Some of our club members have asked about how to use Reddit, and it seems the biggest factor keeping our members from using this social platform is the intimidating layouts and features. So to further help the club, and to allow more to use this social platform as a way of communication with others, /I wanted to do a quick little tutorial on how to use reddit. Note that I marked this as Part One, and I did so so that if further tutorials are needed, members can follow them in order. So let's get on with it, shall we?

Before we get into the thick of things, lets lay down a few facts and ideas of Reddit real quick. This tutorial is only going to cover specific basic aspects of the service and is not meant to be your portal to advanced features or sub-reddits other than our own. It will be specific to our sub-reddit, although as many subs are essentially laid out the same but with only minor differences, you could possibly use what you learn here and apply it to more sections of the website. Also note that this tutorial will be based around the PC version of the website. While it is true that this will help you more if you use PC, a good portion of the tutorial will translate well onto mobile and/or console. Reddit is a multi-media service in where it can be used via multiple different mediums, examples being the PC, through the Reddit Apps on your Smart Phones, and even through third party apps such as "Baconit" for the Xbox One. Find a medium you enjoy the most and stick with it, or snatch up all three and live life through Reddit, I dont care, Im not your mother. Do what you please.

For those of you who are familiar with what Reddit is exactly though, just know that it is your typical forum service, a provider of hundreds (if not thousands) of Sub-Reddits that each specialize in specific topics. These topics can range from things as broad as console gaming or world science, to more micro-topics like "Only Pics of Tabby Cats" or "Prequel Memes" (which only shows memes based on the prequel movies of the Star Wars franchise). This sub-reddit you are currently visiting is for Shooting Gallery, but as we are a club who loves things from all over the world, don't expect our topics to fit a theme.

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First things first, we need to discuss Subscribing!

As I mentioned before, this website (Reddit) hosts thousands of sub-reddits, each with their own theme. But when you log on, you may notice you have a front page loaded with things that may or may not be of interest to you personally. You can actually personalize your Reddit experience by Subscribing and Unsubscribing to different Sub-Reddits, allowing your front page to only show posts from the subreddits you follow!

The easiest way to do this, and something you should practice in this subreddit, is by going to the subreddit you want to follow and then clicking the "Subscribe" button located in the sidebar. Some subs say follow, some say subscribe, some say something else, but you can usually find the button as they often look similar. In the image posted above, the subscribe button is found in box #1. On the PC version, you may see a graphic specific to that subreddit, similar to the Shooting Gallery one found in the image. This box also shows how many members have subscribed to the sub, so you can easily see how popular it is! By clicking the subscribe button a second time, you will unsubscribe, so only click twice if you don't want to follow it any longer.

While it is not related to our club, if you may want to find a sub related to a topic you are curious about or something you are a fan of, make use of the "Search Bar" found on the home page of Reddit. If you are on mobile, use the magnifying glass icon to use said search.

As you may see in the image above though, each sub-reddit also has its own search bar, often located directly underneath the information box (See box number 2 in the image provided above). This smaller search bar will allow you to search for specific topics/post within the subreddit you are currently browsing. This is useful, for example, if say you only wanted topics pertaining to infinium farming, or have a specific question you wanted to ask but wanted to see if it was already answered first. Use this search bar to find the information you want as the click of your keyboards!

Note: As I do not own an android device, I can not say for sure, but for the mobile app, you can find the subreddit specific search bar by clicking the three horizontal dots icon located in the top right corner of your screen while browsing a subreddit. This same icon also allows you to unsubscribe, view the community info, and message staff.

So you entered and subscribed to a sub you enjoy, and now you want to make your own post to share with the community! For this next section, please refer to box #3 in the image provided above.

Two buttons located in your side bar promptly labeled "Submit Link" and "Submit Text" are your keys to the castle! But note that they allow you different privileges. By clicking Submit link, you will be sent to a page with multiple information boxes asking for the info you want to post. The first box is the URL box; this is where you can enter the url for the link you are trying to post/share with the community. When you submit a post pertaining to a URL, clicking on said post will redirect the reader to wherever your URL specifies. But be warned, even URL posts MUST stay within community rules. Posting URLs to malicious websites or websites with a topic/theme unsuitable for our community will result in a temporary ban from this subreddit and a pending permanent ban as regulated by staff.

The second box on this page we are on is a image box. This image will be shown in place of whatever placeholder image would normally be shown by said URL. So pretty self explanatory. From there, the next box is the Title Box. This is what you want your post to be titled, and note that you actually cant submit a post without a title, so make it witty. Below there is what Sub you want to post to; this box defaults to what sub you are currently browsing, but it will also allow you to post to any sub from any other location, so use this wisely. Finally is the checkbox simply asking if you want to send replies to your post to your inbox. This is nice if you want to be notified when someone replies to your post, but note that if you do not keep this option checked, you will not be informed of replies unless you manually go to your post in the listings and read through yourself. Don't uncheck if you want notifications of new replies.

Now, the other option you can before to post was a Text Post. The only way this differs from a Link Post is that instead of a box asking for an image and URL, you are given a text field where you can type whatever you want. Have a question? Have a cool easter egg you want to share? Just want to discuss a topic with your community? Do it there! And remember, if you accidentally pick the wrong kind of posting option, at the top of the post submission page is a option to pick any kind of post option available in that sub, so you dont even have to go back!

Know that all of this is only slightly different with the mobile version. With the official Reddit App, at the bottom middle of your screen is a small circle icon with a in it. Click this icon and you are given three options for your new post... Text, Image, and Link. These are alike with the options posted above, so use them as described. Know that whatever sub you are currently in when you press the icon is where you will be posting though as I do not believe mobile gives you the option to post to other subs other than the one you are currently browsing.

As our last topic in this beginner's tutorial, we need to know one more thing before we get posting..... We know how to post, but how do we reply to posts already posted? Posts post posted posts......

When you are in a sub-reddit, you will instantly see the list of posts in front of you, mobile or PC alike. What you will see is a basic overview of what is in these topic. Then, directly underneath this summary, you will see a bunch of options like "Comments, Share, Hide, etc". To open each of these topics to read further AND see all current comments on them, you need only click on the "Comment" option. If a topic does not have a reply to it yet, it will only say comment. If a topic has previously had a reply or has already begun a conversation, you will see a number in front of the word comment. Either way, comment is involved.

Click this option and you will view the entire topic, plus all of the conversations. Comments appear directly under the full topic as comment trees. I say trees cause even comments can be commented on, and those can be commented on too, and so on and so forth. But we are getting away from our goal, so Ill leave comment trees to another installment.

To reply to a post, you simply click on the image that says "Write you comments here!". Clicking on it will open up a text field where you can type in what you want to say, then hit submit. Simple as that! Do it and you just commented on the post, boom, so easy.

But what if you want to comment on a comment? Carry on a conversation, so to speak. Well, trickier, but still easy. By simply looking at the options located directly underneath the comment you want to discuss, you will see a small option that says "reply", click it. Just as with the topic reply field, you will get a text field where you can submit whatever you feel you should say! Easy peasy.

For mobile, toss out everything you know about posting to reddit.... then read it all again cause its honestly not all that different than I explained above.... You probably should have found a better tutorial, but you've come this far, might as well finish.

Instead of the word comment being below a post, you will see a little message bubble, sort of like in a comic book. Click it, which will bring up the entire post AND its comments. From here, it is even more simple than on PC. On the bottom of your screen is a text box that says "add a comment", which you can click to reply to the overall post/topic. Each comment has a small button underneath it that says reply.... this is to reply to that certain post, so use it as you would on PC!

Well, that about does it for this first tutorial. Please feel free to ask any and all questions you have about Reddit and how to use it. Ask by replying to this thread in specific as I will use the most asked questions to make the next tutorial so I know what needs to be covered. Sorry if any of this was confusing, this was a late night write up, but I hope I helped you get a grip on the social service known only as Reddit! Now go out there and find some fun subs to subscribe to and even post some cool pics and topics in the shooting gallery sub. Make sure to subscribe to our subreddit here before you go so that you can see all the cool stuff we get! Ill catch you all around next time!

(NOTE: Any mentions of directions for the mobile version of reddit is referring to the official reddit application for smart phones. Any third party apps or directly visiting the website via your mobile browsers may vary the information given above, so use wisely.)