Week 3 - Reddit Rundown

I was excited when Vanessa asked me to help folks understand reddit. As a longtime redditor, I can offer a description of this website and a bit of a rundown on how to engage with it effectively. 

Reddit started in 2005 and from the beginning the goal has been to be "the front page of the internet." Using that as their slogan, reddit began as bulletin-board type site on which users shared links to online news and information articles. Over the years, the site has expanded to feature user-generated content such as art, music, videos, or text-based posts in threads and forums known as subreddits. 

When you visit reddit for the first time, you'll see a homepage with a long list of user-generated posts in addition to links to places all over the web. This list changes daily, so just like a newspaper each day will feature different "headlines." The way the homepage is organized is through upvoting and downvoting. When someone submits a post to reddit, it sits in the "new" section of the site. As people engage with the post, they either show their approval by giving an upvote, or disapproval by giving a downvote. The highest upvoted posts are shown on the front page. 

This was the way reddit worked until the site developers began offering the opportunity for users to submit comments on users' posts. Now, entire discussions can happen between users based on the subject of the post and each comment can be upvoted or downvoted. Downvotes on comments are recommended only for comments that add nothing of value to the discussion, however many use the downvote feature to castigate users with whom they disagree. 

Throughout the years, reddit transformed from a site where science and programming were the most popular topics, and then a site where politics dominated the discussions, to now a site where every imaginable community mingles on the web. These communities, the subreddits, are online meeting places, discussion boards, and media-sharing places in which people come together to engage in a common interest. You name it, there's a subreddit for it. Car racing, marathon running, crocheting, slow-cooking, baking, computer-building; communities for fans of The Office, anime, vintage tv and film; gamers, LGBTQ, FSU students, subreddits for residents of Tallahassee to Tokyo; it's all there and there is something for everyone. The subreddits are overseen by moderators, and the whole website is overseen by administrators.

Reddit is a website where almost anything goes. If you were wondering if it is safe for browsing at work, it is but there are many things tagged "NSFW" (not safe for work). You'll be able to see that tag before opening any post. There is significant controversy about the types of subreddit that are allowed to exist. Because it is an open meeting place for people all over the world, there have been cases where racist, misogynistic, homophobic, fat-shaming communities have flown under the radar. As the site exploded in popularity around 2010, the admins have had to majorly crack down on the unacceptable subreddits that formed. Participants of the really despicable subreddits have moved to other web platforms similar to reddit, but none come close to the familiarity and ease of use of reddit. 

Most reddit users, redditors, are lurkers. This means that they passively participate in reddit by reading posts and visiting links. The most active that lurkers get is offering upvotes or downvotes. The 1% rule may help understand how most people use reddit. The rule states that only 1% of users actually contribute anything to a shared web space. Similarly, the 1–9–90 rule posits that 1% contribute, 9% upvote and downvote, and 90% lurk. 

The way I started, and the way a new person should start, is by visiting the site and reading the front page. There is a great chance you will see something intriguing. Then, start looking for your subreddits. There is a guaranteed likelihood that you will find a community that shares one of your interests. It's not as easy to submit a post anymore like how it used to be, however with more engagement in your subreddits of interest, you'll gain the opportunity to post something of your own. Many subreddits have rules like this in place to prevent spammers from flooding their pages. 

Have a look! First timers may feel a little overwhelmed, but you'll find a niche and start to really explore.