened, it was probably my worst experience of the past releases. Which sucks. Because I loved the song. But I didn’t even feel like I could say that.
For the first time in my experience on Reddit (since 2021), I had to resort to non-BTS related subs to not be bombarded by negativity (or even downright hate). How crazy is that.
I sincerely hope it’s different when Golden drops, I love this sub and enjoy the takes of many users here, I don’t want to have to leave it.