Featured Image Caption: Top 11 Reddit Facts
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Reddit, the self-proclaimed, and rightly so, the front page of the internet has come a long way since its founding years, way before ‘I read it on Reddit’ was actually popular. Everything on the internet has had its ups and downs, but somehow reddit has always managed to remain a constant. The abysmal data mine attracts more than 8 billion users a day, and the trend just seems to keep on rising.
Top 11 Reddit Facts You Did Not Know
It’s been quite a journey for it and so in memory of it being founded 13 years ago this very day.
Let’s take a look at 11 Unique Reddit Facts That Will Blow Your Mind.
1. Reddit “Hug of Death.”
Reddit has been guilty of unintentional DDOS attacks on various sites whose links end up being on the front page of it. One such victim was “CodinGame” which crashed approximately 30 minutes after being in the limelight. Essentially reddit put the server in such limelight that hundreds and thousands of users started getting redirected to the site and the rudimentary equipment of the servers could not handle the load resulting in a server blackout.
2. The Very First Reddit
The very first reddit was by co-founder and co-chairman of reddit, Alexis Ohanian Sr himself. Although “Downing Street Memo” has long been suspended, this reddit still remains active and has become somewhat of a shrine to the entire reddit community. Comments and upvotes still end up on this subreddit.
3. The Reddit Formula
It’s pretty ironic that something governed by humans is, in turn, governed by an algorithm. However, the AI algorithm is required in community-based forums like reddit, or else cyber spam would have been a bigger problem than it is today. The formula is –
(p – 1) / (t + 2) ^1.5
Votes divided by age factor.
p = votes (points) from users.
t = time since submission in hours.
p is subtracted by 1 to negate submitters vote.
Age factor is (submission time in hours + 2) raised to 1.5.
4. Fake Data Is Overrated
In the early days of reddit, there wasn’t enough buzz around it. There were no fancy tools like Reddit Video Downloader or anything to support the site. So, the co-founders created hundreds of fake users to set the tone and attract authentic users essentially. The trick actually worked and saw a swarm of authentic users start to pour in thinking that this was a buzzing forum. The internet works in mysterious ways.
5. Full Freedom
Apart from privacy issues, reddit does not ban profiles or remove content which has paved the way for hate communities to exist on reddit. It has been a controversy ever since the community was founded, but reddit has remained resolute in its decision to protect free speech, even if the content harms another community.
6. AMAs
AMA or Ask Me Anything is an integral part of reddit and has existed since its very beginning. The user in these answers a string of questions on the subreddit for the community. One such AMA was done by the then President of USA, Barack Obama. It attracted so many users that reddit itself actually suffered from outages.
7. No Advertising
Reddit started off with almost 12000 USD out of which the only 500 USD were taken out for advertising which was mostly used on stickers with the site’s logo “Snoo” on it. Reddit literally rose from nothing to everything on a meager 500 USD.
8. The Great Wall of Reddit
The Faraja Children’s Home in Kenya lacked basic plot boundaries and was often troubled by raiding thieves. The matter was put up on Reddit by a local there. Although the orphanage required only 2000 USD, reddit ended up raising 100,000USD and have developed a unique relationship with the orphanage.
9. Secret Santa
Reddit user “kickme444 first created RedditGifts”. The service is an exchange medium of gifts specially meant for Reddit users. It matches a Reddit user with another Reddit user, and each user must then send a gift to the other user according to that user’s tastes and preferences listed on their profile. It is an innovative and novel way of encouraging interaction between users, and promoting friendship and relationships above and beyond boundaries.
10. Real-Time Comments
You can view real-time comments on reddit from every single community and subreddit on reddit.com/comments. It is, however, NSFW as one comment could be about politics and the next one a discussion about inappropriate topics like pornography or terrorism that may offend/cause counteractive backlash from some communities.
11. Reddit’s Most Controversial Question
Reddit’s most controversial question is ‘Would you rather fight a 100 duck-sized horses or one horse-sized duck?’ and you can bet on it being asked on every single AMA out there on Reddit. It got so famous that it actually made its way to a congressional hearing in the USA and was directed at a senator.
Conclusion
To its users, Reddit has been a favorite due to its untamed and unrestrictive user interface, although the exact same liberty that Reddit provides has led to several controversies for it. An article by the New Yorker (talks about Reddit, its impact on the society today, its non-restrictive nature, and the struggle cyber surveillances face to rid the internet of the toxicity it injects.
Reddit, although a relic and sacramental platform for all those who practice preach and propagate free speech, has had its fair share of grey areas and backlash. Several agencies have targeted it for offending communities and for propagating hate speech. There are two sides to every coin, and Reddit has managed to balance its pros and cons up until now. But in the growing age of technology and political/communal sensitivity, who knows what the future holds for Reddit?
By Kaushal Malkan
, you can always find me playing the piano or playing FIFA when I’m not binge-watching TV Series with pizzas. I’m always up for trying out new things. Life motto: The only time success comes before work is in the dictionary.
Member since July, 2019
View all the articles of Kaushal Malkan.
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