All about sticky posts (announcements) and sticky comments

https://www.reddit.com/r/modguide/comments/f7fgd2/all_about_sticky_posts_announcements_and_sticky/

created by SolariaHues on 21/02/2020 at 18:36 UTC*

37 upvotes, 3 top-level comments (showing 3)

What are sticky posts and comments?

Sticky posts are sometimes called announcements[1], or pinned posts. They are posts on a subreddit that have been stuck or pinned to the top of the main page (**only when posts are sorted ‘****hot**[2]**’**) by a moderator.

1: https://www.reddit.com/r/changelog/comments/4ny8y6/renaming_sticky_posts_to_announcements/

2: https://media.giphy.com/media/xUPGclrAkkzaJS7vJm/giphy.gif

You can see a post is stickied because it will have the green pin icon (in redesign) or say 'announcement' in green text (in old reddit), and it will stay at the top of the page no matter what karma it has, or how old it is (only in ‘hot’).

Image showing the green pin icon on a sticky post

Comments can also be stickied[3], but they can’t just be stickied - they’re also distinguished. This shows green text for the moderators name and a sticky notice, and shows the green shield.

3: https://media.giphy.com/media/E0g75JYAx0BjAFSNjY/giphy.gif

Stickied comments stay at the top of the comments list right under the post.

Image showing a sticky comment

Why use them?

Sticky posts can be used for many things - mostly things you want to make sure your users see[4] - announcing changes to the community, reminders of rules, competitions, welcome messages, regular threads, highlighting a particularly awesome post and more.

4: https://media.giphy.com/media/xT0GqEWuqNxdVEWxlm/giphy.gif

Sticky comments can also be used in different ways. Most often to add a mod note to a thread where users will see it without it getting lost in all the other comments, one example is an AMA (ask me anything) thread - you might sticky a comment reminding users of your expectations for their behaviour during the AMA, and updates on when it ends.

Another good example is when someone posts something without credit or appropriate references. Once someone has found the right credit, as a mod, you can make a sticky comment so new users coming into the post see that right away.

*EDIT** - the legacy post scheduling with a wiki page and automoderator has been depreciated. You can now use the new post scheduler in new reddit The post scheduler feature[5]. This section of this guide is now irrelevant! Skip to sticking comments :)

5: https://www.reddit.com/r/modguide/comments/jlm8qs/the_post_scheduler_feature

~~These posts can be automatically stickied:~~

~~https://www.reddit.com/wiki/automoderator/full-documentation#wiki%5C_actions~~[6][7]

6: https://www.reddit.com/wiki/automoderator/full-documentation#wiki%5C_actions~~

7: https://www.reddit.com/wiki/automoderator/full-documentation#wiki_actions

*~~“~~****~~sticky~~****~~: Whether to sticky the post. Can be set to "true", "false" or a number - If you use a number (for example sticky: 1), the post will replace any existing sticky in that slot (1 is the top slot). Using true will work the same as clicking the "sticky this post" link on the post - it will go into the bottom sticky slot (replacing a post that's already there, if necessary).”~~*

~~(Sticky: 2 only works if you have a sticky in the first slot)~~

~~Example:~~

---

first: "October 13, 2018 4:00 PM"
repeat: 1 week
sticky: 2
distinguish: false
title: "The garden fence - weekly chat thread"
text: |
Weekly weekend chat over the virtual garden fence; talk about what's happening in your garden, and ask quick questions that may not require their own thread.

---

How to set up sticky automod comments

If you'd like automoderator to sticky comments on all (or some) posts, perhaps to remind users of common post requirement mistakes so they can edit their post, or whatever you need, first set up automoderator and find or write a rule.

Automoderator - what is is, and how to set it up

Then make sure to include a line in the rule to tell automod to sticky the comment: `comment_stickied: true`

Here's an example:

---
    type: submission
    comment: |
        Thanks for sharing art!  

        I know automod messages can often be telling you you've done something wrong, but don't worry, this (probably) isn't the case!  

        I'm just here to remind you about crediting either yourself, or someone else, as the artist. It's easy to forget; so if you have not included this info in the title of your post, please reply to this comment with the details.   

        If you did (or the post is something else), don't worry. Thanks!
    comment_stickied: true
---

Troubleshooting

If you’re having problems with stickies searching on r/modhelp or r/automoderator may help - it’s likely others have had the same question.

r/bugs is for reporting bugs and glitches.

*If you/another user can’t see a sticky post**:

Check the sort is by ‘hot’.
Has it been removed? Check spam, use the shortcut links below, or your modlog.
Maybe you’ve accidentally pressed the hide button? https://www.reddit.com/user/me/hidden/[8][9]
Do you have "Don't show me content I've up-voted" checked in your user preferences? (in old)
Was the sticky deleted by OP? Try the links below, or redditsearch.io/[10] | removeddit[11] to find the post and unsticky.

You can’t edit posts made by other people, so if you need to change a sticky made by another user/mod you’ll need to ask them to do it, or make a replacement.

8: https://www.reddit.com/user/me/hidden/

9: https://www.reddit.com/user/me/hidden/

10: https://redditsearch.io/

11: https://www.removeddit.com/about/

*You can't sticky other people's comments**, but you can post a new comment quoting another comment.

*There are only 2 slots for stickies**, there used to be only one[12]. It seems unlikely there’ll ever be more, and too much stuff at the top of the page pushes content further down.

12: https://new.reddit.com/r/modnews/comments/3d7i0q/moderators_you_can_now_have_two_stickies_in_your/

If you sticky a 3rd post, the post in the 2nd sticky slot will be unstickied.

Tips and tricks

*You can sticky other people's posts**. This is useful if someone posts something really good you want to make sure the community sees, or for when a guest posts an AMA.

You can shortcut to the two top stickies this way (change subnamehere to your sub's name):

https://www.reddit.com/r/subnamehere/about/sticky[13][14]

13: https://www.reddit.com/r/subnamehere/about/sticky

14: https://www.reddit.com/r/subnamehere/about/sticky

https://www.reddit.com/r/subnamehere/about/sticky?num=2[15][16]

15: https://www.reddit.com/r/subnamehere/about/sticky?num=2

16: https://www.reddit.com/r/subnamehere/about/sticky?num=2

If you stickies are always in the same spot you can use these links to link to them in your sidebar or wherever you may need to.

---

Thanks u/sunzusunzusunzusunzu and u/majorparadox

Thanks to those that help at r/modhelp for some of the solutions and tips shared here.

Reddit on sticky posts

Did we miss anything? What do you use stickies for?*

EDIT: event vs scheduled https://www.reddit.com/r/ModSupport/comments/qj3kfd/setting%5C_a%5C_scheduled%5C_post%5C_as%5C_a%5C_sticky/[17][18]

17: https://www.reddit.com/r/ModSupport/comments/qj3kfd/setting%5C_a%5C_scheduled%5C_post%5C_as%5C_a%5C_sticky/

18: https://www.reddit.com/r/ModSupport/comments/qj3kfd/setting_a_scheduled_post_as_a_sticky/

Comments

Comment by [deleted] at 21/02/2020 at 19:02 UTC

8 upvotes, 0 direct replies

One of the very common r/modhelp problems is "I can only have one sticky post in my sub!" and it typically comes down to a post having been removed while still marked as sticky. Use the shortcut links mentioned above to find the removed/hidden/whatever sticky so you can un-sticky it and regain your second sticky slot.

Probably goes without saying, but the top or #1 sticky post is the one that was stickied first. To swap them, simply un- then re-sticky the one in the top slot.