In Reality:Timeline

The quest

Start of something (1)

On 2016-06-27, this reddit post appeared on /r/ARG from a user named /u/inreality_:

Hi there. I've been lurking in these parts (and /r/gamedetectives) for a while, so… well, I thought it might be fun to let you solve these puzzles I've been working on.

I don't think they're particularly difficult, but the end goal is very important to something that I've been researching. I can explain more once you get there.

Up for it? Let’s go.

WNDDNqTB

This was shortly followed by a message from @inreality#1054 on the GameDetectives Discord's #arg-general channel:

http://www.reddit.com/r/arg/comments/4q3e3l/_/
Hi there! I've been lurking for a while and I thought that you detectives could help me with something I've been researching. As such, I've constructed a series of puzzles - a test - for you to attempt.
I will explain more if you make it to the end. Start with the reddit post I've linked above.

Discord user CURIOUS CHILDREN spotted the italics in the reddit post, which spelt "pastebin", leading to the next clue.