OC stands for "original content". the idea is that if it's your own created content you check the box. if you're reposting or sharing something you didn't make, then you don't check it.
iirc it's included because of mastodon and other early activitypub groups having that sort of culture. so yes, in theory it should sync I think? similar to the nsfw/18+ flag.
If you're familiar with how they do things on reddit, it's a similar ideas as marking your post with [OC] and other such. basically if you draw something or make a video and share it, then mark the box. otherwise no.
So what about a post like this one? Is this something that should be marked as OC since it was my question and writing, or not because I didn't really create anything?
Without having used it before, it feels like it lends itself better to stuff that's been created (like artwork or a video or something along those lines) as opposed to just a post like this. Am I getting the right vibe of it here?
Personally I wouldn't have marked it. The idea of marking things as "[OC]" really started with art stuff and things that'd be considered "self-promotion". Just chatting or posting text questions/comments/etc. aren't really expected to get marked. I don't think there's anything wrong with it per se, but from the internet circles I'm from it's not the norm; only to explicitly mark art/videos/software you made. It's typically used in art communities to distinguish making something vs sharing it.
So yes, you're getting the right vibe. Imagine you have a magazine where people post art. The norm is to share art they found elsewhere. while some people make their own art and wish to share it. so it's marked as OC.
On reddit this became the norm because reddit's focus was content aggregation, not self promotion, so self promotional stuff (OC) was discouraged unless specifically marked. Here on kbin I think it's probably less important, though some magazines might want to make that distinction.
It's also useful for twitter/mastodon/microblog stuff since there's a culture of just reuploading/resharing pics, and some might want to specifically specify art created by the account.
Right on! Thanks for the thoughtful explanations. It's very helpful! All the context and details you offered were great! Very well articulated.
I lurked on reddit for a long time but almost never engaged. With all this transitioning, I'm feeling more inclined to participate here on kbin and I've gotta learn all the ropes!
Nice :) and yeah I know how you feel. larger subreddits feel like it's a bit pointless to post in. so I always kept to the smaller ones. And definitely don't be afraid to post here on kbin. we don't bite :)