r/90scartoons

Cartoons that premiered in 1990-1999 are fair game, even if they only started in 1999 but mainly existed in the 2000s.

80s cartoons are still allowed if they aired some in the 90s (i.e. if its last episodes ended in 1990 it's kinda toeing the line but we as mods probably have better things to worry about even if it's been a quiet week here). But that does not work in reverse. If a show came out in 2000 or later, it could not have aired any episodes in the 90s.

If it's a My Life As A Teenage Robot deal where the pilot aired publicly in the 90s but the actual show didn't come out until the 2000s, you can talk about the pilot but not the show. If it's a Fairly OddParents deal where a few short test/pilot episodes came out in the 90s, but the full show didn't release until the 2000s, it's the same deal - you can talk about the early parts that aired in the 90s, but not the real show. And I hate to be so harsh about that, but with the wave of 2000s nostalgia starting to hit, if we don't enforce this, this'll end up inadvertently becoming a 2000s cartoons subreddit in the same way NickRewind is now all about iCarly and stuff.

Now, let's talk about posts with characters from multiple decades. If it's about 75% 90s, it will be allowed. So if you were born in the mid/late 80s kid making a collage of your childhood shows, and you slip in a couple shows from the late 80s, it's probably fine. If you're drawing all the classic throwback Nicktoons and you want to add Jimmy Neutron, we probably won't say anything. As long as it's primarily 90s cartoon focused, it's fine, we're not going to get pedantic about "oh yeah but that ONE right there..."

This rule is mainly meant to deter bots, karmafarmers, or people who otherwise don't really care about honoring the decade in animation, who google image search "cartoon image collage disney nickelodeon cute funny" and then post whatever group picture comes up regardless of whether it's really about the 90s specifically. No, it doesn't "still count" just because SpongeBob, Rugrats, and Simpsons are there.

And on that note, let's talk about cartoons like Looney Tunes, The Flintstones, etc that have been spanning decades. Of course plenty of 90s kids grew up watching those in the 90s! But unless it's from a specific piece of media that aired in the 90s, it can't be here. Reboots and spinoffs are perfectly fair game, and anthology shows that aired older cartoons as part of its own original show are fine. But you can't post a random meme with a Tom & Jerry episode from the 1940s and go "well it's 90s because Tom & Jerry had some reruns in the 90s and I watched them all the time as a kid". The show has to be from the decade. It's like...sorry I'm not using a 90s example ironically enough, but Lilo & Stitch The Series is airing reruns on Disney Channel right now, yet that doesn't make it an example of 2020s animation - it's still from the 2000s. And just like that, a 50s, 60s, or 70s show that didn't air new episodes in the 90s but might've had some reruns is still a 50s, 60s, or 70s cartoon, not 90s.

And I hate having to be harsh like this! But if we don't be firm, the sub is going to be oversaturated by whatever's most popular instead of what fits. I've seen it happen with tons of other subreddits. And as 2000s kids grow older and 2000s nostalgia starts to take over pop culture, it's important to preserve this space for what it is. If one person posts 2000s cartoons because it's "close enough" and we let it slide, it'll start to set a bad precedent and before we know it it'll be far from one person anymore.

Finally - I'll be transparent. We've been under bot attack for a while now, and I'm not going to pretend like it's not noticeable. I promise, we're trying, but it can be hard when they change up their posting patterns to make themselves harder to detect. We've tried setting up karma minimums but there's been some issues setting up the automod so for now it's all manual. Please don't start throwing around accusations randomly just because a post is weird or simple, but if you see something egregious like the exact wording of a post title copied 1:1, reporting it helps us a lot. We don't remember every post that's ever been made on here, but if you guys see one you recognize, say something! I know rule enforcement in general has also gotten a bit inconsistent on my end while we're scrambling just to deal with the spambots as well, so again, if you see something, it's a great help when you let us know.

Thanks, guys!

1998 british cartoon