Online Goth Communities: Reddit (and "gatekeeping goth")

Reddit, for me, has always been the somehow even less user-friendly 4chan. It's an ugly site not conducive to sharing outfit posts and ideas, and so I've avoided it for fashion-related stuff. Today I decided to join and interact with Reddit's /goth and /gothstyle.

My first post was replying to a user's "I've been in the scene for 5 years and I've only just joined Reddit!" post with "I just joined Reddit too, and I've been in the scene for 20 years!" to which someone immediately replied with:

  

Dude. I'm only in my 30s. People jumped to my defense and "downvoted" the comment, but I think that was a good introduction to the world of Reddit--a place that looks and feels like the world of 90s listservs, but with exactly ONE asshole lurking, giving everyone a hard time. The one jock in Goth High, pushing everyone into lockers.

Gothic style, the main section I'm interested in (and the main focus of this blog) was a ghost town. 6.4k subscribers, 3 of whom were online. This was the front page, with the highest voted stuff, which were topics for people who never heard of Google:

The /goth subreddit was a lot more happening. 19k subscribers and 39 people online when I took this screenshot. The pinned post was a link to the Discord, which I joined and I'll get to later. 

Fashion Fridays had a list of purchases and one outfit shot--I really hope this is not the place people look for inspiration since there weren't a lot of posts. 

Next we have a photo of people in mohawks and leather jackets that the original poster used to make a statement that people who buy goth brands are posers, which most people immediately rebutted with comments of "Those are punks, not goths." This actually turned out to be an entertaining discussion about the age-old question of whether or not posers buy brand and if the only way to be a real goth is to DIY. I was pleased that someone brought up an ableist argument that some people physically can't DIY--something I argue not because I am disabled, but because I don't want to look like an idiot wearing a bunch of failed DIYs. The discussion is here   

The threads weren't just people calling each other posers--for those interested in fashion, there were far better threads in the /goth subreddit than the /gothstyle one, like how to style a harness and the shitty quality of Demonia shoes (a classic) as well as an honest review of Killstar's crappy shoes, which was badly needed to offset all the sponsored YouTubers gushing at every unboxing. (I like their clothing, but seriously, their shoes look like Payless even in the high-budget photo shoots with all the hours of retouching and editing.

photo from the above mentioned thread

The fashion-related posts are the most common and most active threads on the /goth reddit, which is making all the admins seethe since they area bunch of bros who only think goth is only about the bands that they like (and only their favorite bands).  "That's not goth" is a common thread by the leadership and others, who are quick to comment on bands they don't like and places they don't shop, and I'm honestly not sure why people who are drawn to a nonconforming culture would stay in place whose leaders spend all day rules-policing them. When I applied to join the discord--you have to "apply" to join--they quickly saw through my ruse that I was a poser trying to infiltrate their bat cave so I can...I'm not sure what exactly. Learn about the subculture and decide whether or not it was for me?

(I'm "Thread End Job")

Of course I didn't join. When they wanted to continue the interview process, I said, "Nah, I'm out. It feels like you are calling me a poser or something." To which the Malkavian replied, "The interview is also a test of character." Alas, I'm weak of character since I have exactly zero tolerance for bullshit. He then banned me from the discord.

That's why it's a losing battle to "gatekeep" goth, aka keeping all the Hot Topic-wearing posers OUT of the treehouse. If you want to keep it "pure" all your barriers could be passed by using the secret password of Googling all the popular goth bands from the 70s and 80s.

To sum up:

Is Reddit a great place for elders? No, not unless you want to see people arguing the same tired arguments or wondering if you can actually dye blue jeans black (you can't. you know you can't.)

Is Reddit a great place for posers? Yes, an excellent place. You just need to spend 10 minutes on the Goth wiki page and the moderators won't know a thing.

Is Reddit a great place for newcomers to the scene? NO! If you are new to the scene, do not go on Reddit. There's so much rules-policing that you'll be wondering if you're "doing goth right" so often that you'll just get frustrated and quit the scene.

Is Reddit a good place to post about your doll? I didn't see a lot of doll posts, but most of the outfit critiques have been positive and polite, but don't ask if your doll's goth enough, cause it's going to devolve into the same tired arguments around music and poserdom.

Do any of you lurk on Reddit?