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An account is now required to read Reddit comment threads?

old.reddit.com

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

#111

Post by mrlala »

paganel wrote: post #19
CM30 wrote: post #8

Hmm, I just checked myself, and I was able to read comment threads perfectly fine without being logged in, on both a desktop computer and a smartphone. Obviously old.reddit.com doesn't have these issues, but I'm pretty sure the session on smartphone used the new site, and that let me keep reading without any interruptions too. Either way, if Reddit does this, that's it. Not returning to the site. The internet doesn't…

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).

>and I'm not going to install a dedicated app in order to read a forum

Even if it's infinitely better? I have been using the 'reddit is fun' app for years, and it's the best experience by far. I hate even using my computer to browse reddit to be honest, I would rather sit and be comfortable with a phone. Can't say that about most sites.

On the opposite end, I hate browsing hackernews on my phone so I almost never do. I can't click anything because it's so small. So I just end up using it on the desktop, which is fine I guess.. but it limits my interaction with this site.

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

#112

Post by Cephalopterus »

WhompingWindows wrote: post #100
Someone1234 wrote: post #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 result…

I wish Reddit had gone the way of VLC -- keep your core product, the thing people liked, and stop chasing profits. Why do so many of these companies fall to the profit motive and lose their "soul"?

Unfortunately, VLC is developed by VideoLAN, a non-profit organization whereas Reddit is a for profit company which by definition they will chase for profits.

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

#113

Post by jackcosgrove »

Someone1234 wrote: post #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 result…

Nothing lasts forever. Reddit is 14 years old. They've had a good run.

I think there is a general trend away from user-generated content as a business model, because that content can be a bit salty.

Reddit might just be cashing out because the wave they rode has already crested.

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

#114

Post by [deleted] »

WhompingWindows wrote: post #100
Someone1234 wrote: post #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 result…

I wish Reddit had gone the way of VLC -- keep your core product, the thing people liked, and stop chasing profits. Why do so many of these companies fall to the profit motive and lose their "soul"?

[deleted]

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

#115

Post by basch »

mietek wrote: post #65
aloisdg wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

12 year club; charter member; already gone.

And I remember what brought me there. Was people spamming about it on slashdot and digg. I have the decss controversy to thank for bringing me to a place that didnt censor a number just cuz it might be illegal in some states. I had heard of it before and checked it when it was linked to, but that was the first time I gave it a chance as my go to page when first logging onto the internet. Reddit has long been replaced as that "first page of the day."

For a while I actually switched to facebook lists, but then facebook got hostile towards allowing people to sort their follows into categories. That one I really cant understand, because it made facebook infinitely more pleasant to use.

https://www.computerworld.com/article/2476952/digg-users-are...

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

#116

Post by u801e »

harimau777 wrote: post #31

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…

> but I'm not sure what people could move to if Reddit becomes non-viable. but I'm not sure what people could move to if Reddit becomes non-viable.

In the past, a lot of non-technical people posted to usenet newsgroups and connected to IRC for online chat.

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

#117

Post by BlueTemplar »

paganel wrote: post #19
CM30 wrote: post #8

Hmm, I just checked myself, and I was able to read comment threads perfectly fine without being logged in, on both a desktop computer and a smartphone. Obviously old.reddit.com doesn't have these issues, but I'm pretty sure the session on smartphone used the new site, and that let me keep reading without any interruptions too. Either way, if Reddit does this, that's it. Not returning to the site. The internet doesn't…

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).

Heh, like I stopped visiting Slashdot after the new website was implemented. And it wasn't even like I was especially annoyed at the new interface, I just gradually used it less and less until completely stopping...

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

#118

Post by azangru »

gherkinnn wrote: post #70
AHTERIX5000 wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's ridiculous how much better old.reddit.com is for a casual reader like me. The way thread hiding works by default, "See Entire Discussion" etc, everything is designed to provoke clicks and actions instead of reading the actual discussion.

I recently browsed reddit after years of abstinence. The “view discussion” and “view more comments” buttons are just utter, utter shite. It is near impossible to read all of the comments. It’s clearly designed to satisfy KPIs other than actually reading a post. More like superficially bouncing from one post to the next, dropping an upboat and off you go. I sincerely hope all these sign in-only forums with great SEO l…

> It’s clearly designed to satisfy KPIs other than actually reading a post

I thought / heard from someone that the View more comments button is a technical solution for preventing overfetching or excessively deep queries. Never crossed my mind for a second to connect it to KPIs.

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

#119

Post by Cephalopterus »

sithlord wrote: post #66
Someone1234 wrote: post #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 result…

same thing quora did, which made it hated by the masses.

Quora is arguably worse, it actively incentivized people to post inane and unproductive questions reducing the overall quantity of the content. Language topics are littered which questions such as "What is the colour red in the language X" while topics like Math has stuff like "What is 1+1". I wish I was kidding about that last one, it's an actual question on Quora with 1,078 answers as of this comment. It's insane

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

#120

Post by hnaccy »

Someone1234 wrote: post #87
AJ007 wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are they going to get away with keeping all of their google volume by cloaking the google bot and hiding the content from everyone else? Comments make up the vast majority of Reddit’s unique content. I would guess on a word basis it’s over 99%?

That wouldn't help. A significant metric Google uses for ranking is relevance, meaning number of historic clicks for a given search term. As users learn that Reddit links aren't useful sources of information, they'll click less, which means the relevance between the search term and Reddit goes down. Ultimately reducing Reddit's ranking, regardless of if the Googlebot is allowed to index the content. People often mix…

Hasn't stopped Pinterest from flooding google image search results.
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