reddit-engagement
Community engagement skill — Engage developer subreddits without getting banned.
What It Does
Guides you through authentic Reddit engagement: understanding subreddit rules, self-promotion limits, comment-first strategy, building reputation, and avoiding the behaviors that get you downvoted or banned.
When to Use
- Planning to post in developer subreddits
- Building presence before a launch
- Answering questions where your tool is relevant
- When you say "Reddit," "subreddit," "r/programming," or "self-promotion"
Quick Start
/reddit-engagement
I want to share my open source CLI tool on Reddit.
Which subreddits should I target and how do I approach
it without getting removed for self-promotion?Key Sections
- Subreddit Landscape — Traffic, culture, self-promo tolerance
- Understanding Rules — How to check, common patterns
- Comment-First Strategy — Why comments beat posts
- What Gets Downvoted — Content and behaviors that fail
- Building Reputation — The multi-month investment
- Crossposting Strategy — When and how to do it right
Self-Promotion Tolerance
| Tolerance | Subreddits | Strategy |
|---|---|---|
| Zero | r/programming, r/sysadmin | Comment only, never post your stuff |
| Showcase threads only | r/webdev (Showoff Saturday) | Wait for weekly threads |
| 10:1 rule | Most technical subs | Heavy comment investment first |
| OSS friendly | r/selfhosted, r/opensource | Open source gets more leeway |
Critical Rules
| Do | Don't |
|---|---|
| Read subreddit rules first | Assume all subs are the same |
| Comment for weeks before posting | Post your stuff immediately |
| Disclose your affiliation | Pretend to be a random user |
| Accept criticism gracefully | Argue with critics or mods |
| Space out crossposting | Spam multiple subs at once |
Tools
- Octolens — Monitor Reddit for relevant threads
- old.reddit.com — Better search functionality
Related Skills
developer-audience-context— Know which subreddits your devs usehacker-news-strategy— Similar dynamics, different platformgithub-presence— What Redditors check when evaluating you