r/Peptidesource: rules, karma requirements and posting culture

Who posts here

Posts assume you know what reconstitution, a COA and a lyophilized vial are, and compound names are abbreviated without explanation. First-timer questions do stay up and get replies, but the answers are terse and often point out testing or handling basics. A question that ignores the research framing gets a moderator notice telling you to resubmit.

• Experienced peptide users who know their way around third-party testing and lab reports.
• Newcomers with a first vial who are unsure how to handle it or whether it is genuine.
• People on GLP-1 compounds asking about side effects and switching between them.
• People with chronic pain, injuries or low mood looking for something that might help.
• Sellers and manufacturers trying to get in front of buyers, whose posts are mostly removed.

Karma and account requirements

What it takes to get a post through in r/Peptidesource.

What you can post

What happens to a new post

Where the most recent posts ended up. Sample size: 400.

• Stayed up46%
• Removed by Reddit's filters36%
• Removed by moderators15%
• Deleted by the author3%

Reddit counts a removal by the subreddit's own AutoModerator rules as a moderator removal, so that share is not all human. Held by AutoModerator means the post is waiting in the mod queue.

The rules, in the mods' words

1. 1

   FOLLOW REDDIT & SUBREDDIT RULES!

   Our subreddit rules are also based on Reddit rules. Read all of them carefully. Reddit may remove your post/comment themselves if it violates their policies. This may result in temporary or permanent bans. If you want this subreddit to exist, adhere to these rules. If you want to engage in discussions that are not allowable on this platform, join our free website forum at https://peptidesource.net/home/community/

2. 2

   No Private Message Solicitation

   Do not use this subreddit as a means to engage in private messages with users, particularly for the purpose of solicitation, asking for sources, or otherwise. Join our website forum at https://peptidesource.net/home/community/ for a more open discussion that is not allowable on Reddit. Please report (to Mods and to Reddit) any private message solicitation of any sort.

3. 3

   No Source Solicitation or Price Discussion

   This subreddit is for discussing general information and experiences related to peptide research (no human use discussion), and scientific research on peptides. Do not post URLs or vendor names, ask for sources openly or via DM, and do not solicit others to DM you about sources. That is transactional and it is against Reddit rules. Do NOT discuss quantified prices.

4. 4

   No Human Use Discussions!

   Peptide source is only for discussing peptide research. We have many resources, including vetted vendors on our website - peptidesource.net. Please refrain from discussing any personal use of peptides or their effects on humans unless citing actual research.

5. 5

   Report Your Affiliations

   If you're discussing your own site or otherwise promoting a service/product of yours or anyone else's, you need to gain permission from the Mod Team.

6. 6

   Keep It Science/Evidence Based

   This is a science/evidence based sub. Usage of citations to support your claims is highly encouraged and may become mandatory.

7. 7

   Private Messages to Mods

   Please do not private message the Mods unless it is absolutely necessary. Please keep your contribution to the subreddit public via posts and comments.

8. 8

   You Must Be 18 Or Older

   You must be 18 years of age or older to view and engage in this subreddit.

9. 9

   Be Polite, Civil, and Constructive.

   Do not personally attack another user in this subreddit. Posting another person's personal information will result in a ban and a report to the Reddit admins. Be civil & constructive. Engage in good faith. Trolls/agitators will be banned. Address the arguments, not the person. The subject of your sentence should be "the evidence" or "this research" or some other verbiage directly related to the topic of conversation.

10. 10

    Don't Use Downvotes For Disagreement

    Do not use downvotes for disagreement. Use your words or the report function. We are here to learn and discuss, not to reinforce our preconceived notions. See: https://old.reddit.com/wiki/reddiquette

11. 11

    Low-Quality Spam

    Low-Quality Spam/Astroturfing is not allowed. Necroing posts, using throwaways to shill sites, spamming random posts/comment chains and more will result in a ban.

12. 12

    Submission Guidelines - Titles

    Generally link titles should be the original title of the article/study and/or a direct quote from it. If your submission is an article, please include the title of the study if possible. It helps find previous submissions and prevent duplicates. For when the study title isn't adequately descriptive see https://archive.fo/9nVMa Titles should include the month and year the study was published, and model where applicable. Eg: (Nov 2018, mice). DO NOT POST VENDOR URLS.

13. 13

    Submission Guidelines - Links

    No plain links as text posts. If there is no need for a significant amount of text, which also can't be shared as a comment, then please submit your link as a link post. No articles covering unpublished studies. Please link directly to the study instead of pubmed. Linking to full-text articles on PMC is fine. Use clean URLs - no extra stuff after the main URL.

14. 14

    Submission Guidelines - Engagement

    Submitters of studies are encouraged to include some comment explaining why they feel the research source or paper is significant, or some commentary and/or quotes on the parts they feel are salient.

15. 15

    Submission Guidelines - Quality

    Memes as top level submissions are not appropriate. Other low-scientific-quality content may also be removed.

These are the rules as archived in February 2025. Rules change. Check the sidebar before you post.

The culture

r/Peptidesource has been around since 2021 and has about 113,000 members. Its name makes it a target: AutoModerator says the subreddit is under extra scrutiny since Reddit added peptides to its prohibited transaction policy in 2024. The result is one of the stricter peptide rooms on Reddit, with about 19 posts a day and around 14 comments on a typical post.

Almost everything is a short text post, about 78% of the sample, often under 50 words. The questions are practical: whether a vial that looks wrong is safe, how a lab report should be read, why a blend causes a side effect, what to try for pain or mood. Everyone writes about a "research subject", a rat or a hamster, and nobody pretends it is anything but a convention. Moderators reply to posts that slip into first person with a notice to resubmit.

The fault line is trust in what is in the vial. Testing, lab reports, fake COAs and delivery scams come up constantly, and the most useful comments explain how to tell an internal company report from an independent one. Meanwhile the rules forbid naming any seller, so people describe their problem and leave the brand out.

What lands

• Questions about lab results, such as a test that found none of the compound in a vial, with the report attached and identifying details blurred.
• Asking the room to sanity check a guide or protocol, like a chart someone generated with an AI tool.
• Open questions about a goal, such as mood, pain or healing after an injury, written in research language.
• Handling and storage problems with a photo, like a cloudy or gelled vial.
• Light prompts that get regulars talking, such as which five compounds you would keep for life.

What gets removed or ignored

• Posts that ask for sources, name sellers or try to move the conversation to DMs or another platform. AutoModerator removes these and warns that repeats get a ban.
• Posts from accounts under 15 days old or below the karma minimum.
• Manufacturer and reseller introductions, price comparisons and posts about overseas markets.
• Promotion for apps, other subreddits and outside communities.
• Many link posts. About 36% of all posts in our sample were taken down by Reddit's filters before a moderator saw them.

The unwritten rules

• Use the research framing from the first line. "Research subject" or "RS" is the house style, and moderators send back posts that do not use it.
• Blur or crop vendor details from any screenshot you post. A visible name gets the post flagged.
• Expect skepticism about free testing services, rankings and anything that looks like a sales funnel. Regulars assume someone is paying.
• Comments run longer than most peptide subreddits, about 26 words, and are practical. Thanks and follow-up detail go down well.
• The sidebar still talks about exchanging reviews of sources. The newer rules and AutoModerator override it.

Self-promotion

The rules require moderator permission before you promote your own site, product or service, ban vendor names and URLs, and list throwaway shilling as bannable spam. AutoModerator removes sourcing requests and links to outside platforms on sight. A few "has anyone used this site" posts do stay up for a while, but they are what the moderators are looking for, and seller introductions and app plugs are removed. For a brand, the only route the rules allow is to ask the moderators first.

How people write here

Typical post length

46 words

Typical title length

5 words

Titles phrased as a question

27%

Typical comment length

26 words

Comments that include a link

4%

Posts that carry a flair

3%

The regulars

The accounts that showed up most in our sample. Worth reading before you post: they set the tone, and they are usually the first to reply.

Top keywords

The words and phrases that show up far more often here than in other communities, from recent posts in r/Peptidesource.

• peptide 55 posts
• peptides 42 posts
• reta 37 posts
• research 44 posts
• rat 17 posts
• vial 24 posts
• moderator 36 posts
• research subject 11 posts
• bpc-157 13 posts
• mcg 15 posts
• subject 18 posts
• nad+ 14 posts
• lab 19 posts
• ghk-cu 14 posts
• bac 16 posts
• coa 11 posts
• cjc 12 posts
• tesa 12 posts
• peps 10 posts
• protocol 14 posts
• ipamorelin 10 posts
• klow 11 posts
• reconstituted 10 posts
• ipa 11 posts
• coas 8 posts
• lab rat 7 posts
• mg vial 9 posts
• kpv 8 posts
• blend 10 posts
• water 21 posts
• bac water 10 posts
• china 10 posts
• wolverine 6 posts
• bpc 7 posts
• mots-c 8 posts
• semax 7 posts
• vials 11 posts
• vendor 13 posts
• retatrutide 9 posts
• bacteriostatic water 6 posts

Posts that did well

• Is this guide accurate? ChatGPT made it for me.175 upvotes · 45 comments
• Looking for peptide recommendations for mood regulation, functional depression, and anhedonia41 upvotes · 80 comments
• NAD+ Frequency35 upvotes · 41 comments
• Peptide test result is shocking32 upvotes · 32 comments
• Finnrick scam21 upvotes · 25 comments
• Peptides for Pain21 upvotes · 27 comments
• Heard of Wolverine stack but not Deadpool Stack. Ever hear of Cartalax?20 upvotes · 32 comments · Mods Replied
• Eloralintide Dosing17 upvotes · 16 comments

Common questions