A community discussion about good post titles

Hi everyone, lets have a discussion about post title quality on the subreddit.

Yesterday we had 3 different posts of the same Athletic article about Chandler Stephenson's contract that all used low-quality, editorialized, or ambiguous titles in violation of Rule 5 and were therefore removed. We reposted the article here with a descriptive title so the community could continue to discuss it.

The titles we removed and why:

• "Chandler’s contract…"
  • Editorialized, not descriptive.
• "NHL’s 10 worst contracts, 2024 edition: Jonathan Huberdeau, Darnell Nurse and more"
  • This is the article's title, but doesn't mention anything about the Kraken or Stephenson so it is still not very relevant for readers in our subreddit.
• "Ouch. Chandler Stephenson contract …"
  • Editorialized, not descriptive.

For comparison, the title we used:

• "[The Athletic, Luszczyszyn] Stephenson contract rated 2nd worst value in the NHL"
  • Provides the outlet and author and explains why it is relevant to the Kraken and our readers without editorializing.

For reference, Rule 5 states:

Duplicate, low-effort, troll, clickbait or misleading posts may be removed at moderator discretion.

Somethings that fit this category are posts that:

…

* Have sensationalized, misleading, ambiguous, or bad titles.

No one in the mod team wants to remove links to interesting content that community members post, especially once a discussion starts. At the same time we need to ensure post titles are clear and communicate to readers like you what the post is about in a glance as your scroll through Reddit. You shouldn't have to open the link or read a block of text to understand what the post is about and whether you want to engage with it. This is especially important when an article is paywalled or requires a login to view.

To make Rule 5 clearer, we propose changing

Have sensationalized, misleading, ambiguous, or bad titles.

To

Have a title that is sensationalized, misleading, ambiguous, non-descriptive, or low-effort. Post titles, especially if linking to an article or news, must clearly summarize why it is relevant to the Kraken to inform readers. Generally, just copy the article title. In cases where the title isn't clear on why it is relevant to the Kraken, please modify it to make it clear. For example: turn "10 Underrated Defensemen in the NHL" to "10 Underrated Defensemen in the NHL – Vince Dunn rated #9". A title like "Vince Dunn finally getting some appreciation!" will get removed.

Our hope is that this helps clear up any confusion and encourages more high-quality content and discussions and a positive community for all Kraken fans.

Please let us know your thoughts on this topic and any suggestions you have on how to make this rule better.

– your /r/SeattleKraken mod team

P.S. here's r/hockey's wiki on post titles