Redditor douglasmacarthur studied the top 200 most active communities on Reddit and decided that categorization was necessary. On May 29, he posted his project to r/TheoryOfReddit, a community designed to study and discuss the site.
“While observing how much difficulty moderators of large subreddits have directing users towards the appropriate ones, I concluded that one of the major reasons for this is the difficulty new users have accessing info on non-default subreddits. reddit.com/reddits[1] is tedious to go deep into,” douglasmacarthur explained in a comment.
Using information gathered from stattit.com, douglasmacarthur arranged the top 200 subreddits into 14 categories. He plans to expand the project to the site’s top 500 communities and break down the categories even further.
He omitted pornographic subreddits from the list but, when asked, compiled them into an offsite post. The list is topped by the NSFW subreddit r/gonewild, which is the 20th most active community on the site.
Many of the most active subreddits fall into the “Entertainment” realm, which douglasmacarthur has broken into the sub-categories of “Gaming,” “Television,” and “Other (Movies/Music/Franchises/Misc.).” The most active subreddit on the site, r/pics, is one of many in the “Images, GIFs, and videos” category.
The “Places” and “Race, Gender and Identity” categories in douglasmacarthur’s list, on the other hand, boast the fewest number of active subreddits. In fact, none of the top 10 most active subreddits are found in either category.
Redditors in the thread shared their thoughts on specific points showcased by douglasmacarthur’s newly-created categorization.
“This is a great start. As a relatively new user, many of these subreddits were unknown to me, and as you said, sorting through the lesser-known subreddits can be a hassle. Thanks for working on this,” Lhopital_rules commented.
“Cool to see r/android is the first big technology subreddit after the obvious r/technology,” emohipster commented.
Redditor q9rtn took it a step further and made multireddits out of the subreddits listed in each of the 14 categories.
Here’s the list:
Discussion and Stories
5 – /r/AskReddit[2] – 3461705
9 – /r/IAmA[3] – 3190151
19 – /r/bestof[4] – 2599694
68 – /r/fatpeoplestories[5] – 16648
91 – /r/pettyrevenge[6] – 51801
148 – /r/TalesFromRetail[7] – 47377
149 – /r/DoesAnybodyElse[8] – 173483
192 – /r/CrazyIdeas[9] – 60228
Emotional Reaction Fuel
11 – /r/WTF[10] – 3134518
12 – /r/aww[11] – 2419136
22 – /r/cringepics[12] – 158575
57 – /r/cringe[13] – 151756
69 – /r/JusticePorn[14] – 174699
78 – /r/MorbidReality[15] – 75074
106 – /r/rage[16] – 37011
118 – /r/mildlyinfuriating[17] – 43302
123 – /r/creepy[18] – 132245
129 – /r/creepyPMs[19] – 60100
165 – /r/nosleep[20] – 142491
166 – /r/nostalgia[21] – 58011
Entertainment – Gaming
4 – /r/gaming[22] – 3100154
21 – /r/leagueoflegends[23] – 270625
25 – /r/pokemon[24] – 219930
27 – /r/Minecraft[25] – 315636
34 – /r/starcraft[26] – 144319
39 – /r/Games[27] – 276107
41 – /r/DotA2[28] – 77195
51 – /r/skyrim[29] – 175101
74 – /r/tf2[30] – 103199
82 – /r/magicTCG[31] – 55621
94 – /r/wow[32] – 89739
92 – /r/KerbalSpaceProgram[33] – 23993
97 – /r/mindcrack[34] – 21174
111 – /r/Fallout[35] – 65770
112 – /r/roosterteeth[36] – 28020
119 – /r/Planetside[37] – 27712
145 – /r/gamegrumps[38] – 24787
169 – /r/battlefield3[39] – 67016
170 – /r/zelda[40] – 75121
178 – /r/darksouls[41] – 30284
180 – /r/masseffect[42] – 46534
Entertainment – Television
38 – /r/arresteddevelopment[43] – 77646
42 – /r/gameofthrones[44] – 186686
46 – /r/doctorwho[45] – 148358
53 – /r/mylittlepony[46] – 57794
83 – /r/community[47] – 109683
98 – /r/breakingbad[48] – 130083
133 – /r/adventuretime[49] – 94134
135 – /r/startrek[50] – 53794
147 – /r/TheSimpsons[51] – 45511
157 – /r/futurama[52] – 77052
175 – /r/HIMYM[53] – 64964
183 – /r/DunderMifflin[54] – 28362
198 – /r/thewalkingdead[55] – 118034
Entertainment – Other (Movies/Music/Franchies/Misc)
17 – /r/Music[56] – 2536972
18 – /r/movies[57] – 2570277
66 – /r/harrypotter[58] – 100416
88 – /r/StarWars[59] – 106390
96 – /r/DaftPunk[60] – 15455
100 – /r/hiphopheads[61] – 79629
104 – /r/anime[62] – 98526
114 – /r/comicbooks[63] – 66987
117 – /r/geek[64] – 215027
124 – /r/batman[65] – 67069
122 – /r/TheLastAirbender[66] – 69866
173 – /r/Naruto[67] – 22843
197 – /r/FanTheories[68] – 57189
Humor
2 – /r/funny[69] – 3713299
15 – /r/AdviceAnimals[70] – 2433974
29 – /r/fffffffuuuuuuuuuuuu[71] – 604019
30 – /r/4chan[72] – 306013
32 – /r/ImGoingToHellForThis[73] – 227895
49 – /r/firstworldanarchists[74] – 124776
40 – /r/circlejerk[75] – 155080
47 – /r/MURICA[76] – 83471
56 – /r/facepalm[77] – 187966
60 – /r/Jokes[78] – 204780
80 – /r/wheredidthesodago[79] – 175185
89 – /r/polandball[80] – 17692
90 – /r/TrollXChromosomes[81] – 30491
101 – /r/comics[82] – 274308
115 – /r/nottheonion[83] – 126590
116 – /r/britishproblems[84] – 37395
132 – /r/TumblrInAction[85] – 19588
194 – /r/onetruegod[86] – 44657
Images, Gifs, and Videos
1 – /r/pics[87] – 3634681
8 – /r/videos[88] – 3031649
24 – /r/gifs[89] – 595120
26 – /r/reactiongifs[90] – 218792
28 – /r/mildlyinteresting[91] – 295944
36 – /r/woahdude[92] – 290339
52 – /r/FiftyFifty[93] – 78525
70 – /r/FoodPorn[94] – 164008
73 – /r/HistoryPorn[95] – 158322
77 – /r/wallpapers[96] – 174571
87 – /r/youtubehaiku[97] – 56673
95 – /r/Unexpected[98] – 13931
102 – /r/photoshopbattles[99] – 142871
110 – /r/AnimalsBeingJerks[100] – 53136
113 – /r/cosplay[101] – 50802
125 – /r/EarthPorn[102] – 256905
136 – /r/QuotesPorn[103] – 118293
137 – /r/awwnime[104] – 9542
141 – /r/AbandonedPorn[105] – 120870
142 – /r/carporn[106] – 41647
152 – /r/PerfectTiming[107] – 90112
158 – /r/OldSchoolCool[108] – 68209
167 – /r/RoomPorn[109] – 119766
168 – /r/Pareidolia[110] – 39508
171 – /r/MapPorn[111] – 78752
174 – /r/tumblr[112] – 13778
188 – /r/techsupportgore[113] – 38689
189 – /r/PrettyGirls[114] – 43348
191 – /r/itookapicture[115] – 87200
Learning and Thinking
10 – /r/todayilearned[116] – 3319855
16 – /r/science[117] – 3238039
86 – /r/askscience[118] – 731188
107 – /r/space[119] – 225218
130 – /r/AskHistorians[120] – 136463
151 – /r/YouShouldKnow[121] – 238917
163 – /r/explainlikeimfive[122] – 277819
Lifestyle and Help
23 – /r/trees[123] – 452252
37 – /r/MakeupAddiction[124] – 63647
44 – /r/cats[125] – 119186
55 – /r/LifeProTips[126] – 476370
62 – /r/RedditLaqueristas[127] – 31609
63 – /r/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon[128] – 11644
76 – /r/food[129] – 260011
81 – /r/guns[130] – 123161
72 – /r/tattoos[131] – 163141
93 – /r/corgi[132] – 40194
105 – /r/teenagers[133] – 26462
108 – /r/GetMotivated[134] – 192713
126 – /r/motorcycles[135] – 57436
127 – /r/sex[136] – 302021
134 – /r/progresspics[137] – 37583
138 – /r/DIY[138] – 277714
140 – /r/bicycling[139] – 82184
144 – /r/Fitness[140] – 317421
155 – /r/lifehacks[141] – 143162
159 – /r/longboarding[142] – 25985
172 – /r/Frugal[143] – 265112
176 – /r/drunk[144] – 63431
182 – /r/Art[145] – 140390
190 – /r/loseit[146] – 141957
196 – /r/Military[147] – 35379
News and Issues
3 – /r/politics[148] – 2859635
6 – /r/worldnews[149] – 3310493
7 – /r/news[150] – 464047
54 – /r/conspiracy[151] – 139041
156 – /r/Libertarian[152] – 85781
153 – /r/TrueReddit[153] – 214896
164 – /r/Conservative[154] – 22742
186 – /r/offbeat[155] – 261958
Places
120 – /r/canada[156] – 103318
154 – /r/toronto[157] – 26682
160 – /r/australia[158] – 43056
184 – /r/unitedkingdom[159] – 49052
Race, Gender, and Identity
13 – /r/atheism[160] – 1948012
128 – /r/TwoXChromosomes[161] – 136301
131 – /r/MensRights[162] – 68895
181 – /r/gaybros[163] – 24748
199 – /r/lgbt[164] – 69197
Sports
45 – /r/nba[165] – 98103
50 – /r/soccer[166] – 118466
59 – /r/hockey[167] – 78226
65 – /r/nfl[168] – 156987
67 – /r/formula1[169] – 28492
99 – /r/baseball[170] – 55587
150 – /r/MMA[171] – 47894
177 – /r/SquaredCircle[172] – 18010
Technology
14 – /r/technology[173] – 3000439
64 – /r/Android[174] – 261309
162 – /r/Bitcoin[175] – 40127
185 – /r/programming[176] – 439496
187 – /r/apple[177] – 143865
The Daily Dot’s subreddit, r/dailydot, highlights the most interesting and important discussions from around the social news site every day.
- Outgrow.me founder, whose website was built from Reddit advice and assistance, hosts an AMA. (/r/IAMA)
- Redditors share their roommate stories. (/r/AskReddit)
- While it’s an understandable mistake, r/lost, the subreddit dedicated to the TV program Lost, is not the place to request help finding a missing piece of jewelry. (/r/bestof)
Read more here.
