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Politics is fine. But in general Reddit has so little content actually worth anyone's time that it's crazy to me how people spend so much time on it. Not to men

Politics is fine. But in general Reddit has so little content actually worth anyone's time that it's crazy to me how people spend so much time on it. Not to mention YouTube channels that get millions of views where they just read AskReddit threads with the same jokes those people make literally every single thread.

dvt 6y ago
> Politics is fine. Politics is fine if it's discussed like it is on HN†: level-headed arguments are debated, discussed, and, if a consensus isn't reached, we can agree to disagree. Reddit is polluted by absolute political drivel, except for a very small subset of subs. Low-effort "Trump is bad" posts that get massively upvoted just gets old after a while, especially when you see it every single day. † HN has been historically center-libertarian (which is a bit of self-selection by entrepreneurial folks), but recently started leaning much more left, no doubt due to an influx of non-startup-founding users.
- Kaze404 6y ago
  I'm personally not a fan of that kind of content either, but I like that politics is mainstream enough now that it exists. Politics discussion (however shallow) shouldn't be exclusive to certain demographics in my opinion.
  - nomdep 6y ago
    Agreed. But should be contained in specific subreddits/forums, in my opinion. Yes, I'm one of those people that doesn't buy the "everything is politics!" mantra
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
zerkten 6y ago
> Politics is fine. But in general Reddit has so little content actually worth anyone's time that it's crazy to me how people spend so much time on it. I don't go to Reddit for content, I go for the community. That doesn't seem right because the perception is that Reddit is highly toxic, but it sustains a lot of life when you look closer. There is a particular health-related sub-reddit that I discovered after a diagnosis and while it is highly imperfect it was a lifeline and something I spent a lot of time contributing back on. In about 20% of threads it spun off to PM threads and discussions continued over days. I see this pattern across the site, even though my bookmark goes to r/programming.
fishingisfun 6y ago
the gems are hidden in small subs
cle 6y ago
I don't know what content you're looking for on Reddit, but my experience is the opposite. Reddit makes it very easy for me to find focused, high-quality conversations about specific topics. As others have said, the trick is to stick to small subreddits. AskReddit, like most of the big subreddits, is a cesspool. Also, I find that searching Reddit with Google yields much more trustworthy information than just searching Google, which tends to return a bunch of sponsored results, ads, and SEO garbage. Folks on Reddit (especially focused subreddits) do a very good job of filtering all that stuff out already. It's not perfect, but it's often vastly better than Google alone.
- jimbob45 6y ago
  Hear hear I would offer up the subreddit on liminal spaces or the video game Marathon as places for discussion that could not otherwise exist without Reddit.
- jug 6y ago
  Agreed — don’t use the default subreddits. They’re cancer. But I’ve had a great time at the Formula1 subreddit and people are crazy at MechanicalKeyboards. I’m sure you’ll love a knitting group if you enjoy that. Go by your specific interests and really just say no to the generic or huge ones like funny, pics, askreddit etc.
  - drstewart 6y ago
    The problem is that subreddit is very prone to heterogeneous opinions and groupthink, even among niche subreddits, mostly around what's appealing to mid-20 year old white US males. The discussion is often very shallow, mostly aimed at "advanced beginners" because that's what appeals to the widest audience and anything else doesn't get traction, unlike in a traditional forum. This is very obvious if you're into a technical hobby like climbing or mountaineering. Basically, if you don't fit the demographic / skill level mold, even niche subreddits (that aren't the dumpster fire that the large ones are) quickly lose their value.
    - SkyMarshal 6y ago
rnd0 6y ago
Politics isn't fine. I'd go so far as to say that politics is inherently destructive to online communities. It inevitably leads to people fighting over which team that they're on.
cblconfederate 6y ago
> Politics is fine it really isn't. it's bottom-quality content, everyone can have an opinion about politics, it's too easy. Every subreddit > 100000 has a politics problem because people have now been conditioned to see politics everywhere. It takes effort to keep things topical. And then, even the politics subreddits themselves are completely confused, e.g. r/libertarian is a mostly socialist sub now.
- MeinBlutIstBlau 6y ago
  I've been banned from a subreddit because I said Trump did some good things basically. Mod called me a nazi and silenced me after my appeal for 30 days.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- iratewizard 6y ago
  >r/libertarian is a mostly socialist sub now Not surprising when the libertarian candidates run on own borders and government enforced equality for the identity politic cultists.
- sudosysgen 6y ago
  /r/libertarian becoming socialist is not confused at all. It's been made to welcome libertarian socialists for a long while now, explicitly, and libertarian socialism itself has a very long tradition.
kshacker 6y ago
Here's what I do: multiple accounts. Switching accounts is easy. One for politics (news, politics, geopolitics, plus other variations), One for finance (options, investing, thetagang, no WSB for those who know), One for Relationships (Relationships, TIFU, AITA) because it is fun, One for bay area (and the only one where I am somewhat willing to disclose my identity), One for health, One for entertainment (all the TV shows that I am watching at the moment), and 2 for my country of origin (one with leftist leans and one with rightist leans since I got banned for somewhat innocuous comments in one of them so I said why not two). I could look up specific subreddits, but I find it easy for one account to focus on a single topic and subscribe to 5-10 related subs on that topic. Based on the need, the feed works perfectly. You can say it is addiction but I would say it is focused addiction. When I am reading about options trading, I am reading about options, investments, dividends and what not - usually there is a purpose and maybe a perceived benefit, and when I am reading about entertainment, it is to track reviews and user comments - same perceived benefit - I could go to IMDB but it is not the same.
- hamolton 6y ago
  If you'd rather have your comments be on the same username, multireddits (old Reddit UI) or custom feeds (new Reddit UI) are an option for managing groups of subscriptions too.
urda 6y ago
It's really not. The main political subreddit /r/politics has just become an echo chamber even though they claim to be unbiased. The way reddit is designed and built only results in these echo chambers. Politics on reddit, especially over the past 4 years, ends up seeping into even non-political subreddits. reddit makes money off rage.

dvt 6y ago

> Politics is fine. Politics is fine if it's discussed like it is on HN†: level-headed arguments are debated, discussed, and, if a consensus isn't reached, we can agree to disagree. Reddit is polluted by absolute political drivel, except for a very small subset of subs. Low-effort "Trump is bad" posts that get massively upvoted just gets old after a while, especially when you see it every single day. † HN has been historically center-libertarian (which is a bit of self-selection by entrepreneurial folks), but recently started leaning much more left, no doubt due to an influx of non-startup-founding users.

Kaze404 6y ago
I'm personally not a fan of that kind of content either, but I like that politics is mainstream enough now that it exists. Politics discussion (however shallow) shouldn't be exclusive to certain demographics in my opinion.
- nomdep 6y ago
  Agreed. But should be contained in specific subreddits/forums, in my opinion. Yes, I'm one of those people that doesn't buy the "everything is politics!" mantra
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]

zerkten 6y ago

> Politics is fine. But in general Reddit has so little content actually worth anyone's time that it's crazy to me how people spend so much time on it. I don't go to Reddit for content, I go for the community. That doesn't seem right because the perception is that Reddit is highly toxic, but it sustains a lot of life when you look closer. There is a particular health-related sub-reddit that I discovered after a diagnosis and while it is highly imperfect it was a lifeline and something I spent a lot of time contributing back on. In about 20% of threads it spun off to PM threads and discussions continued over days. I see this pattern across the site, even though my bookmark goes to r/programming.

fishingisfun 6y ago

the gems are hidden in small subs

cle 6y ago

I don't know what content you're looking for on Reddit, but my experience is the opposite. Reddit makes it very easy for me to find focused, high-quality conversations about specific topics. As others have said, the trick is to stick to small subreddits. AskReddit, like most of the big subreddits, is a cesspool. Also, I find that searching Reddit with Google yields much more trustworthy information than just searching Google, which tends to return a bunch of sponsored results, ads, and SEO garbage. Folks on Reddit (especially focused subreddits) do a very good job of filtering all that stuff out already. It's not perfect, but it's often vastly better than Google alone.

jimbob45 6y ago
Hear hear I would offer up the subreddit on liminal spaces or the video game Marathon as places for discussion that could not otherwise exist without Reddit.
jug 6y ago
Agreed — don’t use the default subreddits. They’re cancer. But I’ve had a great time at the Formula1 subreddit and people are crazy at MechanicalKeyboards. I’m sure you’ll love a knitting group if you enjoy that. Go by your specific interests and really just say no to the generic or huge ones like funny, pics, askreddit etc.
- drstewart 6y ago
  The problem is that subreddit is very prone to heterogeneous opinions and groupthink, even among niche subreddits, mostly around what's appealing to mid-20 year old white US males. The discussion is often very shallow, mostly aimed at "advanced beginners" because that's what appeals to the widest audience and anything else doesn't get traction, unlike in a traditional forum. This is very obvious if you're into a technical hobby like climbing or mountaineering. Basically, if you don't fit the demographic / skill level mold, even niche subreddits (that aren't the dumpster fire that the large ones are) quickly lose their value.
  - SkyMarshal 6y ago

rnd0 6y ago

Politics isn't fine. I'd go so far as to say that politics is inherently destructive to online communities. It inevitably leads to people fighting over which team that they're on.

cblconfederate 6y ago

> Politics is fine it really isn't. it's bottom-quality content, everyone can have an opinion about politics, it's too easy. Every subreddit > 100000 has a politics problem because people have now been conditioned to see politics everywhere. It takes effort to keep things topical. And then, even the politics subreddits themselves are completely confused, e.g. r/libertarian is a mostly socialist sub now.

MeinBlutIstBlau 6y ago
I've been banned from a subreddit because I said Trump did some good things basically. Mod called me a nazi and silenced me after my appeal for 30 days.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
iratewizard 6y ago
>r/libertarian is a mostly socialist sub now Not surprising when the libertarian candidates run on own borders and government enforced equality for the identity politic cultists.
sudosysgen 6y ago
/r/libertarian becoming socialist is not confused at all. It's been made to welcome libertarian socialists for a long while now, explicitly, and libertarian socialism itself has a very long tradition.

kshacker 6y ago

Here's what I do: multiple accounts. Switching accounts is easy. One for politics (news, politics, geopolitics, plus other variations), One for finance (options, investing, thetagang, no WSB for those who know), One for Relationships (Relationships, TIFU, AITA) because it is fun, One for bay area (and the only one where I am somewhat willing to disclose my identity), One for health, One for entertainment (all the TV shows that I am watching at the moment), and 2 for my country of origin (one with leftist leans and one with rightist leans since I got banned for somewhat innocuous comments in one of them so I said why not two). I could look up specific subreddits, but I find it easy for one account to focus on a single topic and subscribe to 5-10 related subs on that topic. Based on the need, the feed works perfectly. You can say it is addiction but I would say it is focused addiction. When I am reading about options trading, I am reading about options, investments, dividends and what not - usually there is a purpose and maybe a perceived benefit, and when I am reading about entertainment, it is to track reviews and user comments - same perceived benefit - I could go to IMDB but it is not the same.

hamolton 6y ago
If you'd rather have your comments be on the same username, multireddits (old Reddit UI) or custom feeds (new Reddit UI) are an option for managing groups of subscriptions too.

urda 6y ago

It's really not. The main political subreddit /r/politics has just become an echo chamber even though they claim to be unbiased. The way reddit is designed and built only results in these echo chambers. Politics on reddit, especially over the past 4 years, ends up seeping into even non-political subreddits. reddit makes money off rage.