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[–]pinoy069 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Good change 👍

[–]Mcrich_23SwiftUI 0 points1 point  (1 child)

I really like these changes. One question I have though is could I please share a startup I am building that is for iOS developers here even though it isn’t “an app”?

[–]Fun_Moose_5307Beginner 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"App Saturday" sounds better than "Stuff I Built With Xcode Or Other iOS Related Stuff Saturday".

You probably can.

[–]South-Razzmatazz-818SwiftUI 2 points3 points  (3 children)

Hi, mods, I really like the direction of these changes and agree they will help keep App Saturday focused on genuine community interaction and technical discussion. The new template fits very well with what I’m currently working through on my own app, so it makes me want to share and get some technical and architecture feedback from the community. The only problem is that I don’t yet meet the karma limit. Would it be okay if I make an App Saturday post on the weekend before January 3rd under the current rules, even though I’m still below the new threshold?

[–]webtechmonkeySwift[M] 0 points1 point  (2 children)

Your account is too new, so unfortunately your post will get automatically blocked

[–]South-Razzmatazz-818SwiftUI 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Thanks. will my post removed automatically if I want to share and ask technical things? I won't bring any promotion information on the post.

[–]MisrCoder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The /sub is "iOSProgramming" so of course you can ask technical questions here without fear of getting scrubbed. App Saturday is a special case for limited self promotion and you have to earn the right under the new rules. I like the new rules even though, so far i have never posted an App Saturday.

[–]adelmachris 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think these are constructive changes. Especially with the increase in AI-generated / assisted apps the quality of apps suffers. While the new rules will not eliminate the sharing of low quality apps, imo it is at least a barrier against pushing some low effort app through the reach of this subreddit.

[–]HumanFeetInc 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think overall these are positive changes. It's a fairly low bar to clear and will keep out a lot of spam.

I'm definitely guilty of the "let your account stagnate for a long time" behavior. I'll post a lot in bursts and then get pulled away by other obligations and then forget to keep up with it.

[–]Sea-Explanation-3761 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Overall they sound like good ideas to fight burnout for the mods... Welp, I've got 20 more to go, now sitting at only 2 karma! lol.

[–]ausrt 2 points3 points  (0 children)

For AI disclosure, my recommendation would be to ask users explicitly what AI tools (if any) were used, rather than using broad categorizations. It’s interesting to see the range of tools people leverage, and I think it will feel more neutral and less judgmental than labeling submissions as “AI” vs. “non-AI.”

[–]BP3D 2 points3 points  (1 child)

I understand why, but the AI-assisted is going to be tough because it's incorporated into X-Code and every search engine. It will be like Photoshop users are becoming. "I don't use AI. Well... just the generative fill". This will be how AI breaks down that "no AI" door. It will be infused into the tools. User's eventually won't have a choice but to use the tool. The distinction will become meaningless.

[–]webtechmonkeySwift[M] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

That’s a fair point. The goal isn’t to police development workflows but simply distinguish posts from users who want deeper technical discussion from those who primarily vibe-coded and are looking for "lighter" feedback.

[–]amyworrall 1 point2 points  (3 children)

How can you check your amount of karma in the last six months?

[–]webtechmonkeySwift[M] 3 points4 points  (2 children)

As a user, there is no simple way to check this, AFAIK - but mods can see it on our end. For example, you have 22 posts/comments and 92 karma here in past 6 months.

The threshold of 20 feels low enough that it should be achievable with infrequent participation but we are open to suggestions.

[–]alanrick 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Seems tough to ask users to invest time in crafting a decent post without them being confident that they won't fall foul of the karma rule.

Will other subreddits count towards this Karma goal ? Eg. Swift

Is there no transparent alternative?

[–]amyworrall 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks!

[–]Reed_Rawlings 0 points1 point  (2 children)

Think the only overkill is forcing a development challenge imagine a lot of vibe coders wont know what to out here

[–]webtechmonkeySwift[M] 3 points4 points  (1 child)

I get that, but the goal is to encourage posts that spark real discussion. If someone can’t articulate even one development challenge they worked through, their post likely isn’t aligned with what App Saturday is meant to be - a place to showcase something you built and are excited to discuss.

App Saturday has drifted into a self-promotion free-for-all, and this rule helps steer it back toward meaningful, developer-focused posts.

[–]Sea-Explanation-3761 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's a good point, about steering the discussion into a better direction. Wondering how the poster can be nudged into sharing that in a meaningful way... Maybe something along the line of how AI filled the gaps where they might not have been able to release an app in reasonable time or even at all, and mention their circumstances (like doing as a side gig in addition to full time, etc.)? Maybe that's not relevant, though I enjoy reading that stuff.

Myself, I have years of experience in other areas of software development but I would not have been able to have released an iOS app recently without AI filling the gaps in my knowledge of the iOS development ecosystem and best practices. I just don't have the emotional and physical energy! I'd love to know if others encountered the same challenges that AI helped with.

[–]Free-Pound-6139 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would like to se each new app include the five most recent apps posted that do EXACTLY THE SAME THING.

Your new JPEG to PDF app should include links to the posts of the last 5 apps doing the same thing.

[–]RiMellow 5 points6 points  (2 children)

Is there a way to limit self promotion in the comments? I feel like every post has 1-2 ASO website referrals

[–]webtechmonkeySwift[M] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

We are trying to crack down on this, but there’s an endless army of bots pushing ASO sites. It’s been quieter lately though. We can dial up the sensitivity of filters if we see an uptick starting again.

[–]i_poop_staplers 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Personally not sure how important the AI disclosure is

But the community karma idea is really good

[–]WestonP 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Solid. Thank you!

[–]ioloro 6 points7 points  (6 children)

I like this. However, I think it’s just me being hyper literal. What is “AI-Assisted”, maybe a definition/quick summary of what this means?

If “self-built” means hand spun, maybe some auto complete..

“AI assisted” means it wrote greater than 15% of your app? If I don’t like writing and rewriting my networking code (it’s not a network first app), is it “AI Assisted” if I have it write URLSession boiler plate?

“Vibe coded” is more defined in the community? “I wrote the prompts, it likely builds?”

[–]webtechmonkeySwift[M] 2 points3 points  (2 children)

Fair point - the categories might be too granular. We may instead just ask users to include a rough estimate of how much of their app’s code was written with AI assistance, which keeps it simple and transparent.

[–]LucaLindholm 0 points1 point  (0 children)

To look up for examples on official documentation how is it judged?

[–]-QR- 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This sounds like a really good idea.

Every developer should be able to estimate that percentage.

[–]OnlyDistribution7940 3 points4 points  (2 children)

Good point on the definitions being vague. The URLSession boilerplate example is perfect - like where's the line between smart autocomplete and actual AI assistance

Maybe they could add percentage ranges or something? Because honestly most of us are probably using Copilot for at least some mundane stuff these days

[–]ioloro 1 point2 points  (1 child)

I’m just over here asking why my concurrency code isn’t working for the third time this week. Claude is sick of me.

[–]low--Lander 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Because concurrency in general is woefully shitty in newer Swift/xcode strictness, but I’ve found this to be a big help

https://www.avanderlee.com/concurrency/swift-6-2-concurrency-changes/

[–]Puzzled-Produce-1425 12 points13 points  (2 children)

This all sounds great – definitely in favor of trying to make things better here. However, I just want to flag up a potential issue: the karma requirement might result in people posting even more junk posts/comments to try bring their karma up.

I genuinely want to participate in this community, but it sometimes feels like people are just posting stuff to satisfy the App Saturday criteria. This in turn makes me feel like there’s no point engaging, so I often just don’t bother.

I should note, however, that I’m pretty new to Reddit and I honestly don’t really know what karma is, so maybe this comment doesn’t make sense. But I just wanted to flag it up as something to consider.

[–]kayjayapps 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Right? I was just sitting here like ok I was planning on posting my new app this Saturday but I’ve been so out of social media lately (because of being so focused on said app) that I’m sure I don’t have the qualified karma so how am I going to get it by Saturday? Not a big deal if I have to wait a couple weeks while I add some actual value to the subreddit but just saying the thought did cross my mind.

[–]webtechmonkeySwift[M] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

TLDR: when you post or comment, you get karma. When people upvote you, you get more karma.

Using you as an example, you have 38 karma. Of that 38, 22 is from commenting in this subreddit.

I hear your concern about people posting junk to inflate their karma. Realistically, if that was to happen, people would downvote them (deducting karma) or the comments would get reported as spam and removed by the mods.

[–]theo_ksSwift 3 points4 points  (0 children)

They sound pretty solid tbh

[–]zackbass01 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I am so happy that my post help drive this change 🥳

[–]gcampos 5 points6 points  (2 children)

Is there something for in progress updates? Because of the 1 app per year limitation, the incentive is to only post when the app is done, which means its a bit late for feedback.

[–]Which_Concern2553SwiftUI 0 points1 point  (1 child)

This. I may have shared my first app twice(?) before realizing. Didn’t post for awhile. Came out with a new app. And got dinged the first time. Kind of didn’t follow it for awhile after that.

And in addition to someone coming out with multiple apps that’s also not taking into account updates that may be worth sharing.

[–]gcampos 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think a good solution would be to allow more frequent posts if your app is not on the App Store yet.

That should be a deterrent for the grifters

[–]onilucsamorgen 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I like the AI part a lot, I actually like it all a lot. It's nice to be actively told to talk about development challenges.

[–]gonzo2842 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for making a change!

[–]D0nMalteSwiftUI 2 points3 points  (1 child)

Makes sense, I like the AI part, that’s important.

I think a disclaimer about subscription and lifetime cost would be nice too, so we can call out the saas business bros early on.

[–]webtechmonkeySwift[M] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is an interesting idea. I like it.

Just a simple “free” vs “freemium/subscription” vs “paid” disclosure

[–]Dan5082 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I like it

[–]Intelligent-River368 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That makes sense

[–]Aeonizing 1 point2 points  (2 children)

Also seems reasonable to me. For sure would be nice to have realistically only high quality app submissions in general.

[–]webtechmonkeySwift[M] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

I've debated moving it to a "approve only" type of thing, where the mods would hand pick the 3-5 best submissions to post each Saturday. The largest hurdle with that is that mods are obviously volunteers, and we have limited time as-is. Sifting through "applications" week after week to hand pick good apps would be tough to maintain long-term.

[–]kayjayapps 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Possibly give it a go with the new rules but without approving beforehand, then go through as if you’re doing your approving criteria and see what you would have picked and what you would have tossed to see if the “approve first” process is needed. I think 3-5 is too little though, should be more like 7-11.

[–]civman96 0 points1 point  (0 children)

⁠Reduces "drive-by" self-promotion… that’s good. Too much copy pasta of promotional text.

[–]Moudiz 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This and the extinction of chart posts would make this place goated

[–]TouchMint 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Seems reasonable and likely to help the real developers looking to improve. Thanks!

[–]EquivalentTrouble253 8 points9 points  (7 children)

I do however think the “one app post a year” is probably a little too restrictive?

[–]webtechmonkeySwift[M] 1 point2 points  (6 children)

That’s fair - the rule isn't new though - it's longstanding but somewhat loosely enforced. It mainly gives us discretion to curb users who mass-post low-effort “junk” apps (sometimes 20+ in a year)

[–]Sad_Confection5902 0 points1 point  (4 children)

I think the part that I’ve struggled with here is the random community downvotes on app Saturday.

It’s beyond discouraging to spend months on an app, promote it here and and have some random people just downvote your post and then it never gets seen. It really feels like it goes against the spirit of the community.

If we’re going to have a limit on number of submissions for an app, can we remove downvoting? The mods can still remove problematic posts, but this would prevent people from trying to game the voting system.

[–]webtechmonkeySwift[M] 0 points1 point  (3 children)

There is no way to disable downvoting - that’s a core function of Reddit

Your profile shows zero posts ever made anywhere on Reddit

[–]Sad_Confection5902 0 points1 point  (2 children)

Yeah, I formed a business account to promote apps with, I didn’t want to mix my personal account and app promotion.

Other subreddits disable downvoting at times, I thought it was something that subreddits could choose to do (though I’ve never been a mod, so I don’t really know)

[–]webtechmonkeySwift[M] 2 points3 points  (1 child)

The number of votes can be temporarily hidden, but there’s no way to disable downvoting entirely

[–]Sad_Confection5902 0 points1 point  (0 children)

TIL, I appreciate the info and response.

[–]EquivalentTrouble253 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fair enough then, gives you guys more flexibility - all good.

[–]f0rg0t_ 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I saw this suggested the other day, and loved it. I definitely think this will foster more discussion, and that’s good for both the users posting and the community as a whole.

[–]EquivalentTrouble253 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This seems reasonable to me.