Commenting and Discussion
Along with links, commenting and the discussion it generates is the other big draw of Reddit. Many Redditors even think the comments are best part of the whole Reddit experience, and use the website as an online social hub. Reddit has not only its own culture, but its own subcultures. The feel of one subreddit community may be completely different from another, and it may have developed its own norms of etiquette, or lack thereof.
When you click on the "comments" link of any submitted outside or self-post link, Reddit will take you to a page that looks like this:
The box toward the top of the comment thread is how you enter a new top-level comment for the original item. Comments can be voted up or down, just the same as links. And just like links, the most-upvoted top-level comments will rise to the top of the comments page, while the most-downvoted comments will sink to the bottom.
Alternately, you can also post a reply to another Redditor's comment by clicking the "reply" link under each one. Comment threads remain nested so that users can follow discussions easily.
Over time, individual Redditors, especially the most active ones, can develop a reputation on the website. Part of that reputation is reflected through karma -- a concept we'll get to shortly -- but also in each Redditor's comment history, which any user can review.
Let's talk a little bit about how to manage and explore your personal Reddit account.