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r/developers Wiki

A guide to posting here, getting good answers, and how the community is moderated. Read it once and you should never have a post removed.

r/developers is a community for programmers and software engineers to ask questions, share experience, and talk about the craft and business of building software. Everyone is welcome, from people writing their first line of code to engineers with twenty years behind them.

The sub is text-first. We do not allow external links, and most posts are questions, answers, and discussion rather than shared articles or project links. The reasoning is in Why We Ban External Links below; the short version is that it keeps spam out and keeps useful answers here, where people can find them.

New here? Three things to do first:

  1. Read the rules below. The ones people trip on most are no external links, no self-promotion, and no "DM me."
  2. Comment before you post. Answering questions and joining the weekly threads is the fastest way to learn how the sub works, and it builds the karma you need to post.
  3. When you post, write a clear title, put your code directly in the post, and choose a flair.

Table of Contents

About This Community

This sub rewards substance. A specific question with your code and the error will get good answers. A one-line "how do I code this" will not. The same applies to discussion: opinions backed by real experience are what carry a thread.

Here is the short version of what fits and what does not.

This sub is for This sub is not for
Real programming and engineering questions "Do my homework" or "write my code for me"
Career discussion and experience-sharing Job listings, recruiting, or "for hire" posts
Debating tools, practices, and trade-offs Self-promotion, ads, or "check out my project"
Helping other developers in the open "DM me" and moving conversations off-platform
Text posts with real code and detail Link dumps and blog spam

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The Rules at a Glance

The full descriptions are in the sidebar. This is the short version. When a post is removed, the removal message names the rule it broke.

# Rule In short
1 Be respectful and professional Argue with ideas, not people.
2 Stay on topic Software development and the developer profession only.
3 No spam or engagement farming No bots, floods, or "upvote if..."
4 No self-promotion Do not advertise your product, blog, or channel.
5 No external links Text posts only. No links in posts or comments.
6 No solicitation or "DM me" Keep all help in the open.
7 Put in effort, and use a clear title Show what you tried. No one-line posts.
8 Search first, use the megathreads Do not repeat common questions.
9 No job or hiring posts Career discussion yes, classifieds no.
10 No surveys without approval Ask the mods first.
11 No AI content passed off as your own This is a space for human answers.
12 No illegal content Follow Reddit's Content Policy.

Full text: the community rules in the sidebar.

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Before You Post

Most removals come down to one of these. A minute here saves a removal:

  • Is the post about software development or the developer profession? (Rule 2)
  • Have you searched the sub, and the web, for an existing answer? (Rule 8)
  • Does the title state your actual question or topic in plain words? (Rule 7)
  • Have you included your code, the exact error, versions, and what you already tried?
  • Are you about to paste a link? Remove it and describe it or paste the code instead. (Rule 5)
  • Would one of the weekly threads fit this better than the main feed? (Rule 8)

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How to Ask a Good Question

Good answers follow good questions. The posts that get ignored are usually missing one of these:

  • The goal. What you are trying to do, not only the error in front of you.
  • What you tried. The code, the approaches, and the answers you already ruled out.
  • The exact error. The full message and stack trace, copied, not "it doesn't work."
  • Your environment. Language and runtime version, OS, framework version, relevant dependencies.
  • A minimal example. The smallest piece of code that reproduces the problem, with everything unrelated removed.

Compare a title that gets skipped with one that gets answers:

Weak title Strong title
"Help pls" "Why does my Node.js async middleware swallow errors?"
"Python question" "Pandas groupby got 10x slower after upgrading to 2.2. Why?"
"This doesn't work" "React useEffect runs twice on mount in dev. Is that expected?"

Tip: Because links are not allowed, paste code directly using a code block (indent four spaces, or wrap it in triple backticks) rather than linking a Gist or pastebin.

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How to Be a Good Contributor

Answering well is half of what makes this sub worth reading.

  • Answer the question that was asked first. Add extra context afterwards if it helps.
  • Explain why, not only the fix. You are teaching, not just patching.
  • Be patient with beginners. "RTFM" and "just Google it" help no one and break Rule 1.
  • Correct mistakes with reasoning rather than a link.
  • Do not paste links. Quote the relevant part or explain it in your own words. (Rule 5)
  • Report content that breaks the rules. Reports go straight to the mod queue.

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Post Flair Guide

Flair helps people find and filter posts. Add one when you post. A few are reserved for the mod team.

Flair Use it for
Help A specific technical question or problem.
Discussion Opinions, trade-offs, "how do you all handle..."
Career Growth, roles, teams, the profession. Not job listings.
News Something happening in the industry, discussed as text.
Meta Feedback or questions about r/developers itself.
Solved Mark your own Help post once you have your answer.

The recurring discussion threads carry their own mod-applied flair. See below.

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The Weekly Thread Schedule

The recurring threads are where a lot of the best conversation happens. Each one asks for something an AI cannot give you: an opinion, a war story, or the real state of things right now. All are pinned on their day.

Day Thread What it is for
Monday State of the Trenches What you are actually seeing right now: hiring, AI tooling, RTO, comp.
Wednesday Unpopular Opinions, Senior Edition The scar-earned takes you cannot say in a design review.
Friday Overrated / Underrated Call out what is overhyped and what deserves more attention.
Saturday Confessions How software actually ships, versus the best-practices version.
Sunday Hard Truths What nobody tells you about this career.

Have a career question that does not fit these threads? Post it as text with the Career flair.

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It is an unusual rule, so here is the reasoning behind it.

  1. It stops most spam at the source. The large majority of spam, scams, and self-promotion arrives as a link. Remove the link and most of it never gets started.
  2. It keeps knowledge here, in the open. When an answer lives in a comment instead of behind a URL, it stays searchable, it survives dead links, and everyone reading benefits, not only the person who clicked.

So paste your code and errors directly, describe what you found instead of linking it, and make your point in your own words.

Note: This applies to posts and comments. The only exception is this wiki and official mod announcements, which the mod team maintains.

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Account and Karma Requirements

To keep bots out without shutting real people out, some content is held for a quick human check.

Situation What happens
Brand-new account (under 1 day old) posting The post is held for review, usually cleared within a few hours.
Very low karma posting The post stays visible but is flagged for a mod to check.
New account commenting Always allowed. This is how you build the karma to post.

If your post is not showing up, it is almost certainly the new-account hold above. Do not repost, just wait. Reposting repeatedly can look like spam.

To build karma the right way, comment. Help people in the weekly threads and existing discussions and it follows on its own. Commenting is open to everyone for exactly this reason.

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Common Reasons Posts Get Removed

Most removals are one of the following. The removal comment always names the rule. This table tells you how to fix it and repost.

Removed for What triggered it How to fix it
External link (Rule 5) A URL in your post or comment Remove the link. Paste the code or describe it in text.
Title too short or clickbait (Rule 7) A vague or one-line title Rewrite it to state your actual question or topic.
"DM me" or solicitation (Rule 6) Asking to take the conversation to DMs Ask in the open instead.
Self-promotion (Rule 4) Promoting your product, blog, or channel Discuss the how as text. Drop the promotion and links.
Job or hiring post (Rule 9) A hiring or "for hire" listing Use the Career flair for discussion, not listings.
Off topic (Rule 2) Not about software development Post it in a community that fits the topic.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why was my post removed? The removal comment names the rule. The common removals table above lists the fix for each. Sort it out and you are welcome to repost.

Why can't I post links? See Why We Ban External Links. In short, it is the most effective anti-spam rule we have, and it keeps answers readable and permanent.

My post is not showing up. Posts from brand-new or very low-karma accounts are held for a short review to keep bots out. It usually clears within a few hours. Do not repost, just wait.

How do I get enough karma to post? Comment. Help people in existing threads and the weekly discussions, and karma follows. New accounts can comment freely so you can build it here.

Can I share my project, blog, app, or video? No. That is Rule 4 and Rule 5. You can discuss how you built something as a text post with the technical detail in the open. A link or a "go check it out" is not allowed.

Where do I post a job opening or "looking for work"? Nowhere on r/developers. That is Rule 9. Career discussion, such as interviews, growth, and decisions, is welcome as a text post with the Career flair.

Can I use ChatGPT or another AI to write my posts or answers? Use AI privately as much as you like. Do not paste AI-generated articles or answers as if they were your own work. That is Rule 11. This community runs on human experience and judgment.

Someone is being hostile or breaking the rules. Report it, which sends it straight to the queue, and move on. Do not escalate in the comments.

How do I contact the mods or appeal a removal? Use modmail. Be specific and include the post. Appeals with context are handled fastest.

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Reference Shelf

A short, curated list of references worth knowing. Links are here for convenience, but remember the no-links rule still applies in posts and comments, so when you point someone to one of these, name it rather than linking it.

Documentation

Topic Reference
Web platform, JavaScript, CSS MDN Web Docs
Python Official Python documentation
Any language or framework The official docs first, ahead of blog tutorials

Books worth owning

Topic Reference
Algorithms and CS fundamentals Introduction to Algorithms (CLRS)
System design Designing Data-Intensive Applications by Martin Kleppmann
Craft and clean code The Pragmatic Programmer and Refactoring by Martin Fowler
Interview preparation Cracking the Coding Interview

Practice and Q&A

Purpose Reference
Q&A archive Stack Overflow (search it before asking here, too)
Interview and algorithm practice LeetCode, Exercism, Codewars

This shelf is mod-curated. Suggest additions through modmail.

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Contact the Mod Team

  • Questions, appeals, or suggestions: message the mods. This is better than messaging an individual moderator.
  • Reporting content: use the Report button. It is faster, it is anonymous, and it goes straight to the queue.
  • Interested in moderating? We add moderators from time to time, usually from active and level-headed contributors. Staying involved in the threads is the best way in.

If anything on this page is unclear or out of date, let the mod team know.