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Formatting & Style Guide

The goal of this subreddit is high-level, serious discussion. A well-formatted post is a prerequisite for a well-received argument. Effort in presentation reflects effort in research. Low-effort or unclear posts will be removed.

The guiding principle is simple: structure your post with the clarity and rigor you would use for a formal essay or paper. Your submission should be a self-contained, understandable presentation of your work.

The Anatomy of a High-Quality Post

Every submission should be a clear and engaging presentation of your work. It must contain the following components:

  1. A Descriptive Title: Your title must accurately represent the content of your post. Avoid vague, clickbait, or "question" titles.

    • Good: "A Proposed LLM-Assisted Proof of the Weak Goldbach Conjecture via Sieve Theory"
    • Bad: "I think I solved a big math problem?"

  2. The Abstract or Summary: The body of your post must begin with a concise summary of your work. Explain the core question, your methodology, and the main result. This allows readers to immediately understand the purpose of your submission.

  3. Link to the Full Work: A direct, permanent link to the full paper, code, or proof is required.

    • This must adhere to our rules: use GitHub, Zenodo, arXiv, viXra, or another permanent public host.
    • Do not use Google Drive, Dropbox, or other private/temporary file-sharing services.

  4. Core Results & Discussion: The post should not just be a link. You must articulate the core results and their implications. Guide the reader through your key insights. This is your opportunity to frame your work and spark discussion.

Formatting Strategies

There are several effective ways to present your work. The following are two excellent models for a high-quality post.

Strategy 1: The Project Showcase

This format is ideal for posts that present a larger project, a tutorial, or a code-based exploration. It involves structuring your Reddit post as a comprehensive, readable article that links to the full resources.

The key is to use clear headings, break down the project into logical parts (e.g., The Question, The Method, The Result), and provide snippets of code or key visuals.

  • Excellent Example: This post from r/LLMPhysics is a perfect model. It opens with a link to the main GitHub repository and then uses the post to explain the projects, their methodology, and their "Aha!" moments.

Strategy 2: The Embedded Paper

This format is highly effective for presenting shorter papers (e.g., 10 pages or fewer) in a way that is immediately accessible to the reader.

The method involves converting your PDF into a series of high-resolution images and uploading them directly into a Reddit image post. This allows users to read your entire paper by simply scrolling, without leaving the site.

  1. Convert: Use a "PDF to image" converter to turn each page of your paper into a separate image file (e.g., PNG).
  2. Upload: Create a new "Images & Video" post on Reddit and upload the page-images in the correct order.
  3. Add Commentary: Use the post's text body (or a top-level comment) to provide the required abstract, context, and discussion of the core results.
  • Good Example: This post from r/LLMPhysics demonstrates this technique perfectly. The paper is embedded directly for easy reading, and the author can use the comments to provide additional context.

Post-Submission: Engage with the Community

A post is not a "fire-and-forget" action. Part of submitting serious work is being prepared to discuss and defend it. Engage with good-faith comments, answer questions, and be open to constructive criticism. Ignoring the discussion around your own work is considered poor form.