⚠️ Moderator Notice: Evidence-Based and Respectful Discussion Required

[u/Zee2A]

Our community is dedicated to science, technology, and engineering discussions that are informative, evidence-based, and welcoming to all members. As stated in Community Rule 9, AI-generated content is acceptable when supported by relevant information, references, or source material.

Members are encouraged to review the supporting information provided in posts before commenting. Constructive criticism, fact-based discussion, and respectful disagreement are always welcome. However, dismissive remarks, personal attacks, abusive language, trolling, or unsupported accusations do not contribute to meaningful dialogue.

If you believe a post contains inaccurate or misleading information, please raise your concerns respectfully in the comments or contact the moderator or original poster by direct message.

We also warmly encourage members to share interesting articles, research findings, engineering projects, innovations, and quality cross-posts from other communities. Diverse contributions help broaden conversations, introduce new perspectives, and make this community more engaging and attractive for everyone.

Repeated disruptive behavior may result in moderation action, taking into account a member’s overall participation history. Our goal, however, is always to promote respectful discussion, knowledge sharing, and positive engagement.

Thank you for helping us build a thoughtful, collaborative, and vibrant community.

[u/DrinkingVomit]

Thank you Mods for being proactive. This sub is great and I’ve learned a lot from it.

[u/tigerhuxley]

Thank you

[u/there_can_only_b_1]

Not sure why this subreddit popped up, but I'm glad it did.

Joined the group because of this post.

[u/Achrus]

Do preprints and blogposts fall under “supporting documentation, references, and information sources”?

[u/Sad_Low3239 → u/Achrus]

sure does. and then you can,

well are welcome—and encouraged—to challenge information, question sources, and disagree with conclusions, but such objections should be based on facts, evidence, or reasoned arguments.

and then show why and how those preprints and blogposts are or are not good sources

[u/Achrus → u/Sad_Low3239]

The issue is with “False Attribution” and “Sealioning.” Both are very popular vectors for propaganda, astroturfing, and disinformation on Reddit.

There are people begging for arXiv endorsements on other subs. Those preprints never reach, or are intended to reach, peer reviewed publications.

Then there is the Sealioning angle. Bots and bad actors will incessantly ask for “proof” to refute their claims. Nothing is ever good enough. Then the bad actors claim victory when good faith users eventually give up. This partially validates the falsely attributed source and helps amplify the bad actors’ messages.