About r/IWantToLearn
In its own words:
Have you ever wanted to learn a martial art, or to play the guitar, or how to program a computer? Have you had difficulty figuring out where to start, what path to take or just wanted some advice to get you to the next level? Well, that's what /r/IWantToLearn is all about! Tell our community what you want to learn, and let those who came before you help guide you towards success!
Community guide
r/IWantToLearn (#702, about 1.5 million subscribers) — Have you ever wanted to learn a martial art, or to play the guitar, or how to program a computer? Have you had difficulty figuring out where to start, what path to take or just wanted some advice to get you to the… A recent sample averaged 8.6 posts a day (~100% text). Its public rules include: Starting a Major Project or Learning a New Skill; "Just want to learn about.."; No posts that are just learning resources; No Personal Issues or Social Skills; Proper Title Formatting.
What belongs here
Stay inside the room’s stated scope rather than adjacent off-topic dumps. Self-promotion and ads are limited—read those rules before linking your own channel or shop. Match posts to: Starting a Major Project or Learning a New Skill; "Just want to learn about.."; No posts that are just learning resources; No Personal Issues or Social Skills.
How it differs from lookalikes
Prefer this room when your post matches its description and rules—not merely a larger sibling community. The public rule list is long enough that skimming all entries once beats assuming defaults from similar subs.
Practical pointers
Read the live sidebar/rules before posting; rules can change. Common flairs include: Academics, Personal Skills, Technology, Social Skills.
The community was created on Feb 28, 2010, which makes it 16 years old. Since Nov 2, 2026, it has gained 882 subscribers (+0.06%). It sits just behind r/ShouldIbuythisgame (#700) and ahead of r/Python (#702) in our ranking.
What sets r/IWantToLearn apart
r/IWantToLearn is far more text-driven than most big subreddits: 100% of its recent posts are text posts, against a median of 35% across the Top 100.
Subscriber growth
Between Sep 19, 2026 and Nov 9, 2026, r/IWantToLearn climbed from 1,515,826 to 1,522,096 subscribers (+6.3K, +0.41%). That is about 123 new members per day. The chart shows 10 weekly subscriber counts.
Top posts on r/IWantToLearn this week
The most upvoted posts of the past seven days, in the order Reddit ranks them (collected Nov 7, 2026).
- IWTL any way to sharpen your brain in your 20s?u/Kojima3000 · Nov 5 · text post
- IWTL how to become more articulate, develop independent opinions and learn how to make good arguments. Where do I start?u/thestargazer29 · Nov 7 · text post
- Iwtl n become a well-educated, knowledgeable person. What should I learn, and where should I start?u/RamaRao143 · Nov 4 · text post
- IWTL to stop being apathetic loseru/glutany_brbrrr · Nov 4 · text post
- IWTL how to cook decent tasting rice consistentlyu/Petite_Hon · Nov 2 · text post
- IWTL how to stop blindly trusting people, overhelping, and speaking too fast.u/Many-Resident-8120 · Nov 6 · text post
- IWTL How to Understand Basic Car Maintenance and Troubleshootingu/ShyAlyvia · Nov 5 · text post
- IWTL how to actually stick with a hobby instead of abandoning it after two weeksu/Milkshakepls60 · Nov 3 · text post
- iwtl How can I become smarter?u/Mxl_gooney89 · Nov 6 · text post
- IWTL how to gain financial literacy specifically banks+stocks+investing and how to start workout+gym beginneru/wedney_senz · Nov 6 · text post
All-time top posts
The highest-ranked posts in the history of r/IWantToLearn, from 2012 to 2025, ranked by Reddit.
- Tip: if you don’t know where to start, check the Boy Scout Merit Badge requirements!May 27, 2019 · 1,978 points · 50 comments · text post
- 75 Coursera Certificates That You Can Now Earn for Free (During the Coronavirus Pandemic)u/suprabhatdas · Mar 29, 2020 · 1,938 points · 166 comments · text post
- Hi there, if anyone's interested (for some reason) I'll teach anyone some Afrikaans for free.Apr 9, 2020 · 1,902 points · 235 comments · text post
- I want to learn how to articulate my words better . I have a huge problem with communicating effectively. It’s very embarrassing. I read a lot and I study tremendously but for some reason when I spea…Apr 21, 2020 · 1,478 points · 129 comments · text post
- I want to learn how to discuss things as an adult without without cryingu/Ducknana · May 22, 2020 · text post
- I want to learn how to stop procrastinatingu/greendaze · Sep 7, 2012 · 1,391 points · 640 comments · text post
- I want to learn how to skateboard, in a safe, old lady kinda way.u/misspygmy · Apr 23, 2020 · 1,382 points · 250 comments · text post
- IWTL how to live.u/Mrdudeguy420 · May 6, 2020 · text post
- I made a free neuroscience app to break bad habits like procrastinating to studyu/newsynapse · May 14, 2020 · text post
- I (19F) want to learn about stocks! There’s so much about it tho and I don’t know where to begin.u/our-artifical-world · May 27, 2020 · text post
What r/IWantToLearn talks about
We read the titles of 56 recent posts (Oct 29–Nov 5), the words that come up most are “iwtl”, “learn”, “start”, “useful” and “skill”. Other frequent themes are learning, skills, build, stop, reading and advice. Recurring phrases include “feels difficult” and “sucks remembering”. By format, 100% are text posts.
Popular post flairs: Academics (15), Personal Skills (15), Technology (7), Social Skills (6), Arts/Music/DIY (6), Misc (5).
Activity and best time to post
r/IWantToLearn gets about 8.6 new posts a day. The public archive holds 122,959 posts and 899,121 comments in total, about 7.3 comments per post. Last week the busiest day was Tuesday (11 posts) and the quietest was Thursday (2). Posting peaks around 04:00 UTC and is lowest around 03:00 UTC.
Rules of r/IWantToLearn
The moderators of r/IWantToLearn list 8 rules. In short:
- Starting a Major Project or Learning a New Skill
- "Just want to learn about..."
- No posts that are just learning resources
- No Personal Issues or Social Skills
- Proper Title Formatting
- No Self-Promotion
- Remember the Golden Rule
- Learning Illegal or Prohibited Stuff
How to join
Open reddit.com/r/IWantToLearn and press “Join”. Read the community rules in the sidebar before you post: every subreddit is run by its own volunteer moderators.
Frequently asked questions
How many subscribers does r/IWantToLearn have?
r/IWantToLearn has 1,522,096 subscribers (Nov 9, 2026), which makes it the #701 safe-for-work subreddit in the SubMouse ranking. It added 6,270 members between Sep 19, 2026 and Nov 9, 2026.
When was r/IWantToLearn created?
r/IWantToLearn was created on Feb 28, 2010, so it has been around for 16 years.
Is r/IWantToLearn still active?
Yes. r/IWantToLearn gets about 8.6 new posts a day (average of the last four weeks). Over its lifetime the archive counts 122,959 posts and 899,121 comments. In a sample of 56 recent posts we counted 53 different authors.
What is the best time to post in r/IWantToLearn?
Based on post counts from Oct 29, 2026 to Nov 4, 2026, the busiest day was Tuesday and the quietest Thursday, and most posts arrive around 04:00 UTC, with the fewest around 03:00 UTC. More posts also means more competition, so a quieter hour can help a post get noticed.
What kind of posts are on r/IWantToLearn?
The community describes itself as: “Have you ever wanted to learn a martial art, or to play the guitar, or how to program a computer? Have you had difficulty figuring out where to start, what path to take or just wanted some advice to get you to the next …” Recent post titles often mention iwtl, learn, start, useful and skill. Most posts are text posts (100%).
Is r/IWantToLearn SFW?
Yes. Reddit does not mark r/IWantToLearn as an 18+ (NSFW) community. SubMouse lists safe-for-work subreddits only.
What are the rules of r/IWantToLearn?
Join the community on Reddit first, then use “Create post”. r/IWantToLearn accepts text posts only. It has 8 posted rules, starting with: “Starting a Major Project or Learning a New Skill”; “"Just want to learn about..."”; “No posts that are just learning resources”. Moderators remove posts that break the rules, so read them in the sidebar before posting.
What subreddits are similar to r/IWantToLearn?
Communities with similar topics include r/IWantOut (2.1M), r/Guitar (3.5M) and r/ShouldIbuythisgame (1.5M).
Stats from public data (data updated Nov 9, 2026; activity, rules and archive totals via the Arctic Shift archive, Nov 6, 2026; top posts from Reddit’s public feeds). Point and comment counts are archive snapshots and can be lower than on Reddit today. SubMouse is an independent directory and is not affiliated with Reddit or the moderators of r/IWantToLearn.