reddit-thread-fit-check

Reddit Thread Fit Check

Score candidate Reddit threads for whether a brand, founder, or operator should reply, cite, monitor, or avoid. The output is a decision brief, not an automated comment. A good result protects account trust and community norms as much as it finds opportunity.

This is an enhanced skill: it reads public Reddit data through UnifAPI. It never posts, comments, votes, DMs, or recommends undisclosed promotion.

Use UnifAPI for live evidence

Start from candidate threads found by reddit-community-research, social-listening-brief, or the operator. Because the current Reddit surface has no keyword search and no per-subreddit post feed, be explicit about how candidates were sourced.

• Subreddit profile and rules - reddit/subreddits/{name} for subscribers, activity, tone, and the verbatim self-promotion/vendor rules.
• Thread context - reddit/posts/{id} for title, body, age, score, comment count, and URL.
• Comment tree - reddit/posts/{id}/comments for what people are actually asking, recommending, objecting to, or rejecting.
• User credibility check - reddit/users/{username}/comments when a recurring voice or original poster credibility affects the decision.
• Candidate discovery limits - reddit/trending-searches and reddit/feed/popular can widen the pool, but they do not make coverage exhaustive.

Keep source URLs, run dates, and billing metadata.

Workflow

1. Collect candidates. Accept thread URLs/IDs from the user or from a prior Reddit research brief. If no candidates exist, ask for seed subreddits or run the bounded discovery path from reddit-community-research.
2. Read the rules first. Pull the subreddit profile and record the self-promotion/vendor rule verbatim before scoring the thread.
3. Read the thread and comments. Identify what the poster wants: recommendation, troubleshooting, comparison, complaint, market research, or debate.
4. Score fit and risk. Use the rubric below. A thread can be highly relevant and still be a do not reply if the rules or tone make participation unsafe.
5. Choose the action. One of: Reply draft, Monitor only, Cite for research, Ask human/moderator, Avoid.
6. Write a reply angle only when safe. If the action is Reply draft, provide an answer-first angle and required disclosure. Do not write promotional copy unless the user explicitly asks after seeing the risk.

Scoring rubric

Score each axis 1-5:

Axis	1	3	5
Relevance	Tangential	Adjacent problem	Directly asks about the exact problem/category
Intent fit	General debate	Mixed question/discussion	Clear ask for help, recommendation, or explanation
Timing	Old or closed	Slowing down	Fresh and active
Community safety	Rules forbid vendor/self-promo	Allowed only with care	Helpful disclosed participation is accepted
Account-risk	Likely to be filtered or downvoted	Some skepticism	Low risk if useful and disclosed

Opportunity = Relevance * 0.35 + IntentFit * 0.25 + Timing * 0.15 + CommunitySafety * 0.15 + AccountRisk * 0.10

Decision gates override the score:

• Avoid if rules forbid vendor participation, the thread is hostile to promotion, or the reply would require pretending to be a user.
• Monitor only if the thread is relevant but the conversation is emotional, political, or already resolved.
• Ask human/moderator if rules are ambiguous and the upside is high.
• Reply draft only when the ask is clear, the rule allows it, and the reply can be useful without pitching.

Output

Return a thread-fit table plus only the safe next actions:

# Reddit Thread Fit Check - {topic} ({YYYY-MM-DD})

## Recommendation

- Best thread to reply to: ...
- Threads to avoid: ...
- Main risk: ...

| Thread                  | Subreddit | Fit | Action      | Rule evidence                          | Why                                                 |
| ----------------------- | --------- | --- | ----------- | -------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------- |
| "Which tool handles X?" | r/example | 4.2 | Reply draft | Rule 3 allows disclosed vendor replies | Direct recommendation request, fresh, low hostility |

## Reply-Angle Briefs

### Thread: {title}

- Answer-first angle: ...
- Disclosure needed: ...
- What not to say: ...
- Evidence to cite: ...

## Coverage

- Candidate source: user-provided | prior brief | bounded discovery
- Subreddits checked: ...
- Reddit coverage limits: no keyword search; not an exhaustive sweep
- UnifAPI cost: ...

Guardrails

• Never post, vote, DM, or automate Reddit participation.
• Never recommend undisclosed self-promotion, fake user stories, vote manipulation, or coordinated replies.
• Respect subreddit rules even when the thread is commercially attractive.
• Do not treat high upvotes as permission to enter. Rule fit and tone matter first.
• Keep the reply angle answer-first: solve the user's problem, disclose affiliation if relevant, and avoid links unless genuinely necessary.

Related Skills

• reddit-community-research: discover and map the communities and candidate threads this skill scores.
• social-listening-brief: surface a Reddit thread as part of broader launch or brand monitoring.
• customer-research: turn threads that are not safe to reply to into voice-of-customer insight.
• unifapi: the shared data skill (connect MCP, discover the Reddit operations this skill reads).