As many of you would have noticed, /r/pics gets a great many posts where the OP is more concerned with telling a story, and the viewers vote on the emotional impact the post has on them, rather than whether or not it's a good picture, which is not what /r/pics should be for. It says right in the sidebar: "a place for interesting pictures", but people still upvote these boring pictures to the frontpage, so I decided to put it to the test by posting similar images to high scoring posts without a story in the title. I posted this picture of a Big M, and it scored +4/-4

http://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/1kfdms/strawberry_big_m/

Yet when this photo of a Big M was posted, it scored 1,517 points. Why? Because the OP had cancer.

http://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/1juv22/after_three_long_years_battling_cancer_this_is/

I then posted this. It scored +3/-11, which is understandable because it's a very boring picture, which a commenter was kind enough to point out. http://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/1ki2g0/a_mountain_bike/

My last new bike ever! I have a fatal brain tumor, and in 15 hours I have a one-way flight to Singapore. I plan to ride around the world until I can't

But this bike scored 2,185 because the OP has a brain tumour.

http://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/1hci8a/my_last_new_bike_ever_i_have_a_fatal_brain_tumor/

This one went +2/-11 when I posted it

http://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/1kjbrk/a_bag_of_coins/

But this got 2,388 because it was a gift from OP's now dead grandpa.

http://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/1kg5t1/so_before_my_uncle_passed_hed_always_told_me_that/

This one got +3/-1, which I can see making sense as its mildly interesting at best.

http://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/1mbhjk/homeless_man_with_a_trolley/

This guy got 3,682 because OP had a story in the title.

http://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/1kyf3i/this_homeless_man_found_a_bunch_of_my_wifes/

This one got +2/-8. Like the bag of coins, it is a stock image. The popular one got 1,917 (the image link wouldn't post for some reason) because the kid had a brain injury.

http://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/1mbf2t/boy_going_to_school/

http://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/1looft/6_years_ago_a_nurse_told_us_my_brother_was/

It's quite easy to see that reddit is turning into Facebook. If you have a story to post that's fine, but post it in the appropriate subreddit. If you just want to tell people stuff, go to /r/self. That's what that subreddit is for. All I'm asking is that you vote on the picture itself, not the title. If you're inclined to vote before you even open it, you shouldn't be doing so. /r/pics is supposed to be for interesting pictures that can stand alone without a story. Many comments feel the same way as me, posting links to /r/no_sob_story, /r/loseit and other subreddits where it should've gone. People say that if you don't like it, downvote and move on, but what that accomplish? If a post has 1,000 points, a downvote won't hide it, and it won't stop the next from being posted, and the next, and so on. So please, don't vote with your emotions, or eventually, /r/pics will be nothing but these types of posts, and what do you think is better, a photo of an old man smiling, and a photo of a comet streaming through the sky?

And yes, I'm well aware of the irony of this post.