Changes I’d like to see in this sub

Hey y'all, since there is an ongoing discussion about the problem of bot spam today, I'd like to propose some "common sense" solutions that could improve the community.

1. Restrict post privileges to user accounts that are at least 30 days old. This is a pretty common subreddit rule, and it filters out the most egregious low-effort bot spam.

2. Establish a three-strikes ban for Rule #4 offenses. People can mistakes or miss rules, and this gives a fair warning before booting repeat offenders. That feels like a reasonable compromise.

3. Ask users to name the artist when posting paintings/illustrations, and establish a zero tolerance policy for AI generated imagery (which is both inaccurate and wasteful). There are thousands of public domain works out there covering this period, and even some contemporary artists that deserve recognition. Sharing their names isn't hard, and genuinely has educational value.

4. Create a rapid-response team with the "Minutemen" user flair; deputizing qualified users as community watchmen. Their responsibility could be to look critically at content with AI red flags, check post history for obvious bot/scammer behavior, report rule violations, and comment a warning on suspicious threads.

5. Adopt a pro-human stance! Bot spam is successful, in part, because it fills a void. Engage with other history communities, content creators, and academics. Encourage users to share their research, reenactment experiences, museum / community events, and creative projects inspired by the Revolution.

None of this is intended to create animosity or stir up an AI witch hunt. (spammers are pretty easy to spot once you know what you're looking for). A three-strikes rule means people aren't at risk of a ban over a single false positive.

I do think it's important that we empower this community to (gently) self-police itself. Even with an expanded mod staff, it's still very possible that posts can stay up for hours before a moderator can take action. Minutemen can serve that role and educate the public about potentially bad-faith actors.

Minutemen could also help rescue good conversations that would otherwise be lost, such as when a post in violation of the rules is removed. I've seen bot threads get lots of engagement with clickbait; using cryptic titles or unusual imagery that our users find genuinely exciting.

That curiosity is great! Even if a slop account is what got people talking, it means there's a discussion to be had. Community moderation can warn users not to feed the fire, and create counter-threads exploring that topic (ones that won't become dead ends when spam is removed).

TL;DR these changes would refocus the discourse in this sub on our own users, and the Revolutionary history they are interested in. That's why we're all here, after all!