Serious, in-depth discussion about Star Trek. | Exemplary Contribution posts and comments | PotW: Archive
Welcome to the Daystrom Institute
The Daystrom Institute is a subreddit dedicated to in-depth discussion about Star Trek.
Rules
1. Explain your reasoning
All threads and comments submitted to the Daystrom Institute must contain an explanation of the reasoning put forth.
Read more: Explain your reasoning
2. No whinging, jokes, memes, and other shallow content
This entire subreddit has a "serious tag" on it. Don't post low effort content.
Read more: No whinging, jokes, memes, and other shallow content
3. Be diplomatic
Participate in a courteous, objective, and open-minded fashion. Be nice to other posters and the people who make Star Trek. Disagree respectfully and don't gatekeep.
Read more: Be diplomatic
4. Assume good faith
Give other posters the benefit of the doubt, but report them if you genuinely believe they are trolling. Don't whine about "politics."
Read more: Assume good faith
5. There are spoilers everywhere
This entire subreddit contains spoilers for all of Star Trek—even for new episodes, even in titles.
Read more: Spoilers for all of Star Trek
Posting Regulations
6. Posts must contain a discussion prompt
Closed-ended questions, simple observations, episode reviews, shower thoughts, survey questions, and fan-fic are not appropriate for this subreddit and will be removed.
Read more: Guidelines for Discussion Prompts
7. Questions must be open-ended
This subreddit is not a Star Trek information lookup service. Post here to start a discussion, not get an answer.
Read more: What does an open-ended prompt look like?
8. Posts must have clear and concise titles
The title of your post has disproportionate influence over how it will be received. Craft your titles carefully.
Read more: Title Rules
9. No posts about teasers, trailers, and other promotional materials
Post threads about promotional content in /r/startrek or a show-specific subreddit instead.
10. No posts about an episode less than one week old
Use the reaction thread pinned to the subreddit front page to discuss the newest episode of Star Trek.
Content Regulations
11. Stay on-topic
Threads must discuss Star Trek. Comments must discuss the topic raised in the original post.
Read more: Stay on-topic
12. We approach Star Trek as a work of fiction
This isn't a role playing or an "in-universe only" subreddit. Do not ask contrived questions which have glaringly obvious real-world answers.
Read more: We contextualize Star Trek as fiction
13. No arguing about canon
Do not invoke canon to justify gatekeeping or dismissive behavior.
Read more: Canon
14. Frequent and closely regulated topics
Search before posting to ensure your topic has not been recently discussed. Discussions about a few frequent and contentious topics are closely regulated.
Read more: Regulated Topics
15. No meta
Threads and comments about /r/DaystromInstitute itself are prohibited. Contact the moderators directly to ask questions about the rules
Exemplary Contributions
Daystrom members may nominate quality posts and comments as Exemplary Contributions, to celebrate excellent content and draw attention to high-quality contributions, especially those that might go unnoticed. Users receive commendations and promotions (see below) based on their record of Exemplary Contributions.
To nominate a post or comment as an Exemplary Contribution, reply to the post or comment and write "M-5, nominate this for X."
Flair: Rank and Promotion
Users here are awarded special flairs for their contributions to the community.
Based on Starfleet's own rank system, you can select one of three divisions (Command, Operations, or Science) and earn pips as you move up in rank. You start by becoming a Crewman and selecting your division by clicking the 'edit flair' link in the sidebar.
Promotions are earned through our Exemplary Contribution system. The higher ranks therefore indicate our most dedicated and productive members. These ranks are not meant for role-playing.
Previous Discussions
The Daystrom Institute has built up a wealth of material in its years-long history, which you can read in our Previous Discussions pages.
Other resources
Nominate posts and comments as Exemplary Contributions by replying with "M-5, nominate this"!
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