Comment by llamageddon01 on 20/10/2021 at 12:07 UTC*

1 upvotes, 0 direct replies (showing 0)

View submission: The NewToReddit Encyclopaedia Redditica v2

“Reddit is strange like that.”

A phrase posted when you want to make your opinion known that Reddit doesn’t behave the way you expected[1]. While most social media outlets rely on their users behaving as predictably as possible - even driving them that way so as to harvest their useful data - Reddit thrives on unpredictability. One could even say that randomness is actually built into the system itself to some extent, harnessing the energy and creativity of hundreds of thousands of Redditors worldwide from all walks of life to provide all content, filter all said content through the voting system, discuss the content and even self-police the communities hosting said content by its users volunteering as moderators. We are not the users of Reddit; we *are* Reddit.

1: https://www.reddit.com/r/awfuleverything/comments/ja0oc2/thats_how_democracy_works/

This all leads to several phenomena which, when experienced are bewildering, difficult to describe but nevertheless instantly recognisable, which can be generally categorised as “Reddit Moments” or more popularly, “Reddit is strange”, or even, if feeling particularly loquacious, “Reddit is strange like that”.

**Is Reddit unpredictable?**

We have our own peculiarities here at Reddit; you can make the world’s best Meme and it gets no attention. Then someone reposts it and it gets all the upvotes[2] Reddit can give. Pointing it out might not go well either[3] because sooner or later this happens to everyone and because those before you were told to “get over it” you’ll be told that too. Or you could even take it to r/KarmaCourt if your case is solid enough[4]. You won’t get anywhere but it’ll wring some fun out of your bad luck.

2: https://i.redd.it/74l0wv3xe7891.jpg

3: https://www.reddit.com/r/Wellthatsucks/comments/89rhvi/when_your_post_gets_reposted_but_they_get_more/

4: https://www.reddit.com/r/KarmaCourt/comments/v5vicv/uimaginaryqualia_v_ubuecrupratfa1l55_for_unlawful/

Talking of which, is it luck or skill that determines whether or not a post is successful? r/dataisbeautiful discuss this in great depth[5] of which my favourite of all the verdicts was *“Conclusion: the right combination of stuff reddit loves criticizing the stuff reddit hates at the right time is going to be a hit.”* There is a school of thought that timing is the key for reposting[6] and if this is really the case, Reddit’s actually not that unpredictable after all.

5: https://www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeautiful/comments/b6gt3v/two_exact_same_post_getting_different_upvotes_on/

6: https://www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeautiful/comments/6qgyd0/what_time_should_you_post_to_reddit_oc/

**Is Reddit predictable?**

It’s a Reddit trope that the Post you spent an hour carefully crafting with thoughtful information, sound references and insightful conclusion will be completely ignored while your four second response to a cat video will be upvoted to oblivion. It’s often said that random offhand remarks are likely to gain huge amounts of attention for reasons nobody’s entirely sure of.

The phrase *”What a terrible day to have eyes. Right, I’m off to look at kittens”* is something I say quite frequently[7] on Reddit in a vain attempt to trigger the Haikusbot[8], but on one occasion ended up being one of my all-time top comments[9]. I still can’t tell you why that one stood out above the rest; every time I said it anywhere else it was extremely appropriate and one of the earliest comments on the post, but for some reason, Reddit decided that *that* particular one was *the* particular one to reward. And it’s never triggered the Haikusbot either. Yet. As it stands, then, it doesn’t look like Reddit is as predictable as one might think.

7: https://i.redd.it/p30p3cz1ui891.jpg

8: https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/comments/lc90fy/what_is_haikusbot/

9: https://www.reddit.com/r/oddlyterrifying/comments/qflbma/this_parasite_inside_of_a_praying_mantis/hi09csx/

**Is Reddit predictably unpredictable?**

Sometimes just posting a link to another sub at the right time can have unexpected effects. On seeing this picture[10] posted in r/EngineeringPorn, I just *had* to post what I thought was an appropriate subreddit link[11]. Downvotes rained spectacularly and rapidly down into the double figures until some kind Redditor pointed out that if one actually followed the link it wasn’t what it appeared to be. Amazingly, not only were all the downvotes shortly negated but the upvotes kept on coming until that became my most upvoted sub link comment to date. Being the serial commenter of sub links that I am, I absolutely did not see either reaction coming, as normally they get four or five upvotes at best.

10: https://i.redd.it/d36ft1hauj891.jpg

11: https://www.reddit.com/r/EngineeringPorn/comments/oci72n/ill_just_leave_this_here/h3um1lp/

**Is Reddit unpredictably predictable?**

Reddit has many subreddits where the content posted in one would be the polar opposite of content suitable for another. Take these four subs for example:

r/ATBGE - for when an image shows an item that has Awful Taste But Great Execution.
r/ATAAE - for when an image shows an item that has Awful Taste And Awful Execution.
r/GTAGE - for when an image shows an item that has Great Taste And Great Execution.
r/GTBAE - for when an image shows an item that has Great Taste But Awful Execution.

The fun really starts when Reddit can’t decide which of these is the best sub for the item in question, because sometimes awful and great are just too interchangeable. The same dilemma[12] often applies to r/DiWHY and r/DiWHYNOT. In this example, two different users saw a post on r/nextfuckinglevel and both were absolutely certain which DIY sub it also belonged in[13].

12: https://www.reddit.com/r/DiWHYNOT/comments/vl0ylr/found_on_rdiwhy_and_i_think_it_is_more_suitable/

13: https://i.redd.it/auhee3s9hl891.jpg

All of this is why the same picture[14] can be posted to both r/awfuleverything and r/MadeMeSmile but be perfectly suited for both. Originating from a viral 2019 Facebook post in which a poor drawing[15] is announced the winner of an art contest, Reddit was very much divided[16] as to whether this was awful[17] or was guaranteed to make you smile[18].

14: https://i.redd.it/vamtqehpu2v81.jpg

15: https://www.unilad.co.uk/animals/rubbish-dog-drawing-wins-contest-over-artists-drawing

16: https://www.reddit.com/r/TIHI/comments/k0s4p0/thanks_i_hate_choosing_the_winner_by_likes/

17: https://www.reddit.com/r/awfuleverything/comments/ja0oc2/thats_how_democracy_works/

18: https://www.reddit.com/r/MadeMeSmile/comments/qywcen/winner_of_doggo_drawing_contest_won_on_likes/

All of the above can be summed up as: Reddit is strange like that. Hopefully you’ll now be able to spot this for yourself on your travels through our unpredictable slice of the internet.

*Because there is a Subreddit for everything:**

Infuriated at Reddit being strange like that? Tell them at r/mildlyinfuriating, r/mildyinfuriating or even r/mindlyinfuriating but probably not at r/Infuriating, r/extremelyinfuriating, r/infuriatingasfuck r/insanelyinfuriating or r/wildlyinfuriating. r/oddlyinfuriating collects the little things that make us want to break things.

*See Also:**

Bandwagon Effect[19]
Comment Chain[20]
Emojis[21]
Hivemind[22]
“Lost in New”[23]
Mod[24]
“Reddit Moment”[25]
“When is the best time to Post for maximum attention?”[26]

Comment by llamageddon01 on 20/10/2021 at 12:07 UTC*

“Reddit is strange like that.”

Replies