I can't exactly put a finger on the redditisms, but do know what you mean about a topic snowballing into something else other than the original post. I don't mind it so much when I can peer behind the veil of a FAANG company and get an employee perspective.

I have been seeing some Maker/circuitry posts making it to the frontpage there, and there you do get some great tech discussions. But the software discussions have just fallen off the map.

It's a shame. I don't really know where to go now for tech discussion. Lemmy scratches that itch partially, but it's rare. My IRL friends don't fully understand my hobbies. I do miss social media for connecting me with people who shared my enthusiasm over certain topics