Military Makes Straight-Laced Reddit Knockoff

The Pentagon thinks it's found a tool that will solve many of its most intractable problems: Reddit. OK, not actually Reddit, but a wannabe Defense Department-approved, servicepeople-only Reddit wannabe called "Eureka," Defense News reports. The site, which will launch next month, will encourage soldiers to post and vote on problems hindering military efficiency, and ideas for solving them. "Sometimes we need that infusion of great ideas coming in from an external source," one official says.

That probably doesn't sound as enthralling as the real Reddit, but the military hopes a combination of competition and compensation will keep troops posting. But Reddit's general manager is skeptical. "It could be powerful if done right, but getting the critical mass of active engagement necessary to make something like this work is tough," he tells Wired. But he does see the military and Reddit as kindred spirits: They "both love acronyms." (More Reddit stories.)