Proposed Rule Change Discussion - Banning Twitter Links

UPDATE: The 24 hour comment period is now over. The post has been locked, responses will be reviewed by the mod team, and a decision will be announced shortly.

Please kindly read this post carefully and in full before sharing your opinions.

In light of Twitter owner Elon Musk's recent behavior, we have received multiple requests from users through comments and modmail messages to explore banning the posting of Twitter links on r/boxoffice. Similar discussions have happened in many subreddits across the site, and many have taken steps to ban Twitter as a source, so we wanted to give the opportunity for the same discussion to be had here.

Another concern that has been shared in the past, even before recent events, is that Twitter changed its access so that only those signed in to a Twitter account are able to view tweets, which can be limiting to r/boxoffice users who are not also Twitter users.

The mod team is aware that r/boxoffice in particular relies heavily on Twitter links to post news and box office updates and generate discussion. However, we also understand the concerns associated with continuing to allow Twitter as a source.

With this in mind, we are proposing the following plan. While there would be a period of adjustment if it moves ahead, we hope that the steps we are suggesting provide practical solutions that still allow news from reputable sources to be shared promptly.

But instead of imposing a new rule unilaterally, we wanted to give r/boxoffice users a chance to weigh in and debate the pros and cons of instituting this proposed rule. We will leave this post open for 24 hours, and based on the feedback from users, we will decide whether or not to proceed.

Proposed Rule Change:

Should this rule be installed, moving forward, we would no longer be allowing posts that are Twitter links.

While links to tweets would no longer be allowed, we would still allow screenshots of tweets to be submitted. Sometimes, a given piece of news is only available via a Twitter source, so we want to provide options for the content to be shared.

Unlike previously, we would ask users to please not include the link to the tweet in the image caption or in the comments, as that defeats the purpose of the rule change. However, you would have to ensure that the Twitter handle is fully visible in your screenshot, so that it is clear what the original source is and where the information is coming from. For example, if you are submitting a screenshot of a tweet from Box Office Report, please ensure that we can tell it's from Box Office Report, and not some random account.

Alternative Sources:

Even though Twitter screenshots would be accepted, we also want to encourage the use of alternative sources whenever possible.

This can include:

  • Links to articles from trades (Deadline, Variety, THR, TheWrap) and other reputable publications.
  • Links to The Numbers (either the daily/weekend chart or each film's individual page), since they update numbers fairly quickly/on a comparable timeline to Box Office Report's Twitter page.
  • Alternative social media sites like Bluesky are also good options. Some of r/boxoffice's most commonly cited sources, including Box Office Report, The Numbers, Gitesh Pandya, and Exhibitor Relations are all active on the site and post the same content on Bluesky as they do on Twitter.

To encourage the use of alternative sources whenever possible, preference may be given to posts that use alternative sources over posts that are Twitter screenshots, even if the latter is posted first.

For example, let's say the following two posts are submitted:

  • Post #1: A screenshot of a Box Office Report tweet about Mufasa: The Lion King grossing $12M this weekend, submitted at 11:00AM.
  • Post #2: A link to a Bluesky post from Box Office Report about Mufasa: The Lion King grossing $12M this weekend, submitted at 11:02AM.

In this scenario, Post #2 would be kept and Post #1 would be removed, despite it being posted first.

This will only apply if the two posts in question are submitted within 5 minutes of one another. If, for example, Post #2 is submitted an hour after Post #1, Post #2 would still be removed, despite being a preferred source.

Conclusion:

Please use this post to comment on whether you would support or are against the proposed rule change.

Please keep discussion related purely to the practicality and impact to posting/discussion of banning Twitter links, as opposed to the specific actions of Musk. Regular rules for discourse in this sub still apply for this post.

We thank you for your continued participation in r/boxoffice, and we look forward to reading your responses.

- r/boxoffice Mods