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An account is now required to read Reddit comment threads?

old.reddit.com

41–50 of 376 posts

Re: An account is now required to read Reddit comment threads?

#41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

First they will disable old.reddit.com I think. Then 3rd party apps.

Oh, old.reddit.com is the only usable thing.

and https://i.reddit.com

It's probably 5x faster than the new mobile site, too

Re: An account is now required to read Reddit comment threads?

#42
post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unfortunately the way things are going I can see them getting rid of old.reddit.com and i.reddit.com, at which point I think I'll also stop visiting the website (the mobile website is atrocious and I'm not going to install a dedicated app in order to read a forum).

>I'm not going to install a dedicated app in order to read a forum Apollo (iOS) provides a nice and clean design, as does Joey (Android) which copies the style of the former. Even on the desktop, the experience is smooth and manageable, by using uMatrix and RES, whether you are browsing old.reddit or not. I don't understand the hesitancy in using these enhancements to enrich your user experience.

Thank you for the Apollo recommendation! I was getting tired of the official Reddit app constantly changing the buttons under the posts.

Re: An account is now required to read Reddit comment threads?

#44

It feels to me like social media has been imploding recently. It seems like I am seeing more and more efforts to overtly force people use an app, associate browsing with an account, and link their account with a real world identity (e.g. via phone number). This in turn makes the platforms less useful and more hostile to users and presumably at some point that will cause users to leave the system. It also feels like s…

It's the same thing that happens to all "free"/ad-sponsored/VC-backed services. Unless you're FB or Twitter or YouTube, your ads aren't profitable enough to run your business. The business model is unviable unless you get that big. So you lose a bunch of money until you find a way to monetize or close. This always takes the form of user-hostile anti-features. Currently that's forcing users into your special apps, where they can't install an ad-blocker. Historically it's been stuff like increasingly scummy ad behavior, and/or requiring paid accounts to access features that used to be free. Your platform gets less useful and gets replaced by the next "free"/ad-sponsored/VC-backed money loser and the cycle repeats.

It's happening to imgur and Reddit now. Time to find the next big thing.

Re: An account is now required to read Reddit comment threads?

#45
This is classic shortermism.

Reddit is, in the short term, driving more external users towards creating user accounts while in the long term removing one of the major value funnels for why they would (i.e. the quality of comments, particularly in certain niche communities/about niche topics).

This will give them a short term "bump" at the cost of the site's long term relevance (as it falls down Google's search results rankings, due to loss of clicks as people stop looking to Reddit as a source of info). Most of the recent moves on Reddit are like this, it feels like the entire site is being turned into a pump and dump scheme.

Re: An account is now required to read Reddit comment threads?

#46

It feels to me like social media has been imploding recently. It seems like I am seeing more and more efforts to overtly force people use an app, associate browsing with an account, and link their account with a real world identity (e.g. via phone number). This in turn makes the platforms less useful and more hostile to users and presumably at some point that will cause users to leave the system. It also feels like s…

I think some of it is just you, and you're right to an extent. Normal users will tolerate a lot of annoyances, including hostile approaches, unfortunately. Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Imgur, LinkedIn have all repeatedly demonstrated that versus their very large user bases. These are not shrinking networks. Instagram's new cut-off on non-logged in viewing is hostile, it won't dent them at all though. These networks know their users will largely tolerate it, because what they're using doesn't cost them actual dollars.

I think the most interesting story in social networks is the collapse of core Facebook as the prime mover. I think there is still a lot of room for more Pinterests and Snapchats yet, which could further diversify the space and dilute core Facebook's mind share. The young people not caring about Facebook thing, has clearly graduated to a permanent setting, it's not going back (the next group are not going to suddenly care about FB). TikTok has demonstrated some of what is possible most recently.

Re: An account is now required to read Reddit comment threads?

#47
post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unfortunately the way things are going I can see them getting rid of old.reddit.com and i.reddit.com, at which point I think I'll also stop visiting the website (the mobile website is atrocious and I'm not going to install a dedicated app in order to read a forum).

6 year member here with >25k karma. if old.reddit goes down i'm out as well.

7y with around ~40k karma. I am already leaving a bit more everyday. old.reddit.com is a blessing from the past.

Re: An account is now required to read Reddit comment threads?

#49
I wonder if this has anything to do with them trying to catalog subs. This thread and what I'll share below lead me to believe they may be attempting to curate content.

For context on them attempting to catalog subs about a month ago a Reddit admin messaged me unsolicited (apparently a lot of people). I have no problem sharing this since they randomly contacted me via the site, I've never done contract work for them, and there was no request to keep it private (and apparently hey just randomly mass messaged people):

>Hey there! I work at Reddit and I’m reaching out because we’re looking for experienced redditors who might be interested in taking on some paid contract work for us. I have no idea if you’d be interested, but I figured I’d drop you a line.

I replied requesting more info

>Great! Essentially, this work would be reviewing lists of subreddits to help categorize what they are about and what content is in them. This would probably be maximum 10h/wk (no minimum) over a couple of weeks, though if it goes well there’s likely to be more. It pays $15/hr.

I said sure and was told this

>Can you send an email to redacted@reddit.com with your resume and your experience on Reddit and we can work on scheduling a time to chat about the opportunity? (No worries if your profession or line of work isn’t related to Reddit. We're looking for reliable people with existing Reddit knowledge; reviewing your resume will help us better understand your background.) Upon reviewing the resumes, we will schedule 30-minute phone calls with selected candidates to share details on the project work and conduct interviews.

I did about 20 minutes later and within an hour got an email saying thanks but no thanks, there were tons of people interested and they're already full.

Re: An account is now required to read Reddit comment threads?

#50
post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unfortunately the way things are going I can see them getting rid of old.reddit.com and i.reddit.com, at which point I think I'll also stop visiting the website (the mobile website is atrocious and I'm not going to install a dedicated app in order to read a forum).

>I'm not going to install a dedicated app in order to read a forum Apollo (iOS) provides a nice and clean design, as does Joey (Android) which copies the style of the former. Even on the desktop, the experience is smooth and manageable, by using uMatrix and RES, whether you are browsing old.reddit or not. I don't understand the hesitancy in using these enhancements to enrich your user experience.

Do any of the apps allow for browsing or opening links without an account or logging in?
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