NEWPORT BEACH – Hordes of nerds are at the beach standing around awkwardly, sharing cool mint Oreos and sunning their pale nerdy flesh, getting the kind of color you can’t get from the glow of an LCD screen. Many of them are wearing sneakers and pants despite the sun and the sand.

On a recent Saturday, unbeknownst to most of Orange County, geeks the world over were celebrating a holiday: the second-annual Global Reddit Meetup Day, an event that took place in over 60 cities in 35 countries.

This included more than 100 people in Orange County, who gathered at the beach in Corona del Mar for a party that started in the early afternoon and, with the help of a bonfire, stretched into the night.

What were these shenanigans about, you ask? Let me explain.

At first glance, Reddit looks like a simple news aggregator. The website, www.reddit.com, relies on its users, “Redditors,” to submit links or content that the group can vote up or down. The most “upvoted” entries rise to the top of the page and garner the most attention, often dictating what’s trending on the Internet.

It’s been the birthplace of many memes and has popularized many others. Many videos have gone viral by making Reddit’s front page.

Reddit is generally regarded as one of the most influential communities on the Internet. But any Redditor will tell you that it’s more than your typical social media site.

It’s a support group, an informal dating service, a think tank, a bazaar, and an online haven for the slightly dysfunctional. It’s a place where cat-loving, neck-bearded men with a variety of esoteric interests can nerd out in front of their computers.

What are Redditors like in real life? It’s easy to figure out. They’re probably all around you. In Orange County, there are more than 1,400 Reddit members.

Even before Global Reddit Meetup Day, Orange County Reddit has been an active regional chapter hosting many meetups under the leadership of r/OrangeCounty moderator Annabelle Gacad.

“Our meetups are just another way to meet like-minded people,” Gacad says. “Reddit tends to attract people between 20 and 30 years old. (We’re) a bit more liberal…There are a lot of programmers.”

Gacad’s role is to get the momentum going at gatherings – she’s sort of the Top Nerd.

“I just help provide a forum,” she says. “Everyone has a wide variety of interests. We cater to that as best we can.”

Some OC Redditors will meet up at bars, Korean barbecues, shooting ranges, bike rides, art shows, and other gathering spots. It’s a great way for the more socially inept OC nerd — the so-called “forever aloner” — to make like-minded friends.

On Global Reddit Meetup Day, I applied generous amounts of SPF 100 to my own pale skin and headed out to Corona del Mar beach to hobnob with fellow Redditors.

To be honest, my expectations were low. I thought it would be a bunch of “forever aloners” having forced conversation.

But after practicing our witty banter on Internet Relay Chat (a group messaging service) we adapted rather well to talking face-to-face.

And people seemed to hit it off. We had the advantage of a shared wealth of inside jokes, a result of being immersed in an Internet subculture.

But, soon, we were making sustained eye contact and exchanging banter and puns in real life.

True, the chatter often centered on technology; there were many animated conversations about search engine optimization. But there was also a universal understanding of the depth of comedy in “Arrested Development,” and an alarming enthusiasm for cats.

Some of those in attendance were even coaxed into taking off their shirts and actually playing in the water. One Redditor was happy to show off his pierced nipples.ï¿½ There was feasting on homemade food and beverages and an animated, hilarious game of Apples to Apples.

OC Redditors cut a wide swath of races, ages and occupations. There were many recent college graduates like me, as well as some middle-age folk with spouses and kids.

While Redditors tend to have jobs in the technology industry, there were some unemployed English majors (namely the writer of this article) as well as artists, teachers and bloggers.

For many of the attendees, it was their first meetup. I could not help but admire the diverse and quirky nature of this group.

Like most of these people, I’m not immune to being socially inept. But like most social groups that share a common language and culture, being a Redditor can make you feel like you’re not “forever alone.”

Contact the writer: Rachel.Nishimura@gmail.com