BTW old.reddit is still working for me without login when VPNed into Canada (for now)
So Reddit has decided that plain HTML is unsafe
581–590 of 681 posts
Re: So Reddit has decided that plain HTML is unsafe
#582I always wondered how Reddit justified the old.reddit effect. If your new design is so awful that a large percentage of users refuse to use it, and prefer the (more performant!) version from more than a decade ago, shouldn't that be a strong signal that you've made some mistakes? Why not try making the new version more appealing by investigating and fixing the issues that cause people to use the old one. I guess cred…
I mod a reasonably popular subreddit for work, and, looking at the stats as a die hard old reddit user, I was floored at how few of us there really are.
I mean, I used the old design for a couple years, but now I genuinely prefer the new design.
I mostly view Reddit on my phone, and new reddit is much more mobile friendly. I have to pinch and zoom and scroll all over the place on old reddit.
I know that's an unpopular opinion around these parts, but I also hate viewing this website on my phone so I use an app. This website really needs a mobile redesign, but I can't imagine the shit fit that the users would throw.
Re: So Reddit has decided that plain HTML is unsafe
#583Earlier quoted context omitted.
While I do use old.reddit and genuinely think it's better UI-wise, in the general case users tend to be resistant to any UI change because it breaks their habits and muscle memory. This is valid but applies even if the new design is easier to use/better in one way or another.
> While I do use old.reddit and genuinely think it's better UI-wise, in the general case users tend to be resistant to any UI change because it breaks their habits and muscle memory. It's funny how often people say "it's just habit / muscle memory / etc." in response to these kinds of discussions, as though it were somehow a counter-argument, and not something that corroborates the argument against making sudden, dra…
I don't see it as a persuasive argument so much as resignation that quality doesn't matter (in this case, and in many cases of incremental enshitification)
Re: So Reddit has decided that plain HTML is unsafe
#584I always wondered how Reddit justified the old.reddit effect. If your new design is so awful that a large percentage of users refuse to use it, and prefer the (more performant!) version from more than a decade ago, shouldn't that be a strong signal that you've made some mistakes? Why not try making the new version more appealing by investigating and fixing the issues that cause people to use the old one. I guess cred…
I think there is a possibility that this is simply someone's ego trip that has evolved into a monster. One "nepo hire" in the correct position of power is all it would take for something like this to happen. I believe that's what occurred with the GitHub refactor too. That happened way too early to be attributed to the AI/Copilot stuff. If business was truly driving the ship a lot of these bad ideas would have been k…
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Re: So Reddit has decided that plain HTML is unsafe
#585Earlier quoted context omitted.
I mod a reasonably popular subreddit for work, and, looking at the stats as a die hard old reddit user, I was floored at how few of us there really are.
Numbers please
Here are stats from from a 100k member subreddit with 15k unique visitors a day.
Re: So Reddit has decided that plain HTML is unsafe
#586Earlier quoted context omitted.
Its fine for some groups, but its extra work (you cannot just let people sign up, the admins will have to add each user individually) and for many things you want people to join. A very local hobby group might be OK, but anything broader is a problem. A hobby group for a city? A community forum for a village?
You don't need a centralized approver; you could give any member invite privileges or have a shared password or QR code that members can give out, or that can be shared at in-person meetups, etc. That should work fine still for a city-scale group (which in practice is still going to be maybe a few dozen members). Community forum like for a PTO is also the exact type of thing I had in mind. Print a QR code with embedd…
Its still going to create extra costs and risks. What happens if a member over-shares a QR code? What happens if you trust the wrong people? Children can scan flyers too. Governments will move to close loopholes and get ISPs to block sites. Technical solutions do not fix social and political problems.
Re: So Reddit has decided that plain HTML is unsafe
#587Earlier quoted context omitted.
I mod a reasonably popular subreddit for work, and, looking at the stats as a die hard old reddit user, I was floored at how few of us there really are.
I mean, I used the old design for a couple years, but now I genuinely prefer the new design. I mostly view Reddit on my phone, and new reddit is much more mobile friendly. I have to pinch and zoom and scroll all over the place on old reddit. I know that's an unpopular opinion around these parts, but I also hate viewing this website on my phone so I use an app. This website really needs a mobile redesign, but I can't…
I found an extension for Safari called SinkItforReddit and it does an ok job of making old Reddit usable on mobile. I still fatfinger some clicks, but I’m stubborn and refuse to use the new site. My main gripe with it is less about the UI and more that the content ordering feels more obscured, whereas old site shows me the fairly basic heuristic algorithm for content order.
Re: So Reddit has decided that plain HTML is unsafe
#588Earlier 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…
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…
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Re: So Reddit has decided that plain HTML is unsafe
#589Yes. There are questionable policies on the website where Ghislaine Maxwell is the top moderator.
Re: So Reddit has decided that plain HTML is unsafe
#590Earlier 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
Seeing as people have been self-moderating some of these forums for more than 20 years, it's a solved, non-issue. Just because you're not familiar with this, doesn't mean it doesn't work. It's worked since the 70s with bulletin board systems.
Yes, those required moderation too.
Again, solved problem for community sites.