iRadar: Use Reddit Like A Boss With This Combo Package

Tuesday, August 02, 2011

Use Reddit Like A Boss With This Combo Package

Use Reddit Like A Boss With This Combo Package: "

In our recent post about Reddit, we discussed how the social bookmarking site can help people, and if you decided to check it out, you might have found out that it has a ton of other cool things, too. Today, we’re going to take a look at a couple of browser extensions that will enhance your Reddit experience at least sevenfold (or maybe eightfold or ninefold, if that’s even legal).

One of them is an old fogey, so you might of already heard of it by now, but the other is a young buck that came out very recently. After using them both for a while, you’ll be a karma-collecting fiend. (Alright. Tenfold, guys.)

Reddit Enhancement Suite

The Reddit Fairy does exist, and one thing she flutters around with is the Reddit Enhancement Suite, her magical bag full of tricks that will pump up the jam of your link-sharing party. Most veteran Redditors might already be aware of the RES since it’s been around for a while, but there might be the occasional new user that might not know that it even exists. The Suite is compatible with Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Opera, but keep in mind that if you are wanting to dive into the RES using Firefox, you will need to install the Greasemonkey add-on.

Randall Monroe once said in reference to Google+, ”Any interface where I have to scroll to the bottom and hit ‘more’ 87 times — and then lose my place if I accidentally click a link —is broken.” Reddit alone, as you may know, has a similar function in which you must keep clicking for the next page to look at more links. Thankfully, the RES treats this issue by offering a module called Never-Ending Reddit, which lets you scroll through a steady stream of user-generated goodness.

In addition to its many useful features, the Enhancement Suite allows the user to switch between multiple accounts easily, view the number of up-votes and down-votes for each entry right next its title and comments, and open image links within Reddit itself rather than opening them off-site. Also, if you seek a way to filter out certain keywords or NSFW content, the RES lets you do so using the innovative filteReddit module. Basically, with over twenty extra modules to use with Reddit, this extension is nearly impossible to turn away.

Reddit Companion

The latest Reddit extension, Reddit Companion, came out very recently. It certainly is not a replacement for the RES, but it is a mutual Reddit aid. Although it is only available on Chrome, it provides a way to extend Reddit into the far-reaches of the Internet. Using an input bar, the Companion allows the user to just go to the website of his choosing, click the Reddit alien icon located in Chrome’s address bar, enter a title, and then submit his link to the self-proclaimed “front page of the Internet”.

In addition to this feature, the Reddit Companion will implement another info bar when you click on links within Reddit, letting you up-vote or down-vote while on the page itself. This feature is paired with the submission bar, for it pops up when the user tries to submit a link that has already been published on Reddit, preventing re-posts on the site.

Furthermore, the bar provides an easy-access button for you to go right back to the comments page and get back in the debate action. Alongside these simple features, the Companion notifies the user when he receives a new message while even off-site (a.k.a. “orangered”) via in-browser window.

As good as it is, just keep in mind that Reddit Companion – which is developed by the staff of Reddit themselves – is still in its early stages of life. There is always room for improvement, but even in its current form, it’s a nice little web-tool.

Conclusion

So there we have it – two more ways to help you ruin your in-office productivity! But in all seriousness, these aids do make navigating Reddit a little more fun and a lot less frustrating. Furthermore, the two extensions are open-source, so you developers out there have one more thing to tinker with.

So what are your thoughts on both the Reddit Enhancement Suite and the Reddit Companion? Do you use them? Are they very effective? What other relatively unknown Reddit extensions should MakeUseOf try out?

Image Credit: Rage Maker

Use Reddit Like A Boss With This Combo Package is a post from: MakeUseOf