2021-01-20 ~ 5 min read

Programmer's guide to reddit

by DelusionalOptimist


Reddit is a great place which if used wisely can work as a great source of information of all sorts. This blog highlights some good subreddits for people who like computers/programming/tech in general. Rather than being a mega subreddit list, this is a curated list that I and some other folks at JODC find interesting.

My two cents

There are many other great subreddits that this post may not include, one of the reason being they are very specific to the reader's interest (or maybe I am unaware of them :P) and I leave it upto the reader to find them. Some general advice on finding good communities for your needs and making most out of them:

  • Use the sidebar to find related communities.
  • Some of the communities include a wiki where they list FAQs and general advice. Its a nice refined compilation of the subreddit's threads.
  • Use thread flairs in the sidebar to filter questions, topics, resources or whatever the community has to offer.
  • Use custom feeds to keep your main feed clean. Here is how you can make custom feeds for yourself. Use r/multihub to find public feeds/multis.
  • Keep an eye on the comments. You may find gold there.
  • Obviously use the search bar or use a search engine to find communities/threads.

r/learnprogramming

A subreddit where people post resources to learn programming including self-written tutorials, course reviews, programmer roadmaps etc. Programming related questions are welcome. Take a look at their faq which is a complete guide on getting started.

r/programming

People sharing their cool programming projects, general thoughts on programming, discussing hot programming topics and other interesting programming stuff. Their faq lists some general questions that every programmer faces at some point.

r/compsci

Rather than being focussed only on programming, this subreddit discusses Computer Science Theory and Application, content that computer scientists find interesting.

r/ProgrammerTIL

A subreddit where programmers share interesting lesser known stuff/facts about programming.

Programming languages subreddits

You can find a subreddit for your beloved language as well. Some popular ones:

Linux

r/linux

A generalist subreddit suited to news, guides, questions concerning the GNU/Linux operating system and to a lesser degree, free/open-source in general.

r/linux4noobs

Linux introductions, tips and tutorials. Questions are encouraged. Any distro, any platform! Explicitly noob-friendly.

r/linuxquestions

Another subreddit where people are asking questions about linux. Explicitly dedicated to questions.

r/FindMeADistro

A subreddit which will help you find your perfect distro (maybe for a friend who asked ;) )

Subreddits for common tools used by programmers

r/commandline

For anything regarding the command line, in any operating system. All questions, tips, and links to interesting programs/console applications you've found or made yourself are welcome.

r/git

General talk about git. You'll find people sharing tutorials, flight rules, cheatsheets about git etc here.

r/vim

A subreddit where Vim enthusaists share their learnings, plugins, tips and interesting stuff about Vim.

r/emacs

Similar to r/vim but for emacs, they have a weekly tips/tricks/etc/ thread as well.

r/vscode

Similar to above two, focussed on vscode.

Subreddits where righteous-privacy-paranoids lurk

r/privacy

Privacy advocates and enthusaists discussing how to protect their identity in this malicious world. Their wiki has all sorts of nifty advice and explains most of the topics you should be concerned about.

r/privacytoolsIO

The PrivacyTools team is providing resources to protect your privacy against global, mass surveillance. Become a member of the PrivacyTools community to discuss online privacy and security, share information, and stay informed with the latest updates in the privacy world.

Open Source

r/opensource

A subreddit for news, guides, questions about everything open source.

Domain oriented subreddits

r/webdev

A community dedicated to all things web development: both front-end and back-end. Their faq offers nice advice for beginner web developers.

r/gamedev

All things related to game development, programming, math, art, music, business, and marketing.

Ricing

r/unixporn

Submit screenshots of all your *NIX desktops, themes, and nifty configurations, or submit anything else that will make ricers happy. Maybe a server running on an Amiga, or a thinkpad signed by Bjarne Stroustrup?

Finally, advice for CS careers

r/cscareerquestions

A subreddit for those with questions about working in the tech industry or in a computer-science-related job.

For fun

r/ProgrammerHumour
r/linuxmemes
r/programmingcirclejerk
r/softwaregore
r/linux_gaming
r/itsaunixsystem

Not an explicitly programming oriented subreddit but you can find good explainations for things here

r/explainlikeimfive

Some curated posts

Why you should prefer books over videos/brief-tutorials

A nice post which will help you in getting involved in these communities better

A thread highlighting how hard it is to read code

How did you start contributing to FOSS

A thread highlighting programming trends of 2021