Let’s take a look at Reddit’s advanced search operators and see how to explore the site like an expert in this article.
Reddit’s Keyword Search Operators
The keyword search operators on Reddit employ phrases to instruct the text how to filter the results. Using them is the most advanced method of narrowing down your search to the specific content you need. There are now nine of them, all of which are listed here. title The “title” search operator restricts results to posts with the text “after” the title (requiring quote marks if more than one word). This can be used to search for whole threads on a specific topic. “Training My Dog” is an example of a title. author The “author” search operator narrows down the results to posts produced by a single user. This is not a case-sensitive function. author:spez selftext as an example The “selftext” search operator restricts results to self-posts in which the text is found within the body (requiring quote marks if more than one word). When used with more than one word, even when enclosed in quote marks, this can behave weirdly. url selftext:”playstation” as an example Following that, the “url” search operator restricts results to link articles that contain the precise URL. A small number of link posts may not match the URL as a result of this. The “site” search operator restricts results to link postings with URLs that belong to a single domain. site:online-tech-tips.com is an example. nsfw You can use the “nsfw” search operator to reveal (with “yes” or “1”) or hide (with “no” or “0”) NSFW posts. nsfw:no self is an example. You can use the “self” search operator to show (with “yes” or “1”) or hide (with “no” or “0”) self-posts. Subreddit self:yes is an example. The “subreddit” search operator restricts results to subreddit-specific posts. Subreddit:gaming flair, for example. The “flair” search operator restricts results to posts that have been tagged with a certain flair text. flair:news is an example. Reddit Boolean Search Operators To limit search results, Reddit’s boolean search operators apply stringent criteria. I’ve discovered that these operators don’t seem to operate well with Reddit’s new design, so if you want to use them, you’ll have to go back to the previous design. AND The search operator “AND” restricts results to posts that contain both terms. This is enabled by default for basic query searches, so you don’t have to use it. However, in complex cases where multiple operators are used, this may be required. Take, for example, sneakers and socks. OR The “OR” search operator narrows down the results to posts that contain both terms. If a term contains more than one word, it must be enclosed in quote marks. Pineapples OR mangoes, for example. NOT The “NOT” search operator restricts results to postings that don’t have any text after the first few lines. If a term contains more than one word, it must be enclosed in quote marks. Cheese, not pizza, as an example. The nicest thing about Reddit’s advanced search operators is that you can combine them! You can put together a long set of conditions by enclosing each operator in parentheses, which can let you limit down millions of posts to just a few. Another important suggestion is to do your search using both the new and old Reddit designs. Certain operators appear to behave differently in each for some reason. As previously stated, the boolean operators are only functional when the old architecture is used. While Reddit’s search tool is definitely not without flaws, there’s no denying that with the dozen operators outlined above, navigating Reddit is a breeze.
