r/askportland rules, stats, and what to post

This is a question and answer community for people who live in or care about Portland, Oregon and the wider metro area. The description sets the tone with everyday local questions, like whether it really rains all the time, when Mount Hood might erupt, and where to find a decent beer in town. Every post has to be a question, and that question has to be specific, coherent, asked in good faith, and tied to Portland. The rules make clear this is a place for real questions from real people, not jokes, memes, or snark. People come here to get local answers, so the room rewards anyone who asks something genuine and specific about the city or the area around it.

The rule that decides everything here is “All posts must ask a specific and coherent question in the title.”, because your post literally cannot survive without a real question in the title. “All posts must relate to Portland metro area.” means your question has to connect to Portland, Oregon or the greater metro area, so a generic business question will not fly. “Questions must be in good faith” blocks anything that stirs up trouble or hides an agenda. “Avoid the Snark.” and “No Jokes or memes” set the tone, so keep your post and your replies plain and helpful. “No Frequently Asked Questions” is the one that catches most newcomers, because you are expected to search old posts and read the visitors guide before you ask anything. “Keep comments and user history intact” is unusual and worth knowing, since heavy deleting of your own posts and comments can get you banned.

A good post here is a specific question about Portland or the metro area, asked honestly, with the question in the title and any extra context in the body. Before you post, search the subreddit and read the visitors guide the rules point to, so your question is not a repeat of something already answered many times. For a founder doing respectful marketing, the honest play is to ask a real local question that connects to your work, like how people in the Portland area handle a problem your product touches, and then answer follow up questions in the comments without pushing your link. Keep the tone plain and helpful, with no snark and no jokes, because both are banned. If you are new to town or researching the area, say so plainly in the body, because a specific good faith question from a newcomer fits this room perfectly.

The fastest way to get removed is posting without a clear question in the title, or posting something that has nothing to do with Portland. Snark, jokes, and memes are banned in posts and comments, so none of that belongs here. Questions asked in bad faith, or anything that looks like an attempt to stir up a toxic discussion, will get pulled. Asking a question that has already been answered many times, when a search or the visitors guide would have covered it, is against the rules. Asking about narcotics or other illicit substances is explicitly banned, even though possession is decriminalized in Oregon. And do not go on a deleting spree with your posts or comments, because the rules call out excessive purging as a path to a ban.

What stands out to me here is rule 8, because a community that watches your deletion history is a community that reads your account as a whole, not just one post. That means a founder who shows up with a clean, honest question after searching first has a real shot, while a drive by pitch has none. I also love that the description opens with beer and volcano questions, because it tells you the room wants genuine curiosity about the city. If you cannot ask your question with that same honest curiosity, this is not your subreddit.