I get into a lot of arguments about Reddit, because I have friends across pretty much all major geek networks (think Slashdot in its heyday, Something Awful, etc.) Here are some quick thoughts about the community culture at Reddit, adapted from an email to a friend:

It’s true what all the supporters say: there are a lot of subreddits, there’s a lot of good moderation, and it’s not one monolith. I’ve discovered some pretty hilarious things in r/pics, and also connected pretty deeply with posters who needed help in r/depression, and read some really insightful analysis in r/foodforthought.

But Reddit’s tagline really tells you all you need to know: Reddit is the front page of the internet.

Yes, they often have a lot of really really good stuff by really cool people, but the same can be said for, I don’t know, the Internet?

It’s really tiresome when a smaller and tighter community like Metafilter rises up in self-satisfaction to proclaim all of Reddit a cesspool, because that’s kind of like dismissing the entire Internet because you accidentally stumbled onto 4chan once. Yes, there are lots of problems with a lot of subreddits, such as the rampant sexism/racism/homophobia*, but there are lots of good things to be found in Reddit, too.

But at the same time, that jaded “we from Reddit are cool and jaded and cynical and fie upon your disdain” is really infuriating, too. Just because you happen to have a login to this specific website doesn’t mean that you are by default Cooler Than Everyone Else (cf: Something Awful), nor does it give you license to sneer at anyone who hasn’t taken the 30 seconds to sign up for Reddit.

The strength of giant communities like Reddit and Something Awful is in allowing everyone to create or find their own niche, but that also means that what you get out of Reddit, and how you represent this community you call your own to the world, will vary greatly depending on your behaviour. The onus is on you. So that means that if you want to say “not all of Reddit is as awful as that one poster who insulted your ancestors and killed your puppy because we have lots of subreddits that are different”, then you can’t excuse poor behaviour by saying “I’m from Reddit and that’s just how we are”, or try to pretend that poor behaviour in one arena is somehow balanced out by other people in other subreddits who are actually making an effort to be civil.

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*I don’t care if these things are played for laughs, or if you’re being ironic, or if I need to lighten up. Reddit can be really unwelcoming to people that don’t fit a particular mould of user, the same way that the Internet can be really hostile to new users. (see: Booberday. Yes, really.) The burden is still on you to behave with respect and not dismiss people out of hand.

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This post was written about a week ago and queued up, but it seems especially relevant now that Reddit is being accused of facilitating the distribution of child pornography. I’m not going to even attempt to wade into that argument. I’ll just link the discussion.