So Reddit has decided that plain HTML is unsafe • Hacker News Board

Re: So Reddit has decided that plain HTML is unsafe

#511

Post by debugnik » Thu, Jul 23, 2026, 10:57 AM UTC

inigyou wrote: post #431

b112 wrote: post #419

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cost a lot to operate? apt-get install forum-software. All security updates with apt-get updates. Use something like Debian, and you keep the same forum software for years with zero config changes, but with security updates. I know endless local groups. Bike clubs. Hobby groups. They still all run on forums and mailing lists. No ads. No tracking. No doom-scrolling or this and that. Cost? For many of them, a $5/month…

You have to moderate it

Reddit mods are volunteers as well.

Re: So Reddit has decided that plain HTML is unsafe

#512

Post by drc500free » Thu, Jul 23, 2026, 11:01 AM UTC

pbhjpbhj wrote: post #457

chuckadams wrote: post #256

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I never used to be an old.reddit die-hard, but new got so bad it chased me there to where I now use a browser extension to redirect all reddit links to old. I was convinced that the website continued to get worse so they could steer you into the app which hoovers up all your personal information. But then the app is so godawful unusable that I think we're just looking at straight-up incompetence. So yeah, I'm in the…

So, is it back to Digg, circle around to Slashdot, or is there a new kid on the block?

Fark hasn’t gone anywhere.

Re: So Reddit has decided that plain HTML is unsafe

#513

Post by Gander5739 » Thu, Jul 23, 2026, 11:12 AM UTC

figmert wrote: post #500

red-iron-pine wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "we do not want to keep supporting old.reddit" the second old.reddit goes is the second I stop using that site it's already very obviously chock full of slop and AI bullshit, with some subs having long unavoidable lists of "your post was removed because you did not verify" trails that imply that automated posters found a thread and went hard but add in privacy crushing bs -- no reason to be there anymore. Back to o…

I used to use infinity for reddit, after the api saga, I was able to patch it with my own api key since personal ones were still free. I lost the key since, and had to re-install Infinity, so when I go to the reddit api page, turns out they don't give you keys any more, and instead you need to sign up to their developer platform, which I requires a lot of hoops to get a key for free, and from what I understand, that'…

They started revoking the old personal api keys anyway.

Re: So Reddit has decided that plain HTML is unsafe

#514

Post by SV_BubbleTime » Thu, Jul 23, 2026, 11:12 AM UTC

unethical_ban wrote: post #378

SV_BubbleTime wrote: post #322

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

It's been saddening seeing people who think they're clever and have it all figured out getting wrapped around the axle about Odyssey for the absolutely most foolish reasons. You act like the casting decision is the downfall of society.

[flagged]

Re: So Reddit has decided that plain HTML is unsafe

#515

Post by iugtmkbdfil834 » Thu, Jul 23, 2026, 11:15 AM UTC

inigyou wrote: post #436

Cider9986 wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>You've been blocked by network security. To continue, log in to your Reddit account or use your developer token ....

It's just the "drink verification can" meme, and could have linked to any site but chose Reddit...

I am debating an appropriate response, but maybe just an answer is not exactly what is called for here.

What do you think a meme is? What function does it serve?

Re: So Reddit has decided that plain HTML is unsafe

#516

Post by 20k » Thu, Jul 23, 2026, 11:17 AM UTC

boredpudding wrote: post #421

20k wrote: post #293

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're just trying to manufacture a reason to kill off old reddit. Someone internally clearly hates the fact that its still quite popular, despite all the efforts to make it unusable so far

I'm not sure how statistics track it, but when you're moderator on a subreddit you can see how many visitors use old reddit. Last month for mine it was 1%. Now. This could be more due to their tracking not working for most old reddit users (I assume most have adblock), but it's unlikely to be a lot more. The large majority of Reddit users are on the app. I'm honestly surprised they haven't killed old reddit off yet,…

As far as I'm aware the big problem they have is that while most of the visitors use new reddit, a very significant chunk of commenters and mods still use old reddit which they can't really afford to lose

Re: So Reddit has decided that plain HTML is unsafe

#517

Post by graemep » Thu, Jul 23, 2026, 11:20 AM UTC

inigyou wrote: post #430

nothercastle wrote: post #281

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Forms are sadly dead. They cost a lot to operate and maintain security updates for so without a critical mass of users they are dead

Some are alive, eg. LowEndTalk. They are not as general as Reddit.

They do not need to be.

They are one of those things that governments and big tech do not like. They are too easy for just anyone to operate, so I think we can see more legislation aimed at making running forums harder or more expensive, like the Online Safety Act in the UK.

Re: So Reddit has decided that plain HTML is unsafe

#518

Post by graemep » Thu, Jul 23, 2026, 11:23 AM UTC

b112 wrote: post #419

nothercastle wrote: post #281

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Forms are sadly dead. They cost a lot to operate and maintain security updates for so without a critical mass of users they are dead

Cost a lot to operate? apt-get install forum-software. All security updates with apt-get updates. Use something like Debian, and you keep the same forum software for years with zero config changes, but with security updates. I know endless local groups. Bike clubs. Hobby groups. They still all run on forums and mailing lists. No ads. No tracking. No doom-scrolling or this and that. Cost? For many of them, a $5/month…

They are cheap to operate now. This is something governments and big tech will fix.

As I said in another comment they are no longer as cheap to operate in the UK because of regulatory requirements, and this sort of regulation tends to get copied and extended around the world. All for the sake of the children, of course.

How much will it cost with UGC requires age verification and round the clock moderation? When its a risk to do it without a company to shield you from liability?

Re: So Reddit has decided that plain HTML is unsafe

#519

Post by rightbyte » Thu, Jul 23, 2026, 11:23 AM UTC

b112 wrote: post #414

mrandish wrote: post #304

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The day they kill off old.reddit.com is the last time I'll visit Reddit (after >15 years, >7,000 comments & >70,000 karma). Old.reddit, the Reddit Enhancement Suite (RES), custom userstyle CSS and uBlock make Reddit tolerable. Admittedly, Reddit might be fine with losing me because I only ever see the small niche subs I'm subscribed to, most have less than 100K subs and none have more than a million. I haven't seen t…

This is the mistake so many platforms and software packages make. They look at the big groups, but don't really pay much attention to the smaller groupings. They also don't pay much mind to who is on those smaller groupings. I'm willing to bet that all those little groups, are what attracted people to Reddit to start with. The local city forums, or the niche group of people interested in... tumbleweeds or something.…

> All these forced clicks to read a thread, so they know if you're doing so.

Isn't that to reload ads? Each plus sign click could have some sort of SOAP call or whatever to load dynamically.

Re: So Reddit has decided that plain HTML is unsafe

#520

Post by noslenwerdna » Thu, Jul 23, 2026, 11:26 AM UTC

kmeisthax wrote: post #108

LaurensBER wrote: post #17

For users, Reddit has been in a downwards spiral since the IPO. It's pretty clear that their focus is no longer on providing the best communities (see the many examples of power hungry mods, see below) or the best UX (see the deprecation of the API or the recent changes to old.reddit.com described in the post). The "product" is now selling data to LLM companies, everything else is clearly a secondary concern. It's a…

Powertripping mods have always been a problem with Reddit ever since they had user-created subreddits. The real problem is that Reddit has been very two-faced with what their expectations on moderators are. If we take "the purpose of a system is what it does[0]" then Reddit moderators exist primarily as unpaid volunteer employees, paid in control over the narrative of certain communities. The flipside of powertrippin…

Is the purpose of a system really what it does though? Obviously there are side effects and tradeoffs in any complex system. Is the purpose of a vaccine to make you sick - no, but that is a side effect of some vaccines on some people.

If we apply the "purpose of a system is what it does" to itself, this methodology is more a way to generate interesting (and cynical) hypotheses than to get at the truth.