I had to unfollow ”politics” because it took over my entire homepage. It’s a bummer because the I like seeing the occasional political post. I’m guessing they drive more engagement and that’s why they’re so ”loud”.

I used reddit in a way where I would check out my front page, and then go to my favorite (smaller) subs to specifically look for things that wouldn't make it to the front page. Unfortunately, I've not followed through with that after leaving reddit, because I'm on kbin and it's pretty annoying to get to your followed magazines (as they're called), and I see indications about making some of them "favorite" but I don't think that functionality actually exists yet.

I'm sure it will get there eventually.

I've been on here a lot, and I use the different sorts. The think with smaller communities is how many times do you want to show the post that was made last week as new? Until someone comments in them or makes another post it's not going to bring it up in new or hot.

Maybe a random sort option could help?

But it really comes down to engagement. Engage with the smaller communities and they'll show up more.