Reddit can foster close communities, but when its forums reach a certain size, they can also turn heated—and fast. The question for the Sanders movement is how to channel the best of Reddit—the friendly groups of like-minded nerds—without falling prey to its pitfalls. How do you turn the denizens of one of the most unruly corners of the Internet into a focused fighting force?

But they've grappled with how to convert that digital energy into on-the-ground organizing. It's a particular challenge when your venue is a site—and a campaign—that vehemently rejects top-down control. Though the Sanders campaign has begun ramping up its paid staff, thanks to its successful grassroots fundraising efforts, it's still a far more decentralized operation than Obama's campaign, relying on volunteers to organize themselves both out of principle and necessity. The Reddit moderators are regularly in touch with Sanders’s staff; King, who's never worked on a campaign before, appreciates the advice he's received from Ken Pennington, Sanders's 2016's digital director. But the subreddit remains an independent operation run by avid volunteers who don't take marching orders from the official campaign.

Will the enthusiasm translate into boots on the ground for Bernie? There's no real precedent for what the subreddit is attempting to do. Major campaigns have leveraged social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, but Reddit is a different beast altogether. The subreddit has always been heavily moderated, even before the new rules. But it wouldn't be a surprise if some Redditors chafe at the tighter reins and potentially spark a conflagration on a site is already famous for its internal revolts.