We're sharing our company's core values with the world

reddit is almost 10 years old (just a month and a half away!). It’s been an amazing journey so far, and the next 10 years look brighter still. We’re growing quickly, and as a company, we’re now planning for the future. As we look forward, we’ve realized we want to define and communicate our principles to those joining us on this journey.

So we've articulated our company ideals in seven principles to guide our decisions and growth, to encourage us to abide by and measure our work against them. We also recognize that we may need to revisit and refine them as our company and circumstances evolve over time.

Creating these values was a broad and iterative effort that included company-wide discussions, employee-led committees, and open feedback forums. Because of this, every one of us can confidently stand by these values and commit to following them both in the way we operate internally and how we interact with the community.

We value privacy, freedom of expression, open discussion, and humanity, and we want to make sure that we uphold these principles for all kinds of people. We encourage all redditors to join us in protecting these values and making reddit a safe and positive community for everyone.

And so, without further ado, reddit Inc’s core values:

1. 1. Remember the human

   • Be authentic, passionate, and empathetic.
   • Treat others as you would in person, and remember we all make mistakes.
   • Champion diversity.
   • Default to transparency, and when you can’t be transparent, be honest.

2. 2. Give people voices

   • Create a safe space to encourage participation.
   • Embrace diversity of viewpoints.
   • Allow freedom of expression.
   • Be stewards, not dictators. The community owns itself.

3. 3. Respect anonymity and privacy

   • You are not required to share more than you are comfortable with.
   • Having information doesn't give you a license to use it.
   • Allow people to be as anonymous as they choose, including ourselves.
   • Value the candor afforded by anonymity.

4. 4. Embrace experimentation

   • Don't let "that's the way it's always been done" be a reason.
   • Seek new ways to be better.
   • Be willing to try new things and fail.
   • But remember wheels don't always need reinventing.

5. 5. Make deliberate decisions

   • Make all decisions within the framework of larger goals.
   • It's better to make an unpopular, deliberate decision than to make a consensus decision on a whim.
   • Consciously explore options and impacts of potential paths.
   • Voice disagreement; acknowledge that dissension is okay.

6. 6. Be doers

   • Turn ideas into actions and get things done.
   • Don't be paralyzed by the status quo.
   • Find the balance between perfection and progress.
   • Build for the future and leave things better than you found them.

7. 7. The spirit of Lambeosaurus embiggens us all

   • Work is better when you're having fun.
   • Don't take ourselves too seriously.
   • Celebrate the good: recognize successes and reward accomplishments.
   • There must be four subpoints to each value.

We are proud to share our values with the world, and they are now also displayed on our about page and linked to in our footer.