I'd like to address something that is occurring here, that all small subs go through when they survive their initial inception and start gaining users.

With a new, small sub there are always the first people to join, and it's like a little social club.

Every post is new! Each topic is the first time it's been brought up, or is some yet unheard iteration. Everyone wishes more people were posting, because when anyone does, it's a novel thing. Any new user is immediately noticed, they get engagement, they easily become a known quantity. It feels really comfortable, and personal, it's your sub.

But subs that last start to grow, and after about 12,000 users a sub often begins to feel different from when it was smaller.

Posts begin to repeat topics, because new users haven't been here to read about them before. At the same time the topics can get a bit more esoteric because the users are more diverse and some are thinking about dating or dating issues in different or deeply personal ways. New users are a mixed bag and more numerous, and it takes longer to figure out who's who, and if you agree with them or not. That sense of it being "your sub" is rattled.

And the way some people react to those inevitable changes is to want things to "go back to when it was good". Why all these repeat, boring posts? Who or what is this user, who posts or says things I don't like? Why leave up that meme? That other dating sub doesn't allow memes! I didn't agree to this, and I should have a say because I'm one of the founders of this place!

The folks who were around when the sub was smaller and the topics were all new might romanticize those early days. It makes sense... something is being lost – that sense of a tight-knit community – plus it was more compelling back when nearly every question was something that hadn't been asked before, or in that particular way. And it was more fun when you knew everyone, even the few friendly neighborhood "trolls".

But dating is an activity that has only so many facets. And as new people join the sub, what is new to them can feel like old hat and boring and obvious to the people who have been here longer. "Oh my god, another post about red flags?! Why don't the mods take this down?"

Yes, I too wish that dating was an endless well of exploration and excitement, a never ending cornucopia of novel experiences and new ideas! But clearly, it isn't. What it never ceases to be, though, is challenging in those same ways. And people need advice and support over and over for those same reasons.

Allowing those posts where people are asking some version of the same question yet again is simply how subs like this function - or they lose their purpose and die. What isn't new to you is new to someone else, and they appreciate the information and the interaction.

Mods don't usually generate content. They may post articles if things are really slow, but usually a sub depends on posts from users. If you are unhappy about the content on this sub you know what I'm going to say: Post better content. Come up with something novel and interesting. Wow us all with something you've been wanting to discuss that hasn't been broached before. Please do!

And of course, Reddit being what it is, anyone here who is thinking the subject matter is "going downhill" or that moderation is... whatever... too strict, too lax, too long a leash, not long enough... is welcome to start a sub. Go ahead and see how long it lasts if they remove posts that "repeat" topics, or posts by people that "sound fake" (forgetting that they sounded pretty fake at times, too, but were never called on it by the smaller, less critical initial group) or that "need therapy" or that simply annoy them. And enjoy moderating that sub. I sincerely wish you good luck, and that you don't turn into a hypocrite in your efforts to keep your sub alive.

Edit; What's interesting is subs usually go through this process again at around 30,000 users, and it can happen a few more times as a sub gets larger.