This is a How To for using Reddit

1. Reddit
Social Media for Questions and Answers
Professor
Lydia Rogers
Community
College of
Rhode Island
Social Media
Communication
Comm 1400

2. What is Reddit?
A largely uncensored website with information
submitted by anonymous users
All opinions presented are
• Thoughtful and/or
• Rude
All Information presented is
• Accurate or
• Inaccurate

3. Are you a member?
• You do not need to be a member to locate
and read websites
• You need to be a member to comment or
answer questions

4. Reddit is 10 years old
• Born in 2005
stats at a glance (as of Apr 06, 2015)
• Last month, reddit had 168,519,576 unique visitors hailing from over 208
different countries viewing a total of 7,558,161,383 pages
• Yesterday, reddit powered 8,474 active communities consisting of over
3,130,650, logged in redditors casting over 24,311,704 votes
Data courtesy http://www.reddit.com/about/

5. Example of the Reddit Front Page

7. Number at far left shows
ranking based on votes

8. Number at far left shows
ranking based on votes

9. Number at far left shows
ranking based on votes
Arrows allow logged-in users to vote a post up or down which affects its ranking

10. Two types of posts
Example 1: This post …

11. Two types of posts
Example 1: This post …

12. Two types of posts
Example 1: This post …
… links to

13. Two types of posts
Example 1: This post …
… links to

14. Example: This Q&A among Reddit members…

15. Example: This Q&A among Reddit members…

16. Example: This Q&A among Reddit members…
Links to…

17. Example: This Q&A among Reddit members…
Links to…

18. The Front Page is:
• Not filtered by content category
• Order is determined by votes of users

19. Subreddits
• Are reddit posts about specific topics

20. Every post is assigned to a subreditt(s)

21. Every post is assigned to a subreditt(s)
This post is within the science subreddit

22. Every post is assigned to a subreditt(s)
This post is within the science subreddit

23. Every post is assigned to a subreditt(s)
This post is within the science subreddit

24. Every post is assigned to a subreditt(s)
• We can see that this post was submitted 3 hours ago
• By docbrownx
• And is in reddit subreddit science (to /r/science)
This post is within the science subreddit

25. Every post is assigned to a subreditt(s)
• We can see that this post was submitted 3 hours ago
• By docbrownx
• And is in reddit subreddit science (to /r/science)
Click on /r/science to go to
related posts
This post is within the science subreddit

26. By clicking on that subreddit
You get access to the other posts in the Science subreddit
(http://www.reddit.com/r/science/)

27. You can filter further by topic
(on right side of page)

28. Elements of subreddits
Let’s use the “books” subreddit as an example
(http://www.reddit.com/r/books/)

29. On the right is a description

30. Below that are the Rules

31. At the very bottom…
is a list of moderators
(volunteers among Reddit community).

32. Finding subreddits
• Google Search

33. Finding subreddits
• Google Search

34. Across top of reddit webpage

35. Use the reddit search box

36. Use the reddit search box

37. Use the reddit search box
You can further
narrow your
search here

38. Use the reddit search box
You can further
narrow your
search here

39. Narrow down more:
Click on “/r/art”

40. Now tell reddit I want
“Rhode Island”

41. Now tell reddit I want
“Rhode Island”
And I want to limit my search to the “Art” subreddit by checking the box

42. Now tell reddit I want
“Rhode Island”
And I want to limit my search to the “Art” subreddit by checking the box

43. Here are some results

44. Another way to sort results

45. Another way to sort results

46. Another way to sort results
“sorted by” and “links from”

47. Another way to sort results
“sorted by” and “links from”

48. Another way to sort results
“sorted by” and “links from”

49. “Sorted by” and “Links from”

50. “Sorted by” and “Links from”

51. “Sorted by” and “Links from”

52. “Sorted by” and “Links from”

53. “Sorted by” and “Links from”

54. Reddit loves acronyms
From http://www.reddit.com/wiki/faq

55. Reddit acronyms
NSFW and NSFL indicates the content will possibly upset or offend
“Not Safe for Work” and “Not Safe for Life”
In other words- “Handle with Care”

56. Reddit acronyms
NSFW and NSFL indicates the content will possibly upset or offend
“Not Safe for Work” and “Not Safe for Life”
In other words- “Handle with Care”
So adding nsfw:no or nsfl:no when searching
will weed out results that you do not want children,
fellow employees, relatives, etc. viewing

57. Reddit acronyms
NSFW and NSFL indicates the content will possibly upset or offend
“Not Safe for Work” and “Not Safe for Life”
In other words- “Handle with Care”
So adding nsfw:no or nsfl:no when searching
will weed out results that you do not want children,
fellow employees, relatives, etc. viewing

58. If you create an account

59. If you create an account
At the top right you sign-in and are alerted to emails from reddit.
(I have one message waiting for me here.)

60. On the left you create/edit
your subscriptions
Default
Subscriptions

61. On the left you create/edit
your subscriptions
Default
Subscriptions
Top Left Drop Down
List to
Edit Subscriptions

62. On the left you create/edit
your subscriptions
Default
Subscriptions
Top Left Drop Down
List to
Edit Subscriptions
Go to Bottom of List
to Make Changes

63. On the left you create/edit
your subscriptions
Default
Subscriptions
Top Left Drop Down
List to
Edit Subscriptions
Go to Bottom of List
to Make Changes

64. The Edit Screen

65. The Edit Screen
You can subscribe to
a suggested subreddit

66. The Edit Screen
You can subscribe to
a suggested subreddit

67. The Edit Screen
You can subscribe to
a suggested subreddit
or ….

68. The Edit Screen
You can unsubscribe to a subreddit
currently on your home page
You can subscribe to
a suggested subreddit
or ….

69. The Edit Screen
You can unsubscribe to a subreddit
currently on your home page
You can subscribe to
a suggested subreddit
or ….

70. Want more options?

71. Want more options?
Search for a subreddit

72. Want more options?
Search for a subreddit

74. I’ll click on
“female fashion advice”

75. I’ll click on
“female fashion advice”

76. Then “subscribe”

77. Then “subscribe”

78. Then “subscribe”

79. You can “save” web articles

80. You can “save” web articles

81. You can “save” web articles
Click on “save”

82. Go to Left Side of Home Page

83. Go to Left Side of Home Page
Later, when you
want to read this
article, click on
“saved.”

84. Go to Left Side of Home Page
Click on “saved”
to read later

85. Go to Left Side of Home Page
Click on “saved”
to read later And the story is in my
“Saved” tab to be read later

86. To contribute to reddit

87. To contribute to reddit
Go to Top Right of Your Home Page

88. To contribute to reddit
Go to Top Right of Your Home Page

89. Link vs. Text Post
• “Submit a new link” is to post a web article
from another website
– Which someone else has written
– Which you have written
• “Submit a new text post” is how you can
pose a question on reddit
P.S. Always make sure you follow the rules of etiquette or “reddiquette”
http://www.reddit.com/wiki/reddiquette

90. Commenting on a post

91. Commenting on a post
Click on “comments”

92. The Comment Section

93. The Comment Section
You can comment

94. The Comment Section
You can comment
Double check the rules
of reddiquette

95. The Comment Section
You can comment
Double check the rules
of reddiquette
Read the comments of others

96. AMA “Ask Me Anything”

97. AMA “Ask Me Anything”
• http://www.reddit.com/r/ama
– This link has Q&A sessions by topic

98. AMA “Ask Me Anything”
• http://www.reddit.com/r/ama
– This link has Q&A sessions by topic

99. Ask leaders, celebrities, etc.
at IAMA

100. Ask leaders, celebrities, etc.
at IAMA
• http://www.reddit.com/r/Iama

101. Ask leaders, celebrities, etc.
at IAMA
• http://www.reddit.com/r/Iama

102. Ask leaders, celebrities, etc.
at IAMA
• http://www.reddit.com/r/Iama
For example, what follows is the start of a conversation with
Vincent D’Onofrio and Charlie Cox.

104. Other IAMAs

105. Other IAMAs

106. Other IAMAs

107. Other IAMAs

108. And more!

109. Go to right of IAMA Page for
upcoming Q&As

110. Go to right of IAMA Page for
upcoming Q&As
Some examples:

111. Go to right of IAMA Page for
upcoming Q&As
Some examples:

112. Go to right of IAMA Page for
upcoming Q&As
Some examples:

113. http://www.reddit.com/wiki/transparency
We regularly get requests from governments and law
enforcement agencies for private information about our
users or to take down content or subreddits; we occasionally
get requests from individuals. These requests are usually
legitimate, and we push back on any that we view as
overbroad or unnecessarily invasive of privacy. We want you
to see what's going on behind the scenes as much as
possible, so we're releasing annual transparency reports.

114. Rules of the Road
• Is posting personal information ok?
• NO. reddit is a pretty open and free speech place, but it is not ok to post
someone's personal information, or post links to personal information. This
includes links to public Facebook pages and screenshots of Facebook pages
with the names still legible. We all get outraged by the ignorant things people
say and do online, but witch hunts and vigilantism hurt innocent people and
certain individual information, including personal info found online is often
false. Posting personal information will get you banned. Posting professional
links to contact a congressman or the CEO of some company is probably
fine, but don't post anything inviting harassment, don't harass, and
don't cheer on or vote up obvious vigilantism.

115. Resources at
• http://www.reddit.com/wiki/faq

116. Reddit
Social Media for Questions and Answers
Professor
Lydia Rogers
Community
College of
Rhode Island
Social Media
Communication
Comm 1400