Have you heard of Reddit? It is an amazing place on the Internet, where people share links and ideas. It has also a very active programming community. I visit Reddit daily- you can learn a lot from people there and have some interesting discussion. In this article, I will tell you how I use Reddit and why I consider it so valuable.
Reddit is not the only social media that I use for learning about technology. I have previously written about using Twitter for staying up to with the Java world.
Reddit is different than Twitter. While Twitter is all about individuals, Reddit is all about communities.
Programming communities on Reddit
Reddit works by having you join multiple subreddits. As you join them, you are effectively building your Reddit home page. My current homepage looks something like this:
Ok, so you like the idea of joining these programming communities (subreddits), but you are not sure where to start? Let me recommend a few for you:
Java Themed
- Java – This is an extremely active and popular subreddit where you can find anything related to programming in Java. This is not a channel for learning Java or asking for help. You share news, articles and discuss ideas here.
- Learnjava – This is where you should discuss learning Java. Perfect for students and newcomers to the language.
- Javahelp – This is where you ask for help with Java. Kind of like a StackOverflow with a smaller community and laxer rules.
General Programming:
- Programming – The channel to discuss everything and anything related to programming. Worth following, as it has a broader scope than the more dedicated Java subreddit.
- DevOps – Subreddit with a focus on this new fancy thing called DevOps. Want to talk about Kubernetes? Join it.
- Machinelearning – Teaching machines how to think is really fascinating. Join this subreddit to see how the present and the future of machine learning may look like.
Other worth considering:
- ProgrammerHumor – For your daily dose of laughs! Honestly, this is one of the funniest places on the Internet for programmers. The voting system makes sure that usually, the quality content comes out on top.
- Chess – If you like playing chess, or want to get better, join in!
You don’t have to use Reddit only for programming content. The website is really great for other fields, interest and hobbies as well.
Reddit Highlights
Still not sold on that Reddit thing? I will share with you some of the really good content I found there recently:
Operator += is broken for Strings in Java 9 and 10 – did you know about it?! I found out from Reddit and it changed my view on the importance of Java Long Term Support releases.
Why I Moved Back from Gradle to Maven – someone shared this article on Reddit. It is worth a read. What is even more interesting is the discussion that takes place in the comments on Reddit.
Machine Learning in Java – you don’t need to learn R to do some machine learning.
It’s perfectly fine to only code at work, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise – are you ready for 1000+ comments arguing both cases?
There is much more and if you want the “best” stuff – Check the top pages of Java subreddit. Of coure it is worth exploring other subreddits as well.
Should you participate?
I started using Reddit only passively, simply reading and following the discussions. There is nothing wrong with that. On the other hand, once you get comfortable with the community and their web culture, you will most likely want to contribute and share your favourite resources.
I like Reddit because it is nice to have people to talk about topics that I care about. While Twitter is great, Reddit facilitates discussion much better. Some things simply need a few more characters…
Summary
Reddit is the best place I know to discuss programming articles and ideas. If you have not tried it yet, I hope this article at least clarified what it is all about. Given how easy it is to follow Reddit (I read the homepage as I would any other website) I recommend you give it a go! What is there to miss?