By the most mainstream of definitions, this was a pretty dull week in Reddit live interviews. There were no celebrities, and only the most minor of minor celebrities. The second most popular interview all week was from a guy who got his Ph.D. in neuroscience. Hardly earth-shattering stuff. But an AMA (“ask me anything”) doesn’t need fame or notoriety to make it great. And Dr. Neuroscience proved it. The guy ended up being pretty damn cool and informative, to say the least.
Other popular AMAs included Richard Morgan, a software engineer running against Stop Online Piracy Act sponsor Lamar Smith, Attack of the Show host Kevin Pereira (pictured), and a guy who suffers from a rare disease called post-orgasmic illness disorder.
Below, we’ve compiled the top seven posts (seven being our lucky number) from Reddit’s r/IAmA this week, as voted by redditors themselves. We’ve also included a sample question and answer from each. For the complete list, check here.
A note on terminology: AMA stands for “ask me anything,” while “IAmA” is simply “I am a;” AMAA means “ask me almost anything.”
1. I am Richard Morgan, the software engineer running against SOPA / PCIP Sponsor Lamar Smith. AMA
Q: What direction do you think the Internet is headed if these bills were to pass? (aengvir)
A: Congress as a whole is taking us in the direction of China / Iran / Egypt, what with censorship, tracking of online activity, a recent internet killswitch proposal, prior proposals to ban encryption, etc. These two bills were terrible, but they’re part of a bigger trend that undermines our freedom. IMO, it’s not enough just to push back on these bills. We need to reverse the trend and write bills (with extensive feedback from the tech community) to limit the government’s reach and require them to get a warrant before reading our emails, tracking us through our cell phones, etc. I’ll verify in just a minute.
Q: do you have a genius intellect? (misanthropist1)
A: Fuck no. I though I was smart before I entered this program, but exposure to people who actually are geniuses has given me a much more realistic self-evaluation.
3. Hello Redditland. I am Kevin Pereira: AMA-EAFC-H
Q: Do you think that [Attack of the Show] would [benefit] from being put online a day afterwards because I love the show but can’t [catch] it anymore because I dont have G4 anymore. (Nembhard)
A: I think our show should be live on-site (perhaps as a premium feed) and fully archived a day or two later. I’ve been told there are affiliate agreements and all sorts of red-tape that prohibit us from doing this, but I’ll likely bring the subject up again soon. I want everyone to see us, even if they have to be forced Clockwork Orange style.
Q:What would be your thoughts of starting a family? I would be curious because you seem to have a firm understanding of your condition. (Random_Derp_Guy)
A: I really want to settle and have a family. I’d love to. But its really hard to progress a relationship. There are actually some POIS sufferers with wife and kids. I think most/all got POIS some time after starting a family. My worry is that I’m nearly 40 and I’m running out of time. I mean my plumbing basically works (!) but I presume I’d get with a girl of a similar age to me and, well the biological clock ticks away. Even if she can have kids I might end up a pretty old dad by the time I get to that stage … if I ever manage it. It seems so far away just now.
Q: How do you tell if a watermelon is ripe, or particularly sweet? (yesmanapple)
A:Some watermelon brands aren’t as sweet as others. Crimsons do not last as long, but are sweeter. Starbrights are better quality with a stronger outer shell, but do not taste as good. On the watermelon plant, there is a really small vine that turns brown when a watermelon is near ripe or ripe. However, I have picked enough watermelons to the point where I can tap on it and listen to see if it is ripe or not. If it reverberates a lot, it isn’t ripe. However, if it sounds more “dead” it is usually ripe. It’s really hard to explain through type. I also think when you refrigerate a watermelon it changes the sound so it is even harder to tell.
Q: Here’s something…Gandhi and Squidward having a walk in the park holding hands. (LittleRedditor)
A:
7. I am Cracked.com’s columnist and editor, Soren Bowie AMA
Q: Where do you get the ideas for all of the lists you guys do? Also, how much time and effort goes into fact-checking? How much control over the content of the website do you have? (ReadShift)
A: Are articles are generate by the person who’s name you see in the byline. Usually that’s a freelancer who pitches us an idea in the writers’ workshop.
We require sources for every article and we have a good sense of what’s reliable and what isn’t just from experience. We have a black list essentially of sources we don’t allow. We also have a few fact checkers just to make sure nothing is egregious.
The editors will touch every article and video that goes up on the site. That doesn’t mean we’ll change anything but we all have a say.
