Don't use Reddit for Linux or BSD related questions

Published on 2022-04-08. Modified on 2022-04-08.

If you're looking for answers related to Linux or BSD (or anything for that matter), Reddit is often not the right place to search for them.

This is not unique to Reddit, but it generally relates to many social places on the Internet, specifically those with point based voting. By the very nature by which these point based places work, they not only attract, but often nurture the most hollow and miserable people. Reddit and other places like it are often toxic and superfluous.

Exceptions do exist and occasionally you will good channels and helpful information, but in many cases, it's a complete waste of time. So many people spend their time with empty, personal, emotional, and myth based discussions and statements - feeling good about themselves when they get up-voted, or when they themselves up or down-vote other peoples comments.

To most people, social acceptance is one of the most important driving forces of their lives. As such, social media discussion sites are mainly dominated by people who follow hype and trends. They cannot and do not think independently, and they are afraid of going against the popular opinion. If you think independently and don't follow "the hive mind", you will definitely not be liked on social media.

People who have nothing better to do than to spend most of their time on these places generally feel bad about themselves. They spend their time at these places in order to feel better, which they do by bullying, down-voting, up-voting, commenting, etc. It's actually one of the very few ways a hollow person can feel good about himself/herself.

NOTE! Voting systems on social media don't work. While down-votes ideally should silence the completely irrelevant and useless comments, it is instead used to remove dissenting views and views that goes against the popular opinion. This leads to a form of radicalization where people are only ever exposed to the popular opinions because people with conflicting views eventually stop wasting their time on these platforms.

Often you will find a certain group of people clinging together, dominating the specific subject group, making each other feel extra good and important by agreeing and bullying those who disagree. Then there is all the rest who basically sucks up to the dominating group by also agreeing and voting, etc.

So, what should you do instead?

• Find user groups and meet people in real life. This is perhaps the most important. In real life most people behave different because they can't hide behind an anonymous social media account.
• Study blog posts, mainly those without ads. Most ad based blogs are useless because these people just write in order to get money and not because they have a true interest in the topic (exceptions do exist).
• Write email to authors of relevant blog posts. Often bloggers are happy to help someone with a shared interest. But don't be offended if you don't get an answer, time is precious for all.
• Join mailing lists, but be on your guard for toxic environments exist on mailing lists too. Look through the archives first, that will quickly reveal how people behave. As an example, if you're interested in OpenBSD, one of the best places to get professional help is on the "misc" mailing list for OpenBSD. Even the developers answer questions and help out. However, a couple of people on that list are full-time bullies. They do nothing but wait for someone to ask "the wrong question", and as soon as that happens, they are all over the person as a flock of hyenas attacking a lone prey. They are easily recognizable by their hostility and their constant sucking up to the developers by exaggerated praise. They feel good about themselves because they run OpenBSD, which - for some reason - makes them feel elitist.
• Read documentation.

Last, but not least, don't waste your time feeling depressed if you have been the target of a toxic group. Surely, if a drunk person on the street shouts at you, yelling that you're a fool, stupid, wrong, or something else, you would hardly notice because, well, he's drunk, he doesn't even know what he's saying. Then why would you pay attention to the even bigger fool on a social media platform?