Reddit

The front page of Reddit on the day I joined as a registered user - January 26, 2012

What happened to Reddit?

Reddit is not what it use to be.  It lost its charm after many changes from upper management, an echo system that rewards its top posters and commenters who dominate the site's content and shutters attempts from others, and exacerbates the egos of extreme politics.

Reddit was and still is a great place for information.  The internet's best links are found here.  Many of its archived posts dominate obscure search engine results.  The likes of which Wikipedia cannot answer.  The I Am A (IAMA), Ask Me Anything (AMA) segment is one of the best parts about Reddit.  Where else can one read about a man who quit his job, sold everything to sail around the world or ask questions directly to a US president?  Nowhere else can one find authentic advice on life than Reddit.

Like the App Store, there's a sub-Reddit for everything.  As Reddit became popular so did the frenzy for control of user subscriptions as meme Lord or subreddit moderator like the gold rush of the 19th century.  Reddit is like the directory of the internet's best links, plus comments.  Do a quick search, and one will find a catalog of relevant, informative posts.  From the harmless like /r/fellowkids, a subreddit for people who misuse memes, to ones about a particular profession like /r/justrolledintotheshop, auto mechanics posting interesting customer cars, or the obscure like /r/slavs_squatting.  If there is interest or a fan base a subreddit exists. Not to mention the copious amount of pornographic material available on more subreddits than all nonpornographic subreddits combine. Reddit is beautiful for its creative, diverse subreddits that leave no doubt for imagination.

This letter is a long one coming.

First of all, in its current state since 2016, the algorithm keeps old content on the front page longer while new content is shown less unless that post is upvoted profusely.  Reddit's board of directors lead these changes in the company's quest of monetization.  It's value and functionality has decreased significantly since Ellen Pao was interim CEO.  But, blame the board--Ellen was a scapegoat who was unsupported by the company and fell on the knife of Redditors backlashing against her in a witch hunt that was her untimely exit. Other changes drove down user experience, but this is chief among them.

Secondly, the default subreddits are spammed, full of reposts, regurgitations of 9gag and Tumblr posts, and plastered with misused memes.  Lurk Reddit for two years, and one will see familiar content from then moving forward. The algorithm changes were done partly to combat this issue, yet the reposting persists.

Thirdly, 1% of Redditors own 47% of all karma points earned on Reddit thus dominating top comments and overall comment contribution on Reddit.  Karam inequality, like income inequality in the United States, happens and impacts the tone of Reddit's discourse.  Why post when someone else did it, better, faster, and clearer; someone who takes on Reddit posting as a profession, consistently? There are egos on Reddit that have an agenda. Whether it is posting nefarious activities on subreddits not safe for work (NSFW), altering the political discourse and influencing elections through shit posting and shills, or satisfying an ardent need for a corpulent karma count, Reddit's top contributors will stop at nothing in owning what makes Reddit what it is--the best place on the internet for links and comments on those links.

Fun fact, quality of comments is not the reason for top comments--it's the first, most witty, usually, one that points out the obvious like an observation, comment that receives the most upvotes and crown as a top comment in the thread which dominates the discourse within the thread.

Anyway, fourthly and most importantly, Reddit is an echo chamber of similar voices and beatings of the preverbal dead horse depending on the subreddit-- /r/the_donald for its hyperactive spread of ignorance and peddling of misinformation on US politics, /r/politics for its bleeding heart, ultra left, social justice warrior grandstand of political opinions, or /r/Wallstreetbets for its frat style, reckless abuse of capital in regards to get rich quick day trading, and non-apologetic, non-sympathetic approach to peer advice, Reddit exemplifies the same problem caused by Facebook, Twitter, and cable news; closed off, echo chamber rhetoric that has continued to polarize American politics to extremes.  No more, please.

Attempts were made to make Reddit great again. Reddit can't change from one person.  No one wants to revolt when asked to do work. Like most Redditors, they silently lurk. Mixing subreddits was a strategy right before quitting Reddit became a desirable action.  The result was met with disappointment.   Despite well written, concise headlines, the posts are lacking in volume. Like removing the Facebook app, the only way fix Reddit is deleting the app.

The last bastion of bipartisan news and information lays on the ill-financed print publications like the Atlantic, New York Times, NPR, BBC, and others.  My Reddit is now an RSS feed of journalist, bloggers, and columnists from both sides of the isle (which is shared on this blog).

There as so many publications on the internet!  The internet is great because just about anyone may have a podium to speak from and is part of the reason why the internet is bad, but the point is not enough Redditors are contributing high-quality content nor upvoting or contributing noteworthy comments for the platform to be diverse and objective.  After ~five years it is time to move onto something else for after all the internet is a big place and a desirable echo system lies in a custom feed.

-Tyler