3 ms·

I was at a cool hifi listening party in the bay yesterday and was going to post a picture on /r/audiophile, then I saw it’s still closed, and I realized that su

I was at a cool hifi listening party in the bay yesterday and was going to post a picture on /r/audiophile, then I saw it’s still closed, and I realized that subtracts nothing from my life. Instead I just enjoyed the event more. This whole debacle is the best thing Reddit ever could have done for me.

steve_adams_86 3y ago
The only social media I haven’t removed from my life is right here, on hacker news. Everything else gave me the same impression as you had. When it’s gone, nothing’s missing and if anything, something is gained. That was a very uncomfortable realization after using it for over a decade, but it was totally welcome once it clicked. With hacker news, I don’t know… It doesn’t have the same vibe as something like Facebook. We all seem to be interested in the general themes here, conversation leans towards constructive, and there isn’t much noise to filter from signals. I wouldn’t mind finding that elsewhere, but no amount of feed configuring on Reddit or Twitter ever got me where I wanted to be. Whenever I click a link over to Reddit I get the sense that I really haven’t missed anything since the last time, however many months before.
- JoeyJoJoJr 3y ago
  The hive mindedness of Reddit only gives the perception that it is actually useful or contains a trove of valuable information. In actuality it is foolish to follow just about any advice from Reddit, as the most visible comments are merely the ones that best fit with the hive mind and aren’t necessarily indicative of reality. Prime examples of this are relationship, legal, and health advice, but I’ve also found it extends to more niche areas as well. I don’t just regret walking around for a few months stinking of Old Spice - I regret drinking Apple Cider vinegar, recommending my sister look into nootropic drugs, and arguing with family members based on flimsy political talking points.
  - cromka 3y ago
    So apple vinegar is a hoax? BTW was it a reflex that you capitalized it? ;)
    - steve_adams_86 3y ago
      If they’re on an Apple device, it’ll automatically capitalize it.
      - irthomasthomas 3y ago
        That's Nuts. Edit: Sorry, I'm on a Nuts device.
    - JoeyJoJoJr 3y ago
      I’m not sure if it is entirely a hoax, but I had to get quite a number of fillings to the sides of my teeth where I believe the acid damaged them. I didn’t notice any positive side effects. Also, I tried to correct the capitalisation but it auto correct again, and I couldn’t be bothered to fix it ;)
  - TheNewsIsHere 3y ago
    To be fair, and I don’t say this in a spirit of criticism toward you, but taking medical advice from Internet strangers is not recommended generally. Many (myself included) have relied upon Reddit in the past for niche advice or recommendations. My key is to only do so in applying topics I already understand enough to apply safely, so I know whether I’m reading a clever idea or someone talking out their ass.
tnecniv 3y ago
I’m going to miss two things and both are replaceable with a bit of legwork: animal gifs and niche hobby sub wikis. I find the former calming when I’m stressed out and Reddit was a convenient place to find them. Reddit certainly does not own a monopoly on cute critters though. The latter, even if I never posted, often had a great “getting started” guide with collections of community advice. It just means a little more googling for me
- ebiester 3y ago
  I’d say Imgur is remarkably better than Reddit for the purpose of cute animals.
- meepmorp 3y ago
  Some of the sub wikis are troves of data that aren't elsewhere available in compiled form, like the mechanical keyboard one. It's not exactly the library of Alexandria, but there's something of value being lost.
  - hakfoo 3y ago
    What's funny is that the Mechanical Keyboard one is sort of a refugee from another set of communities. And much of the knowledge also exists on the other communities. If you go back to the early 2010s, there was Geekhack. Back then, the hobby was much smaller and you had a lot of stuff done with Model Ms (the default "good keyboard", walkthroughs on how to order the few mechanical boards available from Japan or Taiwan, and the beginnings of group-buy culture. Deskthority emerged a few years later, and developed a bit of its own voice-- more of an EU audience, and these days more oriented around vintage keyboards than new stuff. Their wiki is still probably the deepest resource for some vintage switches and boards. Meanwhile, there was a weird figure who was fairly large on both communities: "ripster"-- while incredibly knowledgable, a lot of people found his presence chafing. He eventually took the reins of /r/mk and faded away from the other communities.

steve_adams_86 3y ago

The only social media I haven’t removed from my life is right here, on hacker news. Everything else gave me the same impression as you had. When it’s gone, nothing’s missing and if anything, something is gained. That was a very uncomfortable realization after using it for over a decade, but it was totally welcome once it clicked. With hacker news, I don’t know… It doesn’t have the same vibe as something like Facebook. We all seem to be interested in the general themes here, conversation leans towards constructive, and there isn’t much noise to filter from signals. I wouldn’t mind finding that elsewhere, but no amount of feed configuring on Reddit or Twitter ever got me where I wanted to be. Whenever I click a link over to Reddit I get the sense that I really haven’t missed anything since the last time, however many months before.

JoeyJoJoJr 3y ago
The hive mindedness of Reddit only gives the perception that it is actually useful or contains a trove of valuable information. In actuality it is foolish to follow just about any advice from Reddit, as the most visible comments are merely the ones that best fit with the hive mind and aren’t necessarily indicative of reality. Prime examples of this are relationship, legal, and health advice, but I’ve also found it extends to more niche areas as well. I don’t just regret walking around for a few months stinking of Old Spice - I regret drinking Apple Cider vinegar, recommending my sister look into nootropic drugs, and arguing with family members based on flimsy political talking points.
- cromka 3y ago
  So apple vinegar is a hoax? BTW was it a reflex that you capitalized it? ;)
  - steve_adams_86 3y ago
    If they’re on an Apple device, it’ll automatically capitalize it.
    - irthomasthomas 3y ago
      That's Nuts. Edit: Sorry, I'm on a Nuts device.
  - JoeyJoJoJr 3y ago
    I’m not sure if it is entirely a hoax, but I had to get quite a number of fillings to the sides of my teeth where I believe the acid damaged them. I didn’t notice any positive side effects. Also, I tried to correct the capitalisation but it auto correct again, and I couldn’t be bothered to fix it ;)
- TheNewsIsHere 3y ago
  To be fair, and I don’t say this in a spirit of criticism toward you, but taking medical advice from Internet strangers is not recommended generally. Many (myself included) have relied upon Reddit in the past for niche advice or recommendations. My key is to only do so in applying topics I already understand enough to apply safely, so I know whether I’m reading a clever idea or someone talking out their ass.

tnecniv 3y ago

I’m going to miss two things and both are replaceable with a bit of legwork: animal gifs and niche hobby sub wikis. I find the former calming when I’m stressed out and Reddit was a convenient place to find them. Reddit certainly does not own a monopoly on cute critters though. The latter, even if I never posted, often had a great “getting started” guide with collections of community advice. It just means a little more googling for me

ebiester 3y ago
I’d say Imgur is remarkably better than Reddit for the purpose of cute animals.
meepmorp 3y ago
Some of the sub wikis are troves of data that aren't elsewhere available in compiled form, like the mechanical keyboard one. It's not exactly the library of Alexandria, but there's something of value being lost.
- hakfoo 3y ago
  What's funny is that the Mechanical Keyboard one is sort of a refugee from another set of communities. And much of the knowledge also exists on the other communities. If you go back to the early 2010s, there was Geekhack. Back then, the hobby was much smaller and you had a lot of stuff done with Model Ms (the default "good keyboard", walkthroughs on how to order the few mechanical boards available from Japan or Taiwan, and the beginnings of group-buy culture. Deskthority emerged a few years later, and developed a bit of its own voice-- more of an EU audience, and these days more oriented around vintage keyboards than new stuff. Their wiki is still probably the deepest resource for some vintage switches and boards. Meanwhile, there was a weird figure who was fairly large on both communities: "ripster"-- while incredibly knowledgable, a lot of people found his presence chafing. He eventually took the reins of /r/mk and faded away from the other communities.