why do i see posts with 20 or so upvotes on the front page, whereas my own post with approx 200 upvotes never ended up there?
Posts on Reddit are ranked by a combination of how recently they were posted and the number of upvotes and downvotes they've received [1]. Posts need to get upvotes early on and maintain a high ratio of upvotes to downvotes in order to reach the top of the subreddit and the front page of Reddit [1, 3]. Each post has a score attached to it, which is the number of upvotes minus the number of downvotes [4]. Reddit's "hotness" algorithm uses this score in combination with the post's age to rank every post on Reddit [4]. By default, most communities sort their posts by hot, which prioritizes posts with the most upvotes [5]. Therefore, posts with the most upvotes in a given subreddit can rise to the front page [3]. However, not all Redditors will necessarily see your post [3]. Redditors can add or subtract as many subreddits from their subscription list as they like, so only the topics they want to see will appear on the front page [3].
Reddit's front page is made up of posts with the highest number of upvotes. [2] However, the number of upvotes a post gets is not the only factor in determining where it appears on Reddit's front page. [2] Posts are also sorted by how recently they were posted and the number of upvotes and downvotes they have received. [2] Therefore, a post that gets upvotes early on has a better chance of reaching the front page than a post that gets upvotes late in its life span. [2] Furthermore, the content of the post can influence how many upvotes it gets. [3] Posts with good content and relevant to the subreddit it is posted in have a higher chance of being upvoted. [3]