Yes, I was a passive reader for about nine months before creating an account, too. I'm also a Redditor (although my username is different) and one thing I found

Yes, I was a passive reader for about nine months before creating an account, too. I'm also a Redditor (although my username is different) and one thing I found that works for me: if you're very emotional about the subject it's better to wait till it shows up on Reddit and post your opinion there. Redditors love emotions and controversy - so your post will perfectly add up to a discussion there. Alternatively you can just wait for a while and post your comment later: you wording will get more neutral at that time and you'll be pleasantly surprised with how well-formed your answer is. But if you know something extra about the subject then it's much better to through that information into discussion earlier to let others see a bigger picture. And of course - just ignore the karma thing. Personally I have no idea what is rating on either of those websites, I just write when I want to write. Good luck anyway and very warm welcome to HN!