A source-backed Rankhog guide to r/AskEngineers: public rules, community context, posting fit, and startup-promotion risk before you publish.
By Anthony Riera, founder and operator of Rankhog.
Subreddit guides combine public Reddit source URLs, captured rules, visible verification dates, and Rankhog's account-safety workflow.
Current public stats
Rules can change, so Rankhog keeps verification dates and the original public Reddit sources visible.
This community is a question and answer forum for engineers and people who want to understand engineering. The description says it covers the technologies, standards, and processes used to design and build maintainable systems, plus questions about the engineering profession and its many disciplines. The rules make it clear this is a serious, discussion based place built on evidence and logic, not a casual hangout. People come here to ask specific technical questions and to get answers from people who actually know the field. Rule 1 says every title must be a question about engineering, and it spells out what counts, from design and analysis of systems, devices, and vehicles to standards, practices, methods, and specifications. Careers get their own lane through the weekly career thread. If you are a founder or marketer, this is a room full of technical experts, and they can tell the difference between a real question and a disguised pitch.
The rule that decides almost everything here is “Titles must be a question about engineering”, because your post has to be a clear, specific question that fits their definition of engineering. “Avoid questions that can be answered by researching on the internet” is the effort filter, and the mods expect you to spend real time searching before you ask. “Don't answer if you aren't knowledgeable” matters if you plan to comment, since answers need explanations, engineering logic, and links to credible sources. “Be substantive” bans low effort one liners, memes, and unsubstantiated opinions, which kills most casual marketing content on contact. “No generic Career/Workplace Posts” pushes career talk into the weekly career thread only. “Be respectful to other users” sets the tone, and “No homework questions” removes anything that smells like a class assignment, even if it is about engineering principles.
A good post here is a clear, specific question about engineering that you could not answer after doing your own research. The rules say you should spend at least thirty minutes looking for an answer before you post, so show that work. Explain what you already found, what you read, and where your understanding breaks down. If you state facts, link to credible sources that support them. If you give an opinion, walk through the reasoning behind it. Engineers here answer with explanations and evidence, and they expect the same from you. If you are a founder, the honest play is to ask a real technical question about a problem you are actually solving, not to dress up a product pitch as a question. Career related questions only belong in the weekly career thread, and only if they are genuinely unique to engineering rather than generic workplace advice.
Do not post homework questions, project design help, or anything from a class, because “No homework questions” removes those even when they look like real problems. Do not post a question you could have answered with a search, because “Avoid questions that can be answered by researching on the internet” requires real effort first. Do not make generic career or workplace posts outside the weekly career thread, because “No generic Career/Workplace Posts” sends those elsewhere. Do not state facts without sources or drop one line comments, because “Don't answer if you aren't knowledgeable” and “Be substantive” both require evidence and substance. Do not be rude, sarcastic, or dismissive, because “Be respectful to other users” gets comments removed. And do not post memes, reaction images, or off topic replies, because “Be substantive” covers those too.
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The rules do not state an explicit promotion policy, but every post must be a clear, specific engineering question, and answers and claims need credible sources. A disguised pitch will not survive the substantive question requirement.
Only in the weekly career thread, and only if the question is genuinely unique to engineering. Generic career and workplace posts are not allowed anywhere else in the subreddit.
Yes, if you frame it as a specific engineering question, do your research first, and support any factual claims with links to credible sources.
Only if you actually have the expertise. The rules require answers to explain the engineering logic, cite credible sources, and handle follow up questions.
Links are conditional. The rules require links to supporting evidence from credible sources when you make factual claims, so a link only works as a citation, not as a promotion.
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