I found this R Function that can be used to make a Social Network of Reddit Users : https://www.rdocumentation.org/packages/RedditExtractoR/versions/2.1.5/topics/user_network
I tried out this function and I was able to plot the network:
# install the older version of the library
devtools::install_version("RedditExtractoR", version = "2.1.5", repos = "http://cran.us.r-project.org")
library(dplyr)
library(RedditExtractoR)
target_urls <- reddit_urls(search_terms="cats", subreddit="Art", cn_threshold=50)
target_df <- target_urls %>%
filter(num_comments==min(target_urls$num_comments)) %$%
URL %>% reddit_content # get the contents of a small thread
network_list <- target_df %>% user_network(include_author=FALSE, agg=TRUE) # extract the network
network_list$plot
Now, I am trying to figure out how this function ("reddit_content") works in the background.
The function "reddit_urls" returns a list of comments containing the term "cats" in the subrreddit "Art":
> head(target_urls)
date num_comments title subreddit URL
2 26-08-22 109 Cat, me, pencil, 2022 Art http://www.reddit.com/r/Art/comments/wydak5/cat_me_pencil_2022/
5 24-06-22 51 Cats, me, pen on paper plus digital, 2022 Art http://www.reddit.com/r/Art/comments/vjz27e/cats_me_pen_on_paper_plus_digital_2022/
6 27-07-22 177 Cat operator,me,acrylic,2022 Art http://www.reddit.com/r/Art/comments/w9983c/cat_operatormeacrylic2022/
7 25-07-22 166 Cat Study, Me, Digital Art, 2022 Art http://www.reddit.com/r/Art/comments/w81ih8/cat_study_me_digital_art_2022/
8 30-06-22 492 Cat, me, pastel pencils, 2022 Art http://www.reddit.com/r/Art/comments/voc43v/cat_me_pastel_pencils_2022/
9 08-08-22 83 Cat, me, pen and ink, 2022 Art http://www.reddit.com/r/Art/comments/wiuhqx/cat_me_pen_and_ink_2022/
From here, the "reddit_content" function seems to be able to figure out who is writing the comment and who the comment is being directed to:
test = target_urls[1,5] %>% reddit_content
head(test)
id structure post_date comm_date num_comments subreddit upvote_prop post_score author user comment_score controversiality comment title
1 1 1 26-08-22 26-08-22 109 Art 0.98 14101 ninadrawsalot Something_Average 146 0 He needs some head pats stat! Cat, me, pencil, 2022
2 2 1_1 26-08-22 27-08-22 109 Art 0.98 14101 ninadrawsalot littlebitsofspider 25 0 *Someone snuggle that cat immediately!* Cat, me, pencil, 2022
3 3 2 26-08-22 26-08-22 109 Art 0.98 14101 ninadrawsalot BrickGun 119 0 "What am I doing with my lives?" Cat, me, pencil, 2022
And finally, the "network_list" function is able to transform the above data set into a "graph network" format with edges/nodes (this is what is being visualized):
> network_list
$df
# A tibble: 3 x 4
sender receiver count comment
<chr> <chr> <dbl> <chr>
1 Amazing_SpiderLAN purr_in_ink 1 This so beautiful bud! Congrats
2 BeatlesTypeBeat macmynameismac 1 Zoom in and you'll see why.
3 purr_in_ink elhomerjas 1 Thank you :)
However, I am trying to figure out how the "reddit_content" function works. I tried using the "getAnywhere" command in R to look at the source code of the "reddit_content" function, but I still can't seem to understand how it works.
As an example:
-
- Suppose I take the first URL that showed up: http://www.reddit.com/r/Art/comments/wydak5/cat_me_pencil_2022/
-
- Then, I take the first comment that shows up on this Reddit post : Something_Average (26 days ago) He needs some head pats stat!
-
- I can now find out the exact link to this comment by using the Reddit Pushshift API :
API Request: https://api.pushshift.io/reddit/comment/search?limit=250&q=*&link_id=wydak5
Reddit Comment Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/Art/comments/wydak5/comment/ilwj4oq/
- Next, I can use the "reddit_content" function to get information about this comment:
Below is an example:
"https://www.reddit.com/r/Art/comments/wydak5/comment/ilwj4oq/" %>% reddit_content # get the contents of a small thread
|==================================================================================================================================================================================================================| 100%
id structure post_date comm_date num_comments subreddit upvote_prop post_score author user comment_score controversiality comment title post_text
1 1 1 26-08-22 26-08-22 109 Art 0.98 14098 ninadrawsalot Something_Average 143 0 He needs some head pats stat! Cat, me, pencil, 2022
2 2 1_1 26-08-22 27-08-22 109 Art 0.98 14098 ninadrawsalot littlebitsofspider 25 0 *Someone snuggle that cat immediately!* Cat, me, pencil, 2022
link domain URL
1 https://i.redd.it/j8rx9llv13k91.jpg i.redd.it https://www.reddit.com/r/Art/comments/wydak5/comment/ilwj4oq/?ref=search_posts
2 https://i.redd.it/j8rx9llv13k91.jpg i.redd.it https://www.reddit.com/r/Art/comments/wydak5/comment/ilwj4oq/?ref=search_posts
But in the end - I still haven't understood the overall process. If I start with this comment here "https://www.reddit.com/r/Art/comments/wydak5/comment/ilwj4oq/" - how can I figure out who wrote this comment and who is the comment being directed at? If I have a list of many Reddit comments - how can I find out who is writing the comment and to whom the comment is being directed to, and thus create a network visualization?
Thank you!