Reddit: You Get What You Pay For
By Dennis D. McDonald
I’m thinking of quitting Reddit after only a couple of months of use. Here’s why.
I joined Reddit after leaving MeWe, a disappointing social network I migrated to when the public version of Google+ went belly up in 2019. My main interests at Reddit are my hobbies: history, books, science fiction, and movies. Subgroups of people interested in these topics abound on Reddit.
My approach: Having used a variety of social media platforms over the years I’ve grown accustomed not only to commenting on others’ posts but also to sharing original comments as well as links to my own web site’s posts about books, movies, history, and tech.
Initially I was very pleased to start engaging with folks on Reddit. Unfortunately, I’ve repeatedly run into issues with accusations of “self promotion” when I post a link to a blog post that’s relevant to a Reddit topic. Recently in the “science fiction” group I linked to my review of Denis Villeneuve’s DUNE in which I expressed some disappointment compared with the Lynch 1984 version. In the Reddit “history” group, for example, I had no problem posting and following a spirited discussion about Malcol Gladwell’s poorly researched book The Bomber Mafia.
Apparently different subreddit groups handle external links in different ways. While I can understand a website not wanting to link people away so it can keep users there to maximize page views (which can enhance advertising rates), I’m not there to sell stuff, I’m there to share information and comment on topics that interest me. For example, I was banned temporarily from one group (movies) because “too high” a portion of my posts or comments included links to my movie reviews related to those being discussed. A Reddit moderator explained to me via private message that the group was controlling spam especially from groups like Netflix.
I was amused by that comparison given the paltry views my noncommercial website gets but then I don’t have to deal with the volume of real spam Reddit must get.
What really soured me on Reddit though was what happened when I posted a comment and link to a review of the new DUNE movie on the science fiction group where I expressed some disappointment compared with Lynch’s version. I made the mistake of publishing my review on my own website with a name error and various typos. A commenter pointed out the name error — whom I thanked — and I immediately made corrections.
But I then was pilloried by a person I initially thought was a moderator for lacking “journalistic standards,” for “lying,” and for failing to document in sufficient detail in my blog post why I was disappointed by Villeneuve’s Dune.
Granted, a variety of Reddit commenters disagreed with my assessment of the movie — which does not bother me; my movie opinions are my own and I really did enjoy the Villeneuve version of Dune despite my disappointment.
But the same “moderator” kept hounding me about “self promotion” to the point where I finally had to assume he or she was a troll and not really interested in discussing the movie. Being harassed online like that is something I have seldom experienced — and I’ve been using social media since 2002.
These Reddit experiences have left a bad taste in my mouth and have made using Reddit an unpleasant experience. But, I guess that old saw is true: “You get what you pay for.”
Copyright (c) 2021 by Dennis D. McDonald
