No longer lurking in Anandtech thanks to Reddit...

[ChambersMonroe]

I lurk on reddit but try to avoid the more ridiculous categories (like the front page!). I do not like the community there though so I never participate. Seems like 90% of the people there will say or do just about anything in order to seem clever and get attention. Its reminds me of what it would be like if a massive crowd of people met up in an arena with no event scheduled...

[RossMAN]

r/RossMAN

[Xonoahbin]

I browse these forums (OT, P&N, L&R, now Discussion Club) as well as Reddit and 4chan. For me, each of them has its own utility and provides a different experience. I tend to envision them in different ways:

AT forums: usually reasonable people (not so much in P&N), clever, funny, probably a bit older and wiser demographic than Reddit and 4chan. I picture most ATers professionals of some sort, often business types, but sometimes blue collar folks too.

Reddit: about the same age demographic as 4chan (which is like 12 to 25 or 30), but instead of being disgusting and pointless, Redditors are usually just boring and arrogant. I picture them as the slightly-above-average kids you knew in high school. They weren't really hot shit, but they wanted to be hot shit. They think they're way funnier than they are, but they often post interesting and funny things. It's not incredible content, but usually worth a lurk.

4chan: disgusting and pointless is probably a fair assessment. Just a cess pool, but sometimes in that cess pool there's brilliance and human connection you can't quite get elsewhere. They were the weird kids in high school, the ones nobody wanted to hang around because you just didn't feel comfortable around them. They have some shining moments and a lot of potential, but when they're all together, it's just a shit fest and that's all it will ever be.

I guess I'm kind of weird, but I like to lurk in all of the places. I post the most by far in AT (which is saying something, given my posts per day is very low). They give me different windows into humanity. If I wanted to feel like part of a community and post frequently, I'd definitely choose AT or a particularly good sub-Reddit. I suppose some of the 4chan boards could be reasonable too, but I haven't seen it much so far.

[adlep]

No thanks, pictures of cats do not interest me.

[Printer Bandit]

the hume thread is a mini-reddit.

[dr150]

Originally Posted by Printer Bandit

hate the way reddit comments are organized. it's so confusing.

Agreed. Takes away from the convo.

[_Rick_]

I only go there to read imgur comments.

The thing that's broken about reddit, is that it offers specialized subreddits, but it lacks something akin to ATOT, where the same people from that subreddit are present.
So you never actually build a community.
Plus, it seems that the attention whoring is pretty bad there, due that up/down vote system. That is also what perpetuates the group-think issue.
And the worst is the hipsterish aura of reddit. So many people are vocal about being on there, because it's so cool, and underground, when really, it's just a rehash of what slashdot was a decade ago, and there's that smugness involved.

I prefer reasonably sized communities, with a manageable flow of new members. Even AT is almost too vast for my taste.

[FeuerFrei]

I'm not even sure what Reddit is. Some lame sharing service started by Wired magazine to hop on some bandwagon, but kiddos embraced it so now we're stuck with it?

[RedRooster]

Bleep bloop bleep.
I have no idea what you're talking about, there's more internet than just here?

[Dumac]

Reddit is go for headlines and pics, but you can't really expect a decent discussion in the comments.

[BillGates]

I browse reddit on my phone but not really on my PC...good time-waster. I get super annoyed at how fast the comments go completely off-topic and worthless. If I had an account there, my entire life would be wasted downvoting all the drivel that adds nothing to the discussion, or changes the course of the discussion.

[lxskllr]

Originally Posted by BillGates

I browse reddit on my phone but not really on my PC...good time-waster. I get super annoyed at how fast the comments go completely off-topic and worthless. If I had an account there, my entire life would be wasted downvoting all the drivel that adds nothing to the discussion, or changes the course of the discussion.

The comments are useful for filtering out garbage blog spam. They're like Newegg reviews, where once you tune in to the style, you can extract good data from the garbage. I read a few comments first, and if it looks promising, I'll then open the article.