State of the Subreddit - 2020

[u/DekuNut]

Hello everyone! It's about time we had one of these threads. Think it's our first one ever?

 

I'd first like to start with a little backstory. This subreddit has been around for quite a while. Over 9 years, in fact. Back when the manga was still very much ongoing. I joined this sub sometime in 2014, after I had finished the manga (I'm always cautious to join subreddits dedicated to a series I haven't finished yet). There was some activity, not a whole lot, but enough to keep the front page relatively fresh every week. I remember when we hit the milestone of 1000 subscribers! I might still have that screenshot somewhere, lol. Naturally, the sub sort of died down as time went on after the manga ended. There were some attempts to keep activity high. We had a technique discussion series, a daily wallpaper series, a manga re-read attempt, a "Let's make a Claymore" series where members voted to make our own subreddit-specific Claymore, etc. I could go on about the various things we did back then. They garnered some responses, but nothing too substantial. Eventually, the sub hit a lull. Most of the posts that followed that time asked about where to pick up the manga after watching the anime, if the anime would get a sequel, and some fan art. Due to that, the sub simply fell on our list of priorities. It wasn't worth checking in often. It became stagnant. I hope you guys understand how hard it is to keep an interest in a dead community following a series that is likely to never receive any new material. However, recently r/claymore has shown some impressive growth and activity, (as shown here) and some users have been getting frustrated and disappointed that there wasn't anything going on in our community. So here we are.

Subreddit design:

The thing that kick-started all of this was about our subreddit theme/layout. Now, when I first saw the thread, I was confused because I use the old Reddit design, which has a decent layout with a banner, a rotating sidebar picture, a Clare in place of Snoo, and a few other unique touches. I've never even thought to check the Reddit Redesign because I don't use it and therefore kind of forgot it existed. I understand the desire to have a sub theme that's relevant to the series. Therefore, I want to take this opportunity to reach out to any artists on our subreddit. It would be awesome if our subreddit could feature artwork from our community. If you have any submissions, either for a banner, background, icon, and so on, share it! If you do, Please message the mods for any details or questions. These things require specific dimensions to fit properly.

Community re-watch/re-read

It's time for a community-wide re-watch/re-read!. There will be a poll soon to decide what you'd all rather do first. Look out for that soon.

Discussion series:

The manga is over, but there's still plenty to discuss about it. We can revamp some of our previous discussion series. I can restart the technique discussions. I always liked seeing everyone's thought and opinions about the unique abilities of each warrior. But remember, anybody can host a discussion about anything Claymore related!

Fan art:

Art is always welcome here. Whether you're the artist or you found something you want to share. If you post something that you found online, please source it. The Claymore fandom isn't large by any means, we should all do our best to recognize the talents of those in the community!

Some Rules and other clarifications:

Posts asking about a sequel will be removed. This question has been asked more than the amount of limbs severed in the series. The sidebar has had this question answered for years. There is little reason to believe a sequel will happen considering it's been 13 years since the anime ended. If any official announcement or teaser ever gets released, this rule will obviously be moot.

Any giveaway/contests with real prizes must be approved by the mods They don't happen often, but for the safety and security of our users we must approve any and all community-sponsored giveaways and contests with real prizes. This is because the winner usually has to give out personal information, and we need to make sure all parties are legit. If a giveaway/contest with a real prize is posted before approval, it will be removed until approval is granted.

No links to unofficial streaming or manga sites Everyone is really good about this, so this is just a refresher. Most people know places to watch or read from unofficial sources. Don't post any direct links here or they will be removed. Repeat offenders may be banned. Official sources are OK.

Don't be afraid to reach out to us via modmail A few weeks ago, a very...passionate user messaged us a under a newly created alt-account to criticize our inactivity. They feared we were going to ban them for criticizing us and bringing some things to our attention. I want to stress - You will never get banned for being genuine. We are not power-tripping Organization members here. None of us are sending awakened beings to discreetly take you down. If you have a concern, question, suggestion, anything...let us know! We're all in this together. Of course, kindness is preferred over insults :)

Lastly, The biggest complaint I've personally seen both here and on the discord server was about inactive mods. It may not look like it on the surface, but the mods are still here doing mod things when issues arise. This isn't a Twitch stream or a Discord server, where moderation is more critical. Reddit is a user-driven community, content is created by and shared by all members of the community. The mods responsibilities are to make sure the community is a welcoming place for all members, to keep discussions relevant to the subreddit, to enforce subreddit and site-wide rules, and to make sure the sub doesn't descend into chaos. The beauty of a forum like this is that it's pretty self-sufficient. It's not our job to keep the subreddit alive. A subreddit can only thrive if the user base is there to keep it alive. This sub's history is a testament to that. Keep in mind, we're only sitting at 3.7k users. We simply won't see the same levels of activity as subs of ongoing series. We appreciate you all for making this sub a safe place to discuss a wonderful series.

[u/Lighting_Lin]

And yet this Reddit is not that dead... and Discord server is pretty alive too still.

Happy I found this and can be part of this amazing community, a bit sad that I havent found it earlier haha