Welcome, friends!

Check the top of the subreddit for a recommend documentary and request thread!

Search By Topic

Arts: Art • Cuisine • Film/TV• Literature • Music

History: Ancient • 20th Century • Other

Politics: American • International • Intelligence

Science (Hard): Science • Health/Medicine • Nature/Animals • Tech/Internet

Science (Social): Anthropology • Crime • Economics • Psychology • Religion/Atheism • Society

War: War • WW1 • WW2 • Vietnam • Afghanistan • Iraq • Other

Misc: Biography • Disaster • Drugs • Offbeat • Sex • Sport • Travel/Places

Trailer • Request • Discussion

Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with our extensive guidelines and rules. There is no justification for any violations.

Rules

Please read and adhere to the following sub rules:

• 1. Free Documentaries Only

• Links to paid streaming services are allowed only on Mondays.

• The following content types are not considered documentaries: TV news reports/shows, articles, interviews, scripted content, amateur home videos, biopics, promotional material, vlogs, and any other content at the discretion of the mods.

• 2. Post Title Format

• Title (Year) - Optional Description [hh:mm:ss]

• Correct title, year of release and length are mandatory.

• [Trailer] tag is mandatory in the description for trailers.

• A (CC) tag in the description is strongly encouraged.

• Do not post titles or descriptions using 100% capitalised words.

• Example of a good title:

• The Documentary Title (2020) - A documentary about documentaries (CC) [02:12:52]

• READ DETAILS & EXAMPLES

• 3. Post Correct Title & Description

• Ensure the documentary title and description are correct.

• The title is often not the same as the YouTube submission, please take care.

• Avoid adding opinion or commentary to submission titles & description or it will be removed.

• Ensure that titles are not misleading, misrepresent the content, or use all caps words (except for acronyms).

• 4. Submission Statements Are REQUIRED

• Immediately * post a submission statement according to the following or the post may be removed:

• The submission statement must be more than just the title and should describe the video's content.

• Submission statements should be a 2+ sentences describing the video's content. Avoid sharing personal thoughts or opinions, and refrain from primarily using direct quotes or excerpts.

• Users should be able to understand what to expect from your video based on this comment.

• Don't name the video channel.

• 5. No Self-Promotion, YT Channel Promotion, or Solicitation

• Linking to your own YouTube channel is not allowed, including any form of self-promotion in comments.

• If you wish to share a documentary, please adhere to the 1/10th rule, which means self-promotion (and karma farming), including video links, should not exceed 10% of your content here. The remaining 90% should be active engagement through comments within the community.

• Promoting the video channel in the title, comment or submission statement is prohibited.

• Solicitation or asking for donations or material support is annoying and prohibited.

• 6. No Bigotry, Dehumanization, or Discrimination

• Zero tolerance for bigotry, discrimination, hate speech, promoting violence, antisemitism, islamophobia, apologia or justification of the dehumanization/suffering of others.

• Do not engage in any harmful or prejudiced behavior based on race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or any other characteristic. All human beings are equal.

• Bad-faith strategies such as whataboutism or obfuscation is prohibited.

• Users are assessed based on their actions across all of reddit.

• 7. No Brigading, Harassment, Trolling, Threats, False Sub Accusations, or Metadrama

• Engaging in brigading, showboating, or harassment of users, moderators, or subs may lead to a ban.

• Trolling, sealioning, threats, or creating a negative atmosphere, is prohibited.

• Making false claims that the subreddit supports a specific ideology or group may result in a ban.

• No Metadrama. MUST use np links to other subs.

• If you come across an rule violating comment, please report it rather than publicly attacking them.

• 8. Be respectful to others

• If you disagree with the content of the documentary or a comment by another community member, focus on addressing the topic constructively. Explain your perspective clearly and respectfully, without targeting the individual or OP. Personal attacks, insults, demeaning remarks, or any form of harassment will not be tolerated. Such behavior will result in the removal of your comments and may lead to a ban. Keep discussions focused, respectful, and aligned with community standards.

• 9. Direct Documentary Video Links Only

• Links must be direct to the documentary video. Links to promotional websites or general streaming service pages are not allowed. Only direct video links are accepted.

• 10. No Misinformation. Source with Trustworthy Links

• Posts and comments spreading misinformation will be removed. Significant claims must be supported by reliable sources; however, Wikipedia links are not considered reliable. Provide links to trustworthy sources, and failure to do so upon request will result in content removal, and possibly leading to a ban.

• 11. No File Lockers, Linkjacking, or Torrents

• The linked page must contain a playable video, and shouldn't be an embedded video from another site.

• No file lockers, torrents or linkjacking: site must stream video.

• 12. Do Not Delete Popular Submissions

• A popular submission contains many conversations by a wide range of users. Please don't consign their comments to the memory hole by deleting your popular submission, even if the documentary has been removed from an external site.

• Banning will be imposed on users who delete popular submissions.

• 13. Text Post Requirement - Recommendation Requests Only

Text posts in r/Documentaries are only allowed if they are Recommendation Requests. When creating a text post:

• Include 'Recommendation Request' in the title of your post.

• Select the flair 'Recommendation Requests'.

Any text post that does not meet these requirements will be removed as spam and may lead to ban.

Example Title: "Recommendation Request: Looking for documentaries about space exploration."

• 14. No Reposts (3 month rule)

• Do not repost documentaries that have been posted in the previous three months.

• 15. Moderator Discretion and Reddit Rules

• Moderators retain full discretion and autonomy to remove or lock comments/posts, issue warnings, bans, or handle ban appeals based on user actions across Reddit.

• Follow Reddit's content policy, reddiquette, and Moderator Code of Conduct.

• We reserve the right to modify the rules as we see fit.