Can I share my instructional design tool or app here?
Yes, but only with explicit prior moderator approval. The Business Promotion/Solicitation Requires Mod Approval rule requires you to contact the mod team first before posting anything commercial.
Subreddit guides
r/instructionaldesign rules, stats, and what to post
A source-backed Rankhog guide to r/instructionaldesign: 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
- Members
- 61,804
- Verified
- September 18, 2026
- Category
- Consultants and professional services operators
Rules can change, so Rankhog keeps verification dates and the original public Reddit sources visible.
Rule summary
- Be Civil & Constructive: This is a community for everyone passionate about or curious about instructional design. We expect all members to interact respectfully and constructively to ensure a welcoming environment. Focus on the substance of the discussion – critique ideas, not individuals. Personal attacks, name-calling, harassment, and discriminatory language are not OK and will be removed. We value diverse perspectives and experience levels. Do not dismiss or belittle questions/contributions.
- Be Specific: No Overly Broad Questions: Posts seeking advice on breaking into the instructional design field or asking very general questions (e.g., "How do I become an ID?", "How do I do a needs analysis?") are not permitted. These topics are too broad for meaningful discussion and can typically be answered by searching Google, consulting AI resources, or by adding specific details to narrow your query. Please ensure your questions are specific and provide context to foster productive conversations.
- Add Value: No Low-Effort Content (Tag Humor): To ensure discussions are meaningful and this community is a valuable resource, please ensure your posts and comments contribute substantively. Low-effort content that doesn't add value may be removed. What's considered 'low-effort'? Comments that don't advance the conversation (e.g., just "This," "+1," or "lol" without further contribution). Vague questions easily answered by a quick search or reading the original post. Posts or comments lacking clear context, purpose, or effort.
- No Link Dumping: Sharing resources like blog posts, articles, or videos is welcome if it adds value to the community. However, posts consisting only of a link, or links shared without substantial context or a clear prompt for discussion, will be removed. If you share a link include one or more of the following: Use the title of the article/link as the title of the post. Briefly explain its content and relevance to ID in the description. Offer a starting point for conversation (e.g., your take or a question)
- Portfolio & Capstone Review Requests Published on Wednesdays: Share your portfolios and capstone projects with the community! To ensure these posts get good visibility and to maintain a clear feed throughout the week, posts requesting portfolio reviews or sharing capstone project information will be approved and featured on Wednesdays. You can submit your post at any time during the week. Our moderation team will hold it and then publish it along with other portfolio/capstone posts on Wednesday. Please be patient if your post doesn't appear immediately.
- Job Posting Etiquette: Sharing job opportunities is encouraged! To ensure clarity and help job seekers, all job postings must: Clearly state the location(s) of the position (e.g., "Remote (US Only)," "Hybrid - London, UK," "On-site - New York, NY"). Use the 'Job Posting' flair. Try to include as much detail as possible to attract suitable candidates, such as: job title, company, full-time/part-time/contract, experience level, a brief description of the role and responsibilities, and salary range (if possible).
- No Requests for Free Work: This community is a place for discussion, knowledge sharing and support. It is not a venue for soliciting free professional services or uncompensated labor. This rule prohibits, but is not limited to: Asking members to create or develop course materials, designs, or templates without offering payment Requests for extensive, individualized consultation or detailed project work disguised as a general question Seeking volunteers for for-profit for tasks that would typically be paid roles.
- Business Promotion/Solicitation Requires Mod Approval: To maintain our community's focus on discussion and learning, direct commercial solicitation or unsolicited advertising of products, services, or businesses (e.g., 'Hey, try my app!', or 'Hire me for your project!') is not permitted without explicit prior approval from the mods. This includes direct posts and comments aimed at driving traffic or sales to your personal or business ventures. Want to share something commercial you believe genuinely benefits the community? Contact the mod team!
- Flair your posts: Please flair your posts! If you do not, one of the mods will try to flair it with what seems appropriate.
- No "AI Slop": Posts and comments must be the product of genuine human thought and effort. We remove low-effort submissions that are fully AI-generated. Using AI to assist with grammar or to organize your own ideas is fine if the core idea, argument, and experience is yours. Enforcement relies on mainly on community reports. If you believe your post was removed in error, please contact the moderators via ModMail for a review.
Works well
- Share a specific challenge you faced designing a course and how you solved it, then ask the community what they would do differently.
- Post an article or resource using its title as your post title, explain its relevance to instructional design in two or three sentences, and end with a question for discussion.
- Message the moderators before posting about your tool or service, and frame your pitch around a genuine problem instructional designers face.
- Post a job opportunity with clear location, job title, company, employment type, experience level, and salary range, using the Job Posting flair.
- Submit a portfolio or capstone project for review any day of the week, knowing it will be published on Wednesday.
Avoid
- Posting a link with no context or discussion prompt, which breaks the No Link Dumping rule.
- Asking broad questions like how to break into instructional design, which the Be Specific rule removes.
- Posting fully AI-generated content, which the No AI Slop rule bans.
- Promoting your product or service without moderator approval, violating Business Promotion/Solicitation Requires Mod Approval.
- Asking members to create course materials or do project work for free, which the No Requests for Free Work rule prohibits.
- Submitting a portfolio review request and expecting it to appear immediately, since the Portfolio and Capstone Review Requests Published on Wednesdays rule holds them for Wednesday publishing.
What r/instructionaldesign Is For
This community is for anyone curious about or working in instructional design, from beginners to seasoned professionals. People come here to ask questions, share ideas, and grow together in a respectful and collaborative space. The description emphasizes diverse perspectives and experience levels, so the room includes students, career changers, and working instructional designers. Posts range from specific technical questions to resource sharing, portfolio reviews, and job postings.
Rules That Matter Before Posting
The rules that matter most for a marketing-adjacent post are clear and strict. The rule named Be Specific means broad questions about breaking into the field will be removed, so your post needs real context and a narrow angle. The rule named Add Value: No Low-Effort Content (Tag Humor) means vague posts or comments that do not advance the conversation get deleted. The rule named No Link Dumping means you cannot just drop a URL, you must use the link title as your post title, explain its relevance to instructional design, and offer a starting point for conversation. The rule named Business Promotion/Solicitation Requires Mod Approval means any commercial mention of your product or service needs explicit moderator permission first. The rule named No AI Slop means fully AI-generated posts and comments are removed, though using AI for grammar or organizing your own ideas is fine. The rule named No Requests for Free Work means you cannot ask members to build course materials or do detailed project work without payment.
What To Post
A good post here starts with a specific, real question or insight tied to instructional design work. If you are a founder with a tool or resource, the safest path is to message the moderators first and get approval before posting anything commercial, as the Business Promotion/Solicitation Requires Mod Approval rule requires. If you want to share an article or resource, use the link title as your post title, write a few sentences explaining why it matters to instructional design, and end with your own take or a question to start discussion. If you have genuine experience solving a problem in course design, authoring tools, or learning strategy, share that story with enough detail that a working professional would find it useful. The community values specificity and substance, so the more concrete your context, the better your post will land.
What To Avoid
Avoid broad questions about how to become an instructional designer, since the Be Specific rule removes them. Do not post a link by itself, because the No Link Dumping rule requires context and a discussion prompt. Never promote a product or service without moderator approval, as the Business Promotion/Solicitation Requires Mod Approval rule treats unsolicited advertising as removable. Do not ask members to create course materials or do project work for free, which the No Requests for Free Work rule prohibits. Avoid fully AI-generated posts or comments, since the No AI Slop rule bans them. Do not post low-effort content like a single word or a vague question, because the Add Value rule removes it. Do not expect a portfolio review post to appear instantly, since the Portfolio and Capstone Review Requests Published on Wednesdays rule holds them for Wednesday publishing.
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Common questions about r/instructionaldesign
Can I share a blog post or article I wrote?
You must use the article title as your post title, explain its relevance to instructional design in the description, and offer a starting point for conversation like your take or a question. A bare link will be removed under the No Link Dumping rule.
Can I ask how to get into instructional design?
No. The Be Specific rule removes overly broad questions like how to become an instructional designer. Search the sub or Google first, then ask something specific with context.
When should I post my portfolio for review?
You can submit at any time, but the Portfolio and Capstone Review Requests Published on Wednesdays rule means it will be held and published on Wednesday along with other portfolio posts.
Can I use AI to write my post?
No. The No AI Slop rule bans fully AI-generated posts and comments. You may use AI for grammar or organizing your own ideas, but the core idea and experience must be yours.
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