| r/dataisbeautiful | |
| Founder: | u/zanycaswell |
| Commercial: | Yes |
| Type: | Subreddit |
| Users: | 20 Million |
| Language: | English |
| Launched: | [1] |
r/dataisbeautiful, also known as Data Is Beautiful, is a subreddit dedicated to aesthetically pleasing works of data visualization.[2] [3] [4] It was created in 2012; as of January 2022, it has over 20 million members.[5]
The r/dataisbeautiful subreddit requires users submitting visualizations to clearly credit both the individual who created the visualization and the source of the data on which it is based. If someone submits a visualization they created themselves, the rules require them to put "[OC]" in the title of the submission, and to identify the source of data and software tool they used to create it.[6] "OC" is a standard Reddit acronym for "Original Content".
A 2014 VentureBeat article noted that r/dataisbeautiful "...aims to collect the best of the Web in a daily rounded up of gorgeous data visualizations." The article also stated that the subreddit has been "unearthing the best ways to visualization thought-provoking and topical stories."[4]
In November 2019, the decision of moderators at r/dataisbeautiful to temporarily ban animated bar chart graphs showing the relative position of entities on a list over time – so-called bar chart races – received attention from The Next Web.[7] [8]
In January 2020, Eleanor Peake noted that, because the subreddit had received so many submissions by Tinder users plotting their experiences on the app, one Reddit user set up a separate subreddit dedicated entirely to Tinder-related data visualizations.[5]
Individual posts in the subreddit have also been reported on by the National Post[9] and Vice.[10]