How do Reddit’s community guidelines differ from its content policies?

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How do Reddit's community guidelines differ from its content policies?

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Reddit's community guidelines and content policies serve different but complementary purposes in maintaining the platform's integrity and user experience. Here's a detailed breakdown of how they differ:

### **1. Community Guidelines**

**Purpose:**
- **Community Culture:** Community guidelines are specific to individual subreddits and focus on maintaining the unique culture, values, and norms of that subreddit. They are crafted by subreddit moderators to address the specific needs and preferences of their community.
- **Behavioral Expectations:** These guidelines set out expectations for user behavior within the subreddit, such as rules on post formatting, types of acceptable content, and acceptable user interactions.

**Scope:**
- **Subreddit-Specific:** Each subreddit can have its own set of community guidelines that reflect its particular focus or interest. For example, a subreddit dedicated to academic discussions might have guidelines about citation requirements, while a hobbyist subreddit might have rules about self-promotion.
- **Enforcement:** Enforcement of community guidelines is the responsibility of the subreddit's moderators. They have the authority to remove posts, ban users, and take other actions based on these guidelines.

**Examples:**
- **Content Restrictions:** Rules about what types of posts are acceptable (e.g., no memes in a serious discussion subreddit).
- **Behavioral Expectations:** Guidelines for respectful interaction and prohibitions on harassment or personal attacks.
- **Post Formatting:** Specific requirements for how posts should be formatted or tagged.

### **2. Content Policies**

**Purpose:**
- **Platform-Wide Standards:** Content policies are overarching rules set by Reddit to ensure that the entire platform adheres to legal, ethical, and safety standards. These policies are designed to provide a consistent framework for all users across all subreddits.
- **Legal and Safety Compliance:** They address issues related to legality, user safety, and general content quality. This includes compliance with laws and regulations, such as prohibitions on illegal content and protection against harmful behavior.

**Scope:**
- **Site-Wide Application:** Content policies apply to all content posted on Reddit, regardless of subreddit. They ensure that all user-generated content adheres to a minimum standard of legality and safety.
- **Enforcement:** Reddit's administrators and site-wide moderators are responsible for enforcing content policies. They handle reports of policy violations and may take actions such as removing content, issuing site-wide bans, or escalating issues to law enforcement if necessary.

**Examples:**
- **Prohibited Content:** Bans on illegal content, such as child exploitation or copyright infringement.
- **Hate Speech and Harassment:** Policies prohibiting hate speech, harassment, and threats of violence.
- **Misinformation:** Rules against the spread of false information, particularly in sensitive contexts like health or elections.

### **Key Differences**

#### **1. **Scope and Applicability**
- **Community Guidelines:** Tailored to the specific needs and culture of a subreddit, applied and enforced at the subreddit level.
- **Content Policies:** Broadly applicable across Reddit, addressing universal issues of legality and platform safety.

#### **2. **Enforcement and Authority**
- **Community Guidelines:** Enforced by subreddit moderators who manage day-to-day moderation and community-specific issues.
- **Content Policies:** Enforced by Reddit administrators and site-wide moderation teams, focusing on platform-wide compliance and serious violations.

#### **3. **Focus**
- **Community Guidelines:** Focused on maintaining the quality and relevance of content within a specific subreddit, reflecting community preferences and norms.
- **Content Policies:** Focused on legal compliance, user safety, and broad standards applicable to all users and subreddits.

#### **4. **Flexibility**
- **Community Guidelines:** More flexible and customizable, allowing subreddits to adapt rules to their specific needs and interests.
- **Content Policies:** Standardized across the platform, ensuring a consistent baseline of acceptable content and behavior.

### **Conclusion**

Reddit's community guidelines and content policies are essential for managing the platform's diverse and expansive user base. Community guidelines provide localized, subreddit-specific rules that reflect the unique needs and cultures of individual communities, while content policies establish site-wide standards to ensure legal compliance and user safety. Together, they create a balanced environment that supports both the individuality of subreddits and the overarching integrity of the platform.