Why can't I get Reddit Talk? Explained!

With the launch of Clubhouse, it has been established that audio-based communication might be the key to solve our desperation for human interaction ever since the pandemic hit us. Like Twitter and Facebook, Reddit is also now exploring the idea of a Clubhouse-style interactive utility called Reddit Talk that allows everyone in a like-minded community to discuss a topic in audio form.

In this post, we’ll discuss what Reddit Talk is, if you can get them on your phone and what can you do with it.

What is Reddit Talk?

If the preview images are anything to go by, Reddit Talk looks a lot like the platform’s version of Clubhouse offering users the ability to host and attend live audio sessions with other members. Reddit Talk will be available inside individual groups inside the platform which we’ve come to know as subreddits. The feature will basically be like a large conference call where you can communicate with other community members in audio-based discussions.

Reddit says the feature can be used to host Q&As, AMAs, community feedback sessions, lectures, sports-radio-style discussions and also give community members a virtual space to hang out. The release of Reddit Talk comes as a move to prevent users from switching to other platforms for doing stuff that’s synchronous to the way Reddit works which is to have conversations and discussions with people of similar interests.

How does it work?

Reddit Talk will expand how you converse with others in a community and will exist alongside threads, chats, and live streams on Reddit. Just like Clubhouse, Reddit Talk will offer a dedicated space where users can start a live discussion and can invite others to speak. As an end-user, you can access different Talk rooms by checking different subreddit forums on the platform.

While hosts will be able to invite and remove speakers inside a Talk session, listeners can additionally react with emojis to a conversation and request access as a speaker by raising their hands.

Reddit has pitched that it will allow users to customize a look of the room as it’s currently testing the ability to change backgrounds and user avatars.

What devices will it be available on?

Since Clubhouse is a mobile-exclusive service, would Reddit Talk be any different? That’s the question that’s coming up on users’ minds and Reddit has been quick to clear the air over the topic.

Comment from discussion namer98’s comment from discussion "? Let’s talk! Get a sneak preview of Reddit Talk and give us your feedback".

Upon being asked this question, Reddit’s Product lead responded with the following comment.

Comment from discussion signal’s comment from discussion "? Let’s talk! Get a sneak preview of Reddit Talk and give us your feedback".

As has been explained, Reddit Talk should be accessible on desktop sometime in the future for when you’re away from your phones. At this time, however, the feature will be initially released for Android and iOS. In contrast, Clubhouse is yet to release for Android devices, thus giving Reddit the upper hand in terms of hosting more members in a live Talk session.

Who can start a Reddit Talk?

Since Reddit Talk is only available for early testers, the ability to start a live audio session will be limited to moderators of a community. This means only subreddit mods within Reddit will be able to access the option to start a Reddit Talk session.

These moderators can then invite other speakers to a Talk meeting. During Talk, the hosts will have control over who speaks and they can mute or remove speakers from the session. If a host realizes that there are unwanted users in a conversation, they can remove them and ban them from re-entering the room.

Although only subreddit moderators have the ability to start talks on Reddit during early testing, these users can invite others they trust to be co-hosts. So, the only way you can access and control a Reddit Talk meeting will be to request a subreddit moderator to give you co-host access to the live conversation.

Reddit has also revealed that after successful early testing, it may allow moderators to allow other subreddit members to host live talks.

Can everyone join a Reddit Talk session?

While only moderators can start a Reddit Talk on the platform, anyone on Reddit will be able to join when a talk session is online. At this moment, we aren’t sure if you need to enroll in the early testing phase to gain access to joining a discussion on Reddit Talk.

The platform does say “any” Redditor can join the Reddit Talk room to listen to a conversation; so we can only assume that anyone using Reddit can jump into a room and listen to the topic that’s being discussed inside the subreddit.

Besides being able to hear others talk, listeners can also react to an audio conversation through emojis and raise their (virtual) hand so the hosts know that they want to speak up too. When you raise your hand, it’s up to the hosts to invite you to speak and if not, decline your access as a speaker.

What can you do to start using Reddit Talk?

First things first, you should be the moderator of a subreddit community to be able to start a Reddit Talk session on the platform. But that’s not just it. You can gain access to Reddit Talk only after you’re approved from a waitlisted member to an early tester. You can fill out the Google form in the link below to get a chance to try out Reddit Talk as part of the early testing.

You will be asked whether you’re a moderator of a subreddit and if so, which subreddit you moderate. Once you submit this form, you will join others on the waitlist for early testing.

Can you record chats on Reddit Talk?

Since conversations on Reddit have always been permanent without any defined end period, you may be wondering if you may miss out on the proceedings of a live conversation happening via Reddit Talk. For instance, this Reddit user highlights that users who accessed the Talk session really late or after it has ended would find it hard to understand what happened during the live discussion.

As a response to this, Reddit clarified that it does consider accessibility an integral element and an audio transcription tool is on the cards to allow users to record chats from a Reddit Talk. However, such a feature won’t make it during the early testing of the feature.

What happens when a Reddit Talk ends?

Reddit Talk, just like anything on Reddit will be hosted as a post on the platform. As part of the early testing, users will only be able to access Reddit Talk sessions when they’re live.

According to Reddit, when a discussion on Talk ends, the post that hosted the conversation will remain on Reddit. This post will contain all the comments that were posted during or after the Talk session alongside upvotes. However, users won’t be able to listen to conversations that took place during the talk after it has ended.

Although regular members won’t be able to access the recording of the talk, moderators and admins of the subreddit will be able to play these recordings for a limited time to review any violations.

That’s all we have about Reddit Talk at the moment.

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