• frezik@midwest.social
    ·
    edit-2
    1 year ago

    We can take a look at the comment count on major subreddits over time. Using the top 5 most commented listed on Subreddit Stats, and then using Social Rise to see comments per day (go down to "Graph of" and click "comments").

    • https://social-rise.com/subreddit-analysis/askreddit
    • https://social-rise.com/subreddit-analysis/AmItheAsshole
    • https://social-rise.com/subreddit-analysis/Starfield
    • https://social-rise.com/subreddit-analysis/AITAH
    • https://social-rise.com/subreddit-analysis/NoStupidQuestions

    All except Starfield show comments cratering at the beginning of July, and they're not coming back. Obviously, Starfield is a special case given the release of the game. AITAH was also just starting to pick up and then had its jugular cut out. Across the board, there looks to be a 3 or 4 times reduction in comment rates.

    Now, perhaps the site is still OK among the more niche subreddits. That'd take a lot longer to analyze. But it's clear the big traffic drivers are not pulling people in anymore.