Despite the existence of search-based recommender systems like Google, Netflix, and Spotify, online users sometimes may turn to crowdsourced recommendations in places like the r/ifyoulikeblank subreddit. In this exploratory study, we probe why users go to r/ifyoulikeblank, how they look for recommendation, and how the subreddit users respond to recommendation requests. To answer, we collected sample posts from r/ifyoulikeblank and analyzed them using a qualitative approach. Our analysis reveals that users come to this subreddit for various reasons, such as exhausting popular search systems, not knowing what or how to search for an item, and thinking crowd have better knowledge than search systems. Examining users query and their description, we found novel information users provide during recommendation seeking using r/ifyoulikeblank. For example, sometimes they ask for artifacts recommendation based on the tools used to create them. Or, sometimes indicating a recommendation seeker's time constraints can help better suit recommendations to their needs. Finally, recommendation responses and interactions revealed patterns of how requesters and responders refine queries and recommendations. Our work informs future intelligent recommender systems design.

翻译：尽管存在如Google、Netflix和Spotify等基于搜索的推荐系统，在线用户有时仍会转向如r/ifyoulikeblank子论坛这类众包推荐平台。在这项探索性研究中，我们探究了用户为何使用r/ifyoulikeblank、他们如何寻求推荐以及该子论坛用户如何回应推荐请求。为解答这些问题，我们收集了r/ifyoulikeblank的示例帖子，并采用定性方法进行分析。我们的分析表明，用户使用该子论坛出于多种原因，例如已穷尽主流搜索系统、不知如何搜索特定项目，或认为群体知识优于搜索系统。通过检视用户查询及其描述，我们发现了用户在使用r/ifyoulikeblank寻求推荐时提供的新颖信息。例如，他们有时会基于创作工具来请求作品推荐；有时说明推荐寻求者的时间限制有助于更好地满足其需求。最后，推荐回应与互动揭示了请求者与响应者如何优化查询和推荐的模式。本研究为未来智能推荐系统的设计提供了参考。