Before the IPO, close to 100% of old.reddit likely contributed. For submitting, the old.reddit interface had better options for the experienced user. It was faster and easier to submit complex longer comments and posts.

The interface isn’t that great for reading comments/post. The third party phone apps did it better.

Besides you had to have a tiny bit of experience with the platform to know how to find that setting. Not something most casual readers who hit the site via a search engine would know to do.

Since the IPO it’s likely mostly few old-timers checking the niche subs. Probably very little engagement. Honestly, it’s likely still around because of some critical tool for moderators or bots that would be extremely expensive to upgrade. Definitely not because they care about the user.

Probably why the quality of posts seems to have gone down (IMO) and the quantity of bot posts has gone way up recently too. It basically turned to shit shortly after the IPO. When I saw an add for reddit on TV I knew it’s in peak enshittify mode.

What’s the 90-9-1 rule?

the 90 9 1 rule is the rule of activity. its basically saying that 90% of users are lurkers, 9% contribute some, and 1% are major contributors.

Thank you. That definitely lines up with my experience moderating subreddits and communities.

I’ve often seen it adjusted for things like Reddit as such:

90% of users only view

9% of users vote

1% of users comment