Reddit is famous for its influence and connecting people worldwide, and anyone who isn’t active on there has visited a subreddit at least once. For anyone unfamiliar with the workings of this site, they may wonder is Reddit a forum and what it exactly may be.
Reddit is a forum where people discuss, answer each other’s questions, and share tips and knowledge. Besides being a forum, it’s also a social media platform and a news outlet. It has around 400 million members worldwide and around 140,000 active communities, with more registering and becoming users daily.
If you’re curious about Reddit and want to know more about its functions, essential elements, and platform, this text is for you.
Table of Contents
Is Reddit a Forum or Social Media?
Reddit is a forum that many users consider a social media platform. Community is at the forefront of Reddit, and people who use it often, post, and participate in discussions are called Redditors. Their communities are called subreddits, which are labeled based on the type of content.
While it’s technically a forum, Reddit’s users often call it a social media platform because of the possibility to share various types of content, from text and images to full videos. The primary form of communication comes from written text, though, which is why it’s mostly considered a forum.
Is Reddit a Forum or Blog?
Is Reddit a discussion forum? Yes, and you can get a lot of useful information on almost any topic there. It’s not a blog since the basic blog form is different from Reddit’s. You don’t need to register or use your email address to read topics on Reddit, but registration is necessary to post and actively participate.
Is Reddit a Public Forum?
Fortunately for anyone looking to become a new Redditor, this site is a public and free internet forum. Registering your account is free, but if you want to be able to participate actively and post your own discussion subreddits, you have to frequent the site and follow basic security and privacy guidelines.
The Essential Reddit Jargon – from Subreddit and Karma to AMA and TIL
Some essential terms to know and use on Reddit are:
- Redditor – a person that uses and comments on Reddit,
- Subreddit – a community with a specific topic, such as r/IWantToLearn, where users express their wishes to learn something new and ask others for recommendations on how and where to start,
- R/ – this is how subreddits are labeled (for example, r/pics, r/funny, and alike),
- Upvote and downvote – when a Redditor posts something, that could get upvoted to be noticed more or downvoted if people dislike it. Having your posts upvoted is one of the main goals of Redditors,
- Mods – users who manage subreddits, both visually and content-wise,
- Karma – the number of times a user’s posts are upvoted (or downvoted). The better the “karma,” the likelier you are to be a mod.
Once you enter a subreddit, you’ll see lots of abbreviations that don’t make sense to an outsider. To be prepared for understanding every part of a subreddit, here are the most common abbreviations you’ll see in posts:
- OP – Original Poster (the user that started a discussion or topic)
- AMA – Ask Me Anything (this is a discussion started by famous Reddit users. Barack Obama did an AMA discussion, for example)
- DAE – Does Anyone Else,
- IMO / IMHO – In My Opinion or In My Honest Opinion,
- MIC – More In Comments,
- NSFW – Not Safe for Work,
- TL;DR – Too Long; Didn’t Read (this is used at the end of long posts to quickly recap its point; usually done by an OP)
- TIL – Today I Learned,
- WIP – Work In Progress.
Are There Rules for Participating In or Creating Subreddits?
To participate in subreddits, it’s important to read the rules and guidelines before you post new discussions or comments. Most of the time, the rules are pinned to the top of the page so anyone new can quickly learn about the specific requirements.
Generally, the rules are similar in most communities – you shouldn’t partake in any sort of offensive and damaging behavior that would harm the community. Some mods make special rules, depending on the nature of the topic and the flexibility of the members.
To create your subreddit, you have to have an account at least 30 days old, be relatively active over those 30 days and have enough “karma” points.
What Were the Most Popular Subreddits In 2021? Technology, the Best Memes, and Something for Everyone
If you’re new on Reddit, look into the most popular communities for a start. During 2021, people enjoyed these:
- r/facepalm – a funny and fun community with over 40 million followers,
- r/showerthoughts – random bits of funny thoughts and wisdom,
- r/yesyesyesyesno – one of the largest meme and GIF sharing communities,
- r/videos – a video sharing community with over 23 million followers,
- r/entertainment – entertainment news source and discussion community,
- r/techsupport – a community all about technical concerns and solutions,
- r/futurology – discussions about modern science and technology,
- r/todayilearned – users share facts and things they recently learned about.
These are just some of the popular communities this year, but you’ll be able to find any topic imaginable. Whatever your interests are, there’s likely a community discussing it. It’s easy to find like-minded people on Reddit, which is why it’s so popular.
Reddit’s Good for Business, Whether You Invest or Seek Advice
Many people create an account to participate in Reddit’s discussions and communities because they like to be a part of something bigger than themselves. However, many also use it as advice and can start a business based on people’s tips.Reddit is officially a forum, but it’s much more than that for its users. It’s a community that can help and encourage others. Just like anything else on the internet, it can get toxic and harmful, but it’s more often friendly and helpful and a unique platform for today’s standards.