Astroturfing is the least of the problems; most threads are filled with fake experts (of a very specific demographic - usually very young, american, male, etc) projecting.

This is fine if you consciously remember this while browsing, but when you start to believe that you can get a pulse from "real people" on Reddit, you've already lost the game. Remember: to even post a comment on Reddit already puts you in a niche group of people who use Reddit.

This becomes self-reinforcing as well, everyone else will feel alienated even if they do get over the hurdle of commenting, while those who fit the aforementioned mold will feel at home. Can't get much of a pulse, unless you specifically want to know what a very certain demographic feels once you filter out all the fanboyism and astroturfing.

It's a good thing we don't have any of this foolishness on Hacker News! /s

We have plenty of diversity here. We have young, American, and male folks for instance. Even web developers if you need more diversity than that.

Yes, HN also shares those problems. The upside is I don't see many people proclaiming to add HN to their google searches to find the pulse or whatever it may be, on the contrary it seems many come here just to debate.

Which is the bigger problem, someone coming to a niche place to debate, or someone who believes adding reddit to their google searches is going to provide them with better insight? I'd say the latter: they aren't conscious of the BS being pushed onto them.

Also kind of funny your comment is an exact demonstration of what I mean, that self-reinforcing style of "comedy" coupled with a nonsensical assumption.

Redditors are full of shit. So often, I’ll see a question where I actually know the answer, and the most popular responses are dead wrong.