# How is the SDMB different from/superior to/inferior to Reddit? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 3, 2025, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-sdmb-different-from-superior-to-inferior-to-reddit/1016573 "2025-04-03T15:10:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2025, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-sdmb-different-from-superior-to-inferior-to-reddit/1016573/61 "2025-04-04T18:40:39Z")
In the large subreddits. There are actual conversations in the smaller ones. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2025, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-sdmb-different-from-superior-to-inferior-to-reddit/1016573/62 "2025-04-04T19:11:25Z")
I guess I’m only in large subs. Almost entirely subs for video games, TV shows, sports, and cooking. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2025, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-sdmb-different-from-superior-to-inferior-to-reddit/1016573/63 "2025-04-04T19:27:35Z")
Those get a ton of action. In the local Santa Barbara one for example people have a voice and the regulars know each other sort of similar to here but not to the same level. A lot of the more niche hobby ones have relied upon experts who are respected. There’s a subreddit called Century Club for people who accumulate 100k karma (post or comment). It’s been around for over ten years and has become a general interest forum very similar to here, not as good or as active but it’s a great group. It also leans liberal and has a lot of in jokes. There’s even a split off subreddit that snarks on the main one. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2025, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-sdmb-different-from-superior-to-inferior-to-reddit/1016573/64 "2025-04-04T19:54:39Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > I have never gotten the sense that it is somewhere I would go regularly on my own Here are a couple you might find more interesting than others. > **[Reddit - The heart of the internet](https://www.reddit.com/r/chicagomusicscene/?rdt=37293)** > **[Reddit - The heart of the internet](https://www.reddit.com/r/ChicagoSuburbs/?rdt=63217)** > **[Reddit - The heart of the internet](https://www.reddit.com/r/doublebass/?rdt=62990)** ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2025, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-sdmb-different-from-superior-to-inferior-to-reddit/1016573/65 "2025-04-04T20:28:58Z")
My opinion, having spent some time on Reddit lately: I don’t feel like I’ve gotten to “know” anyone on Reddit. It’s a lot of drive-by postings, frequent reposting of the same questions, and so on. There isn’t the level of moderation (“don’t be a jerk” and so on) we see here. Dopers though: honestly it feels more like a community. Where Reddit wins is that it has a LOT of coverage of a LOT of different topics. e.g. the periodic colonoscopy thread here on the SDMB, a whole ongoing and very active forum there. Ditto for asthma and for a number of other health issues. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2025, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-sdmb-different-from-superior-to-inferior-to-reddit/1016573/66 "2025-04-04T20:32:55Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > Where Reddit wins is that it has a LOT of coverage of a LOT of different topics. e.g. the periodic colonoscopy thread here on the SDMB, a whole ongoing and very active forum there. This is reddits main difference and what I like much more about here. There isn’t a way to bump and old thread there. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2025, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-sdmb-different-from-superior-to-inferior-to-reddit/1016573/67 "2025-04-04T21:02:05Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > Here are a couple you might find more interesting than others. > > [Reddit - The heart of the internet](https://www.reddit.com/r/chicagomusicscene/?rdt=37293) Thanks. I appreciate the effort. I guess I could look at those. But I alreadyy waste PLENTY of time on-line. Don’t really NEED a new place to go. Another bass forum is one of the very few other places I go regularly. Like I said, this place is good enough for my needs. ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2025, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-sdmb-different-from-superior-to-inferior-to-reddit/1016573/68 "2025-04-05T21:29:28Z")
Ok, now I see. Thank you, Dopers, for a response that illustrates for me what this place is all about and why I am happy to come back from time to time. Informative, civil discourse. xo, C. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2025, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-sdmb-different-from-superior-to-inferior-to-reddit/1016573/69 "2025-04-05T23:07:52Z")
It depends on what you’re looking for. The quality of posts is higher on SD, but the quantity is much lower. however if you want to have a complex discussion about complex social topics, you will get nowhere on reddit. You’ll get a lot of good discussion here. reddit is filled with people in their 20s who don’t know much. SD is full of people age 50+ who have graduate degrees and lots of real world experience. If you have a general question though, you can probably find it on reddit. But if you have a complex question, you’re better off coming here. Also on reddit they’ve gone on a ban frenzy ever since they went public and did an IPO. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2025, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-sdmb-different-from-superior-to-inferior-to-reddit/1016573/70 "2025-04-05T23:17:27Z")
Pretty much. The upvote and downvote is almost entirely based off of whether the comment fits the “vibe” that the thread and sub wants. You could give the most factual, rational and logical comment but if it’s not what the mob wants, then 200 downvotes. You could also give the most idiotic take on something but if it it’s the right vibe, it might get upvoted to the top. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2025, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-sdmb-different-from-superior-to-inferior-to-reddit/1016573/71 "2025-04-08T02:15:46Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > The quality of posts is higher on SD, but the quantity is much lower. > > however if you want to have a complex discussion about complex social topics, you will get nowhere on reddit. You’ll get a lot of good discussion here. > > reddit is filled with people in their 20s who don’t know much. SD is full of people age 50+ who have graduate degrees and lots of real world experience. You probably skipped past all the posts upthread where people talked about the wide variety of subreddits, and the people who participate in them, but to reiterate: there are plenty of subs with older folks and experts. It just requires a narrowing of the topic. I didn’t actually come to rebut that, however…I came to say I found a sub tonight called r/steak which seems to be endless posts of people posting their cooked steak. Hundreds - thousands? - of posts like that. Steak after steak after steak. And yet, no r/chicken, just r/chickens. What a funny world. ETA: oh wait, now it’s suggesting r/friedchicken. Pretty specific, but sure. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2025, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-sdmb-different-from-superior-to-inferior-to-reddit/1016573/72 "2025-04-08T02:23:04Z")
I didn’t read the entire thread, but as someone who has spent a lot of time on reddit, even the specialty subreddits are generally mediocre and/or full of puritans and gatekeepers. I’ve had instances where I would ask a question and make a post, only for it to get no competent/useful/informed replies endless times. Most replies are just people repeating the most simplistic answer possible without actually understanding the question in depth. A lot of time I even point out in the OP ‘I’m not talking about X’ only to have people say ‘it is X’ over and over and over again. Another thing I’ve run into on reddit is a few times I’ve asked a question or made a statement (with scientific papers to back it up) on a science subreddit only to have mods take it down because they didn’t understand the question. However the question I was asking wasn’t wrong, the mods just didn’t understand the question I was asking. So even the mods on specialty subreddits sometimes don’t know what they’re doing or what they’re talking about to the point where they write off topics they don’t intuit as off topic or baseless. Add in the fact that the admins there are on a ban frenzy, and the mods are comic book guy levels of power tripping and its really not that great for complex discussions. Coming here really makes you appreciate competent, useful mods. If you need advice on what weed whacker to buy, its a good place. But if you take a topic like this thread I made below, and post it on reddit, you’ll just get a bunch crappy, simplistic replies. I like to discuss issues related to the humanities, and even on specialty subreddits devoted to those fields the quality isn’t impressive. > [@Why did Christianity become the dominant form of religion in some nations conquered by the west, but not others](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-christianity-become-the-dominant-form-of-religion-in-some-nations-conquered-by-the-west-but-not-others/1006279): > > My understanding of how Christianity became the world’s dominant faith is basically this. In Judea after the Romans conquered it, a lot of Jews were motivated by nationalism and religious fervor to kick the Romans out. Jesus was just one of probably hundreds if not thousands of Jews who did this. He had a religion made after him. Then in 312 CE the Roman emperor Constantine converted to chrisitanity. This made christianity more mainstream in the Roman empire. Then in the late 4th century, the… ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2025, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-sdmb-different-from-superior-to-inferior-to-reddit/1016573/73 "2025-04-08T02:31:02Z")
Really? I found this topic multiple times on reddit; here’s a thread with reasonable, non-crappy, non-simplistic replies. [Why did the spread of Christianity never gain a strong foothold east of the Holy Land? : r/AskHistorians](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/17hsfc/why_did_the_spread_of_christianity_never_gain_a/) ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2025, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-sdmb-different-from-superior-to-inferior-to-reddit/1016573/74 "2025-04-08T02:32:02Z")
r/askhistorians is a good subreddit, thats true. ---
**Author:** ![natureboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/4491bb/32.png) [@natureboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/natureboy)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2025, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-sdmb-different-from-superior-to-inferior-to-reddit/1016573/75 "2025-04-08T02:32:20Z")
You’re thinking of Twitter. Not sure what you read on Reddit, but while it has some shit subs here and there, there are also some really good subs as well and written by people in the know. There are some threads where you really can’t get better information (on social media). ---
**Author:** ![natureboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/4491bb/32.png) [@natureboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/natureboy)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2025, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-sdmb-different-from-superior-to-inferior-to-reddit/1016573/76 "2025-04-08T02:36:43Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > eddit is filled with people in their 20s who don’t know much. SD is full of people age 50+ who have graduate degrees and lots of real world experience. I can’t speak to what the average SD poster is like beyond what I am seeing here, but Reddit seems to be representative of a fairly broad cross-section of the online world at least (they’re probably not representative of people who don’t post opinions on social media and instead prefer to spend time on Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, etc.) ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2025, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-sdmb-different-from-superior-to-inferior-to-reddit/1016573/77 "2025-04-08T02:49:15Z")
It skews towards young men. Nothing wrong with being a young man, I was a young man myself once in the before times. But younger people generally do not have as much crystallized intelligence to have discussions on complex issues in my experience. However one of the most informed person I know is in her 20s so there are exceptions. > **[Understanding Reddit Demographics in 2025 - Social Champ](https://www.socialchamp.com/blog/reddit-demographics/)** > > Discover Reddit demographics in 2025: key insights into user age, interests, and behaviors to optimize your engagement on the platform. > - The platform predominantly attracts male users, with[63.6% being men and about 35.1%](https://www.statista.com/statistics/1255182/distribution-of-users-on-reddit-worldwide-gender/) women. > - A majority of Reddit users fall within the 18-29 age range, making up [64%](https://gitnux.org/reddit-user-statistics/)of its user base. This age group is notably tech-savvy and active on social media. ---
**Author:** ![natureboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/4491bb/32.png) [@natureboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/natureboy)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2025, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-sdmb-different-from-superior-to-inferior-to-reddit/1016573/78 "2025-04-08T02:51:59Z")
And this skews toward…old white people with advanced degrees and wealth? Power to the people? ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2025, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-sdmb-different-from-superior-to-inferior-to-reddit/1016573/79 "2025-04-08T02:58:37Z")
On average, people in their 50s with graduate degrees have more crystallized intelligence that people in their 20s. Also this board has poor people too. ---
**Author:** ![natureboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/4491bb/32.png) [@natureboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/natureboy)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2025, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-sdmb-different-from-superior-to-inferior-to-reddit/1016573/80 "2025-04-08T03:01:10Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > On average, people in their 50s with graduate degrees have more crystallized intelligence that people in their 20s. What about people in their 30s and 40s? Not sure what Reddits you’re reading. I’m sure there are stupid threads/subs, but most of the threads/subs I’ve read have been composed by seemingly educated, well-adjusted posters. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-sdmb-different-from-superior-to-inferior-to-reddit/1016573.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-is-the-sdmb-different-from-superior-to-inferior-to-reddit/1016573.md?page=5)