I consider myself fluent in Internet. An Internet aficionado or a junkie. But in all my years of internetting, there is one site I have yet to dive into: Reddit.

Reddit, as the site puts it, is "the front page of the internet." It is often the starting place for trending topics, but it also houses some of the deep, dark corners of the Internet. Meme creators, niche communities, forums, breaking news, and stories that turn into national headline start here. The users–called Redditors–upvote or downvote posts and comments to increase or decrease their visibility.

Reddit was founded in 2005 and operates as an online bulletin board. Topics and content are then organized into subreddits, which users can subscribe to. Sounds simple enough, right?

Well, in the modern age of internet surfing, new and rising social media platforms rely on flashy layouts and visuals to draw in new users. Reddit, however, has kept its simple bulletin-style format with very few changes. Long-time users appreciate the consistency (take notes, YouTube), but in many ways, the dated format can be intimidating. No flashy profile picture or avatar, timeline or feed; just a username and strings of text.

Intimidated as I was, I knew that, going into a career in multimedia journalism, I needed to be on the front line of the Internet, even if it meant exposing myself to some of its darkest corners and communities.

So, on a Friday night in, I became a Redditor for the first time. Through the search system, I subscribed to multiple subreddits: 'Gainesville breaking news', the 'Fallout 4 community', 'YouTube', and even the 'Myers-Briggs personality INFP' page. While anonymous forums and communities often gain a bad rep for being harsh or full of trolls, Reddit does it’s best to remind users to consider the faces on the other side of the computer screen. Redditors are people too.

Many Redditors describe the site as the antisocial media. People use the advantages of anonymity to speak freely, without fear of judgment by their real life peers, yet because of the karma system, they are still responsible to their fellow Redditors. Trolls are punished with downvotes, and those who positively contribute are rewarded with gold coins, karma, and upvotes.

Surprisingly, after just a few days using Reddit, commenting on discussions and upvoting other users, I feel closer to my fellow Redditors than even some of my friends on social media. Reddit facilitates discussion and communities unlike anywhere else online, with a level of civility and positivity lost on many discussion board communities (looking at you, 4chan).

Do some dark corners still exist? Yes, but that's the internet. And the Internet is okay with that.