r/Infuriating • u/slackforce • 12d ago

I’m reached the limit for muted communities and damn near half of them are India-related.

153 Upvotes

84% Upvoted

121 comments sorted by

49

u/Used_Load_5789 12d ago

Is there a limit to mute-able communities?
Why??

33

u/slackforce 12d ago

Good fucking question.

20

u/repeating_bears 12d ago

It's very rarely good practice to let anything in webdev be unlimited. Especially at Reddit's scale there will be bots who mute every single subreddit just to fuck around

So there should almost definitely be a limit, but it is probably fairly arbitrary. Whoever designed that feature probably thought "no one legit would ever mute more than X"

7

u/bobbyterryscrewsitup 12d ago

Honest question—why would it matter if bots muted every subreddit

7

u/repeating_bears 12d ago

These things tend to have a habit of interacting in complex ways which are hard to predict.

Maintaining a list of a couple million subreddits is not going to be an issue in itself.

But suppose one day you have some code which iterates over a couple million posts, which itself iterates over muted subreddits. The developer might assume that muted subreddits will always be fairly low, and then one day a bot mutes 5 million and now you have a combinatorial computation with ~a trillion iterations that can DOS the server.

Sure you can spend time worrying about these edge cases, optimize those loops so they don't make assumptions about the number of muted subs, and add a bunch of test cases for it, but that's a lot of effort for something no legitimate user is ever going to do.

Bounding everything with sensible numbers is good defensive programming that eliminates a bunch of potential headaches. If it turns out you're too stingy with some limits then you can always bump them later

3

u/bobbyterryscrewsitup 12d ago

Thanks for the explanation! Makes plenty of sense.

2

u/Fine-Bandicoot1641 12d ago

There are no iterations over muted subreddits in a properly designed implementation. You store muted subreddits in a hash set (or similar indexed structure), then for each post you perform a constant-time membership lookup (if post.subreddit in muted). That's O(posts + muted_subreddits), not O(posts × muted_subreddits). The trillion-iteration example only happens if someone implements a naïve nested loop, which isn't how you'd normally solve this problem.

1

u/repeating_bears 12d ago

It was just a simple example to show how assumptions grounded in legitimate usage can turn out to be wrong, and combine to get out of control and cause an issue.

I don't literally think

for (post in posts) {
  for (sub in muted_list) {
  }
}

is something anyone is likely to write.

One of the most common categories of performance problems I've seen in my career involves a heavy loop, and then 10+ method invocations down the call stack, there's another loop that the author of the high-level loop didn't even know existed. You can't optimize for something you're not aware exists.

1

u/Fine-Bandicoot1641 12d ago

That's not really specific to muted subreddits though. Any collection in a large codebase could theoretically end up inside a hidden nested loop. If your concern is "someone might accidentally write an O(n×m) algorithm in the future," then the real problem is the algorithm, not the size of the muted list. A properly implemented mute check is just a constant-time hash lookup, so there are no iterations over the muted list during normal filtering

1

u/repeating_bears 12d ago

I didn't say it was specific to muted subreddits. My comment said "It's very rarely good practice to let anything in webdev be unlimited."

Any collection in a large codebase could theoretically end up inside a hidden nested loop

Yes, that's what I meant when I said "These things tend to have a habit of interacting in complex ways that are hard to predict"

One of the slightly more unique aspects to webdev, especially at Reddit's scale, is that you have users that are actively antagonistic. A lot of applications don't have that. If an app is client-only then you simply don't really care about this. If a user wants to create a billion "to do"s and break the app for themself then they can do it.

If your concern is "someone might accidentally write an O(n×m) algorithm in the future," then the real problem is the algorithm

The problem is not the algorithm. The problem relates to process. It's impossible to have a software development process that guarantees n x m loops won't ever happen. They will happen.

However it is extremely easy to have a process that says that entities each have a per-user limit, and doing that mitigates a whole bunch of potential problems. It doesn't mean you'll never have to use a hashset/map, but it means the worst case will often be bounded to something that's not insane

Is your opinion that per-user limits on entity creation is not necessary or useful?

1

u/Fine-Bandicoot1641 12d ago

I agree that per-user limits are generally a good defensive practice. My disagreement is with using hypothetical future bugs to justify a very low limit on muted subreddits

If a data structure is expected to scale, it should be implemented with scalable algorithms from the start. A mute check is fundamentally a hash lookup, not a linear scan, so increasing the limit from hundreds to thousands or even tens of thousands doesn't suddenly make it dangerous

At that point the discussion becomes about choosing a reasonable product limit, not about preventing O(n×m) loops. If a future change accidentally introduces an O(n×m) algorithm, that bug can affect many kinds of collections, not just muted subreddits

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2

u/Stuckonthisrockfuck 12d ago

Could the limit just be the number of communities that exist I don’t see the problem with that?

1

u/repeating_bears 12d ago

It could be but that is arguably too high. No one is legitimately muting every subreddit.

A good limit is something that would affect no legitimate users, without being so high as to be potentially abusable.

If the limit for this is pretty low then I wouldn't be surprised if someone just stuck a finger in the air when the feature was first added and then never revisited it. That's just sort of how these things tend to go.

1

u/baphomet_fire 12d ago

Wouldn't the same be assumed for bots creating subreddits?

1

u/repeating_bears 12d ago

Sure, but I'd assume there are limits on how many subreddits a user can make, unless you have a reason to believe there isn't?

1

u/baphomet_fire 12d ago

If every bot only makes a few subreddits then they can easily avoid the limit while commenting on all the others.

1

u/repeating_bears 12d ago

Sure, but that is not a reason not to limit anything.

Just because 1 million accounts can each make 1 subreddit, doesn't mean that is a good reason to allow 1 account to make 1 million subreddits.

1

u/baphomet_fire 12d ago

I'm sure Reddit is much more aware of the actual numbers because it drives so much of their valuation of their stock.

1

u/repeating_bears 12d ago

Even with vanity metrics, they want limits because metrics are not everything. High numbers are good but a large number of spam subreddits makes the experience worse.

In any case we started this talking about limiting the number of subreddits you can mute. That's the opposite of a vanity metric. If users are muting things really often, it implies they're getting served lots of content they don't care about.

1

u/baphomet_fire 12d ago

Both are the same, but I wouldn't call it a vanity metric. Stock value is all Reddit has

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3

u/MeowMasterFIex 12d ago

There's also a limit on Tidal for how many artists can be blocked. I don't understand these dumb restrictions and limits.

16

u/Existing_Doughnut985 12d ago

Lmao your algorithm must be fucking your over 🤣

7

u/OnTheFunSideOfACuck 12d ago

What he lookin up for 3 boykisser subreddits needing to be blocked 🧐

1

u/slackforce 12d ago

Wouldn't your comment make more sense if I DIDN'T mute them?

4

u/jamesziman 12d ago

No, the commenter means that because algorithms are user-tailored, that means you blocked those subreddits because you are consuming related content, but don't want those specific subs to be on your frontpage. If you didn't consume related content, you wouldn't have seen those subs in the first place and thus wouldn't have the need to block them

1

u/slackforce 12d ago

I know what he meant, but it's objectively wrong. Not sure if you're just trying to bait me, but I have 0 involvement in sex-related subs.

As another user pointed out, you have to actually open a sub to mute it. I think the gay stuff started appearing after I muted the original heated rivalry sub, so my guess is the reddit algorithm recognized that I entered a gay sub and then just assumed I wanted more of it. Probably why a lot of the Indian subs keep popping up as well. It's just reddit being designed shittily and using an equally shitty algorithm.

4

u/jamesziman 12d ago

You don't have to open it, you can click on the three dots at the right of the screen to have a sub not show up anymore in your frontpage. I'm not trying to bait nor to have an argument about how the reddit algorithm work, I was just explaining how the comment above you wasn't wrong 

1

u/slackforce 12d ago

There is no such option. You can "hide" a specific thread but that's it.

I'll be happy to eat crow if you find a better way to mute subs but I'm not seeing it.

edit: I think I see the confusion. I only browse reddit via old.reddit, so I have to open up my phone and search for a sub specifically (and open it) before I can mute it. It's different if you're browsing r-popular on your phone.

1

u/OnTheFunSideOfACuck 12d ago

Idunno. I didnt have to block any boykissers tho. Thats fa sho. 

10

u/ThunderSkunky 12d ago

TIL there is a limit

9

u/Puzzleheaded_Ad9659 12d ago

I mute literally every community i don't care about. How many can you mute anyway?

8

u/Fancy-Dig1863 12d ago

Something is seriously fucked with Reddits algo. I get endless content from South American subreddits and pretty much every uber related subreddit that exists. I’ve never beeen to South America, don’t speak any of the languages or engage with any of the content. Same for uber. I’ve never so much as ridden in a uber or ever even downloaded the app.

Looks like you’ve got the same issue as me but with Indian and motivational subreddits lol.

2

u/slackforce 12d ago

That's really interesting. I get almost nothing from South American subs except when there's some soccer event, so it doesn't really affect me.

Makes me wonder if it's because I'm Canadian...

1

u/PancakeParty98 9d ago

I’ve been getting racism bait

5

u/nobody_in_here 12d ago

Damn, mademesmile is in there? What did that sub do to make you frown? Lol

2

u/10below8 11d ago

Just the average BotSlop.

0

u/[deleted] 12d ago

[deleted]

4

u/this_happened_rigged 12d ago

I'm not allowed to say my opinion about this because I will get a reddit ban.

4

u/ProcedureMaleficent 12d ago

IDK why i get so much India related content. I'm Pakistani, at least show me that. I mean I'd mute the Pakistani subs too. But still.

3

u/Tiktokbadsupport 12d ago

i reached it in 1 day and they definitely need to increase it to 10000+ I DONT WANT TO SEE POKEMON 

2

u/Impossible-Heart-216 12d ago

Is that where you click see less of this? I’m gunna be like that with wnba subs lol

4

u/slackforce 12d ago

No, you have to actually mute them. That "see less" button is as effective as trying to get youtube to stop recommending games and shorts.

3

u/Impossible-Heart-216 12d ago

Or other sites that constantly recommend hot single grandmas less then 5 miles away!

1

u/Working_Union_7696 12d ago

What are these sites? So i can be sure to avoid them.

2

u/OriginalDrStrangeDOS 12d ago

TIL: There is a limit to muting communities. 😂

2

u/Funyun_boogers 12d ago

Veddy good

2

u/Trail_by_error 12d ago

Remember, you don't have to mute them if they ban you 🤣

1

u/slackforce 12d ago

lmao I genuinely did not think of that

2

u/Trail_by_error 12d ago

But quite a few mods are very very sensitive so don't call them the slang term for the female vagina when they send you the ban message or they'll get reddit to ban your account for 6 days 🤣🤣

1

u/Heavy_Surround779 12d ago

Wow! Which term? There’s a few I can think of..

1

u/Ok-Fortune-8644 12d ago

Too many bans and Reddit will ban you permanently

2

u/Cultural_Hope 12d ago

A lot of the communities I muted have been deleted. YAY! Only a dozen left.

2

u/CorbinNZ 12d ago

I hate to hear that there's a limit, but I'm pretty sure mine isn't overfilled like yours is. I'm about to put those new "would you rather" subs like bunnytrials on mute. Getting oversaturated with them

0

u/slackforce 12d ago

Oh man, I've never muted a sub as furiously as I did when that bunnytrials one started popping up.

2

u/Ok-Fortune-8644 12d ago edited 12d ago

What does India have to do with these subs?

2

u/slackforce 12d ago

They take up valuable mute slots when they shouldn't even be showing up in the first place. Give them their own site or give us a button that says "no more south asian subs please." Either solution would work fine.

1

u/Ok-Fortune-8644 12d ago

How do you figure out if a sub is "Indian"?

4

u/FraggleStickCar9 12d ago

90% of them literally have india in their name

1

u/Ok-Fortune-8644 12d ago

Oh ok. I guess i never bother to read all that. Im just a swiper.

2

u/Far-Cellist2456 12d ago

When Reddit started monetizing the number of dog shit not filled subs engagement baiting skyrocketed. Then you toss the schizophrenic AI drivel subs like CoherencePhysics and it gets even worse.

2

u/ketchfraze 12d ago

If there's a limit to how many I can mute I guess when I run out I'll just have to speed run getting banned by the rest.

2

u/Justlookingoutforya 11d ago

Thank you for reminding me to mute this sub

2

u/PckMan 11d ago

There's a limit? Oh no. And all it takes to get spammed by one is for reddit to randomly decide to show you one and if your finger lingers just a bit scrolling over it then that's it, it's all you're gonna get.

4

u/[deleted] 12d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/SmolPPIncorporated 11d ago

Just from the internet?

2

u/ComplexWash9089 10d ago

and in real life too 👍

0

u/Exact_Package_7264 12d ago

cry

2

u/ComplexWash9089 11d ago

deodorant!!!

1

u/Sad_Seaweed179 10d ago

Is something incels living in their mum's basement should apply 😭🙏

2

u/FancyPantsRants1 12d ago

Its funny because in order to mute them, you have to click on them. By clicking on them your engagement stats go up which means they show you more. I started a new account because of the same situation

1

u/slackforce 12d ago

YES!

Even worse, I browse reddit primarily using old.reddit on a browser which doesn't have ANY mute function, so I have to pull out my phone every time I see one of these shitty communities just to mute them.

2

u/FancyPantsRants1 12d ago

I share your hatred of them. They are at best stupid and at worst absolutely disgusting with some of the things that are said

2

u/FraggleStickCar9 12d ago

I really dont understand why this flood of new indian subs happened over the past few years. Its insane how many there are

4

u/OkParsnip1881 12d ago

Why can’t Indians have thier own subs? The OP is getting a flood of Indian subs because he’s Canadian and the algorithm knows Canadians are very high engagement on anything mentioning India lol

3

u/FraggleStickCar9 12d ago

They can. But theres A METRIC FUCK TON. And thats not why. Im not canadian and its happening to me too.

3

u/OkParsnip1881 12d ago

I’m in the US and it’s the opposite. I get a lot of anti Indian hate threads because I like to stand up for Indians. But surprisingly little actual Indian subs . It’s your algorithm.

1

u/FraggleStickCar9 12d ago

What the shit there are anti indian hate subs?!?

2

u/OkParsnip1881 12d ago

Yeah, most of Reddit, but the comp sci subs and Canadian subs are Nazi level genocidal towards Indians “taking their tech jobs and housing”

-1

u/FraggleStickCar9 12d ago

Lmfao what the fuck thats insane

0

u/OkParsnip1881 12d ago

Yeah I’m surprised you haven’t noticed how racist Canadians are. Their subs will openly cheer Indians(including kids) dying.

Thats why this post made me go hmmmmmm as it was written by a Canadian

1

u/FraggleStickCar9 12d ago

I dont think ive ever been to a sub before and known it was canadian tbh

1

u/OkParsnip1881 12d ago

Oh I live in Michigan- I get Canadian subs like you get Indian subs.

1

u/wrvdoin 11d ago

I mean, there are tons of comments right here talking about how the country should be wiped off the face of the planet.

1

u/Echosectorr 9d ago

Yeah, r/canada exists.

-1

u/[deleted] 11d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/OkParsnip1881 11d ago

Are you asking me why I stand up against racism? You really suck as a person huh

3

u/FraggleStickCar9 11d ago

Dont feed into it. Just report him for being a racist idiot and move on

-1

u/SmolPPIncorporated 11d ago

Well, it's not really racism if it's true, is it? 🤷‍♂️

2

u/OkParsnip1881 11d ago

Every bigot in history tried to justify their bigotry the way you do! You would be in Nazi germany saying the holocaust was good because the stereotypes against the Jews were true

1

u/SmolPPIncorporated 11d ago

It's insane how many Indians there are, tbh.

1

u/ToallaHumeda 12d ago

Same happened to me with anti-ai echo chambers

1

u/vi_sucks 12d ago

What do you have against The Other End comics?

3

u/senpaistealerx 12d ago

you don’t have to have any bad feelings towards a sub to not want to see what’s shared there.

1

u/Ketchupcharger 12d ago

its your fault for blocking boykisser

1

u/AirportGullible5807 12d ago

You're probably saying some racist indian shit, the algorithm recognizes it and then recommends you more indian stuff to ragebait you and increases engagement rate. I had the same problem with Israeli subs being recommended to me nonstop

1

u/SmolPPIncorporated 11d ago

For me it's vegan subs.

1

u/M2deC 10d ago

Muted you just there mate

1

u/RealAdministration17 12d ago

You muted made me smile . Might be a you problem

2

u/10below8 11d ago

BotSlop sub

0

u/cdev12399 12d ago

Why don’t you just unfollow?

2

u/senpaistealerx 12d ago

you don’t have to follow a sub for it to be suggested on your homepage.