5 ms·

We built a map like this at reddit a long time ago. The methodology was pretty straightforward -- we looked at subreddits that had the same links submitted and

We built a map like this at reddit a long time ago. The methodology was pretty straightforward -- we looked at subreddits that had the same links submitted and upvoted. We used the map to power the "similar subreddits" feature. Unfortunately it suffered from a lot of spam and things like getting linked to very NSFW subreddits, and we didn't have the manpower to fix it or curate it, so the feature died.

wrayjustin 5y ago
Sad to hear this wasn't able to make it into GA. But the link-relationship methodology is interesting (similar to something like PageRank through backlinks). But it's not the methodology I'd have initially gravitated towards. My first instinct would be relations based on subscription overlap. This seems like it should group commonalities based on the user interests. This may also have alleviated some of the SPAM issues. Though it would have been interesting to see both approaches merged together.
- jedberg 5y ago
  We may have tried other methodologies as well, I honestly don't remember. I feel like subscription overlap was something we at least talked about, but maybe not.
- ehsankia 5y ago
  That would not produce anything close to this. Is the goal to find similar subreddits, or find other non-similar subreddits the person may like? The map by OP is grouped by categories, which is quite a bit different than just interest. Even for recommendation system, I don't think it quite works here due to how extremely wide reddit is. Something like Steam or Spotify can use it, but reddit has everything from porn to cities to games. Just because I love Portal and I'm from Vancouver doesn't mean someone else who likes Portal will care about Vancouver, or vice versa.
  - cmeacham98 5y ago
    Yes, but the majority of /r/Steam users are not subscribed to /r/Vancouver (or whatever the Vancouver subreddit is). I'd wager a guess there is a much more significant overlap with related subreddits such as /r/pcgaming.
  - andai 5y ago
    I think this is how Last.fm works (and it works quite well!) The weirdness in disparate interests is smoothed out by having a large sample size. I'm trying to find details of the algorithm. In the meantime, here's an interview with the inventor of AudioScrobbler, which merged with Last.fm to provide its recommendations system: https://www.wired.com/2012/11/richard-jones-scrobbling https://www.wired.com/2012/11/richard-jones-scrobbling
  - littlestymaar 5y ago
    > That would not produce anything close to this Well, have you read the methodology used by this map? > Each dot is a subreddit. Two dots within the same cluster are usually close to each other if multiple users frequently leave comments on both subreddits. So it's not exactly about subscribers, but it's the same idea, which proves your refutation wrong.
- Foomf 5y ago
  GA?
  - jacobmischka 5y ago
    My guess is general audience or general availability.
jimbob45 5y ago
Shame that Musk didn’t opt to buy Reddit instead. The only tech company more mismanaged than Twitter over the last decade was Reddit. Not to mention their blatant bias and abuse of power.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
samstave 5y ago
How about amking an icon next to every single post which is a link to summary page of every post of that URL, ever. I've been a reddit user for 15 years. I have a fairly good memory. So many reposts from even years ago. Fine, if nobody had seen such post prior, but an indicator of just how frequently a reposted URL is useful, though antithetical to $model.
- jedberg 5y ago
  If you're on old reddit, you can click the "Other Discussions" button to see every time the URL has been submitted. You can also just go to reddit.com/duplicates/$linkID Or you can go to reddit.com/$URL (<- They hate it when I tell people this because it's a feature that I wrote 15 years ago as a URL rewrite in the load balancer that they have to maintain as they change load balancers) Fun fact: That feature exists because I made reddit's co-founder Steve write it for me in exchange for a place to sleep.
  - ranger207 5y ago
    Thanks for that feature, I love using it to see discussion of the same content in different communities. It really helps make reddit feel like the front page of the internet, with multiple communities commenting on what's going on every day. If there was one thing I wish was improved about it it would be canonicalization, so that m.wikipedia.com and wikipedia.com articles are connected, or youtube.com and youtu.be links
  - samstave 5y ago
    Super familiar, and thank you for that... Sorry that I can't stand new reddit. I think that there should be a visual indicator maybe from green - yellow - red background or something based on the frequency of reposts etc... I consume reddit for new stuff... After being a user for literally 15 years. I am ready to delete my account.

wrayjustin 5y ago

Sad to hear this wasn't able to make it into GA. But the link-relationship methodology is interesting (similar to something like PageRank through backlinks). But it's not the methodology I'd have initially gravitated towards. My first instinct would be relations based on subscription overlap. This seems like it should group commonalities based on the user interests. This may also have alleviated some of the SPAM issues. Though it would have been interesting to see both approaches merged together.

jedberg 5y ago
We may have tried other methodologies as well, I honestly don't remember. I feel like subscription overlap was something we at least talked about, but maybe not.
ehsankia 5y ago
That would not produce anything close to this. Is the goal to find similar subreddits, or find other non-similar subreddits the person may like? The map by OP is grouped by categories, which is quite a bit different than just interest. Even for recommendation system, I don't think it quite works here due to how extremely wide reddit is. Something like Steam or Spotify can use it, but reddit has everything from porn to cities to games. Just because I love Portal and I'm from Vancouver doesn't mean someone else who likes Portal will care about Vancouver, or vice versa.
- cmeacham98 5y ago
  Yes, but the majority of /r/Steam users are not subscribed to /r/Vancouver (or whatever the Vancouver subreddit is). I'd wager a guess there is a much more significant overlap with related subreddits such as /r/pcgaming.
- andai 5y ago
  I think this is how Last.fm works (and it works quite well!) The weirdness in disparate interests is smoothed out by having a large sample size. I'm trying to find details of the algorithm. In the meantime, here's an interview with the inventor of AudioScrobbler, which merged with Last.fm to provide its recommendations system: https://www.wired.com/2012/11/richard-jones-scrobbling https://www.wired.com/2012/11/richard-jones-scrobbling
- littlestymaar 5y ago
  > That would not produce anything close to this Well, have you read the methodology used by this map? > Each dot is a subreddit. Two dots within the same cluster are usually close to each other if multiple users frequently leave comments on both subreddits. So it's not exactly about subscribers, but it's the same idea, which proves your refutation wrong.
Foomf 5y ago
GA?
- jacobmischka 5y ago
  My guess is general audience or general availability.

jimbob45 5y ago

Shame that Musk didn’t opt to buy Reddit instead. The only tech company more mismanaged than Twitter over the last decade was Reddit. Not to mention their blatant bias and abuse of power.

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

samstave 5y ago

How about amking an icon next to every single post which is a link to summary page of every post of that URL, ever. I've been a reddit user for 15 years. I have a fairly good memory. So many reposts from even years ago. Fine, if nobody had seen such post prior, but an indicator of just how frequently a reposted URL is useful, though antithetical to $model.

jedberg 5y ago
If you're on old reddit, you can click the "Other Discussions" button to see every time the URL has been submitted. You can also just go to reddit.com/duplicates/$linkID Or you can go to reddit.com/$URL (<- They hate it when I tell people this because it's a feature that I wrote 15 years ago as a URL rewrite in the load balancer that they have to maintain as they change load balancers) Fun fact: That feature exists because I made reddit's co-founder Steve write it for me in exchange for a place to sleep.
- ranger207 5y ago
  Thanks for that feature, I love using it to see discussion of the same content in different communities. It really helps make reddit feel like the front page of the internet, with multiple communities commenting on what's going on every day. If there was one thing I wish was improved about it it would be canonicalization, so that m.wikipedia.com and wikipedia.com articles are connected, or youtube.com and youtu.be links
- samstave 5y ago
  Super familiar, and thank you for that... Sorry that I can't stand new reddit. I think that there should be a visual indicator maybe from green - yellow - red background or something based on the frequency of reposts etc... I consume reddit for new stuff... After being a user for literally 15 years. I am ready to delete my account.