Reddit Rewind Retrospective

Reflect on your community's year in upvotes and downvotes.

Use this template in TeamRetro

Most Upvoted

What earned the most karma this time around?

The new onboarding flow shipped on time and got nothing but positive feedback — instant upvote.
Pairing on the migration saved us days. Easily the highlight of the quarter.
Our community AMA blew up engagement metrics way past target.
Most Downvoted

What got buried and left us frustrated?

Too many unplanned meetings derailed our deep work days.
The flaky test suite cost us hours of context switching — downvote.
Requirements kept changing mid-sprint and it was exhausting.
Trending Threads

Which ongoing topics still need more discussion?

Are we happy with the current sprint length or should we experiment?
How do we want to handle on-call going forward?
The documentation debt keeps coming up — when do we tackle it?
Hot Takes

Got a bold or unpopular opinion to share?

Hot take: we have too many tools and not enough process.
Unpopular opinion — our meetings would be better at half the length.
We should kill the feature nobody actually uses.

What is the Reddit Rewind retrospective

Inspired by the playful, community-driven spirit of Reddit, the Reddit Rewind retrospective gives teams a fun and familiar framework to look back on a project, sprint, or year. Borrowing the language of the front page of the internet — upvotes, downvotes, hot takes, and unpopular opinions — this format helps people surface what resonated, what flopped, and what conversations are still worth having. It's a refreshing alternative to traditional formats that often go stale after a few cycles. The activity works by inviting team members to contribute to playful, Reddit-themed prompts that map onto classic retrospective themes. "Most Upvoted" celebrates the wins and highlights worth karma, "Most Downvoted" surfaces frustrations and friction, "Trending Threads" captures the ongoing topics that need more discussion, and "Hot Takes" creates space for bold, honest, even controversial perspectives. Because the framing feels casual and relatable, it lowers the barrier to participation and encourages even quieter team members to weigh in. The benefit of running a Reddit Rewind in TeamRetro is that you get all the structure of a focused retrospective with an energy that keeps people engaged. The themed prompts spark conversation, the voting mirrors the upvote culture everyone already understands, and the action items that emerge are grounded in real, candid feedback. It's especially effective for end-of-year reviews, community team check-ins, or any moment your team needs to reconnect with how they really feel.

Reddit Rewind retrospective format

Most Upvoted

What earned the most karma this time around?

This is your wins-and-highlights category. Encourage the team to celebrate the moments, decisions, and contributions that clearly resonated and deserved a big upvote. Ask people to be specific about why something landed so well so the success can be repeated.

Most Downvoted

What got buried and left us frustrated?

This category surfaces friction, frustrations, and things that flopped. Frame it as constructive rather than blameful — the goal is to identify what dragged the team down so it can be fixed. Watch for piling on and steer conversation toward solutions.

Trending Threads

Which ongoing topics still need more discussion?

Use this category to capture the recurring conversations and open questions that haven't been resolved yet. These are the threads the team keeps coming back to. Encourage people to flag topics worth dedicating time to in upcoming sessions.

Hot Takes

Got a bold or unpopular opinion to share?

This is the space for candid, even controversial perspectives that might not surface in a normal retro. Create psychological safety by reminding everyone that hot takes are invited and respected. Some of the best improvements come from someone finally saying the thing.

When to use this retrospective

  • At the end of the year when your team wants a fun, reflective way to look back on the highs and lows.
  • When traditional retrospective formats are feeling stale and you want to re-energise participation.
  • For community, content, or social teams who already live in the language of upvotes and threads.
  • When you want to encourage candid, honest feedback that might not surface in a standard format.

Suggested icebreaker questions

  • If your week was a Reddit post, what would the title be and how many upvotes would it get?
  • What's one subreddit (real or made up) that perfectly describes our team right now?

Ideas and tips for your retrospective meeting

  • Set the tone early by leaning into the Reddit theme — it signals that playful, honest contributions are welcome.
  • Use the voting feature to mirror the upvote culture and quickly identify which items the team cares about most.
  • For 'Hot Takes', explicitly remind everyone that bold opinions are safe to share and won't be held against anyone.
  • Timebox each category so the conversation stays energetic and you leave room to convert insights into action items.
  • Encourage quieter team members to contribute by allowing anonymous entries where appropriate.
  • Close the session by grouping similar items and committing to a small number of concrete actions, not just discussion.

Frequently asked questions

What is a Reddit Rewind retrospective?
It's a fun, themed retrospective that borrows Reddit's language of upvotes, downvotes, trending threads, and hot takes to help teams reflect on what worked, what didn't, and what's still worth discussing. It's a fresh alternative to traditional formats.
When should I use the Reddit Rewind format?
It works especially well for end-of-year reviews, when traditional retrospectives feel stale, or for community and content teams who already think in terms of upvotes and threads. It's great for encouraging candid feedback.
How long does a Reddit Rewind retrospective take?
A typical session runs 45 to 60 minutes. Timeboxing each category keeps the energy high and leaves enough time to turn insights into action items.
How is it different from a Start, Stop, Continue retrospective?
While both surface what to keep and what to change, Reddit Rewind uses playful, culturally familiar framing and adds a dedicated space for bold 'Hot Takes' that often go unspoken in standard formats.
Can the Reddit Rewind retrospective be run anonymously?
Yes. TeamRetro supports anonymous contributions, which is especially useful for the 'Hot Takes' category where people may want to share bold or unpopular opinions safely.
How many people can take part?
It scales well from small teams to larger groups. For bigger sessions, lean on voting to quickly prioritise the items that matter most before diving into discussion.

New to retrospectives? Read our guide on how to run a retrospective →

Related templates

WWE Smackdown Showdown Retrospective

Tag-team your sprint reflections with wrestling-themed flair.

Working, Not Working Retrospective

A clear-cut way to identify successes and improvement areas

Quarterly Retrospective

Reflect, realign, and recharge your team every quarter.

Baby Steps Retrospective

Drive continuous improvement through small, achievable changes.