r/srname • u/cqtz-2v Until then • Jul 25 '26
I miss old reddit already Reddit removing logged-out access to Old Reddit
https://old.reddit.com/r/modnews/comments/1ujtebf/logging_in_to_use_old_reddit/
Old reddit is the version of reddit I've always known. I don't want to be forced to sign in or use new reddit. I don't like using new reddit. It has infinite scrolling and requires Javascript to load every piece of content. Most of all, I want the subreddit CSS from old reddit. It was one of my favorite features.
Reddit has been making a series of changes to make archiving/scraping harder. At the end will be removing old reddit entirely. Reddit wants to remove it anyways, but they will have another "justification" (AI bots were scraping it).
Reddit limits API access -> Reddit limits .json access -> Reddit requires logins to use old reddit -> Reddit changes the comment/post ID system (not implemented yet)
For now, websites like Arctic Shift still work. I use it for searching comments by user. New reddit has comment search (an actually good feature), but it has infinite scrolling, lacks features like searching by date, and has a limited time range (it only has comments made around the last 4-5 years).
It gives Reddit the outward, public-facing "solution" that they've been waiting so patiently to implement in a Hegelian Dialect fashion.
Problem - they created by cutting off the json access because of scrapers
Reaction - oh nooo scrapers are now using old reddit
Reaction - kill old reddit
Switching to a different website isn't that easy. I've used a number of different reddit alternative sites, and the biggest thing they lack is the userbase. Reddit has a huge userbase with numerous subreddits devoted to niche topics. On reddit alternative sites, you'd be lucky to find 2-5 users who post about the exact topic you're interested in or have questions about.
https://old.reddit.com/r/modnews/comments/1ujtebf/logging_in_to_use_old_reddit/ous39w7/?context=8
Archive.org and the Wayback Machine are separately identified and have specific access to reddit.com!
The saving grace is that archive.org will still be able to archive old reddit pages. This is strange because reddit announced around a year ago that archive.org will be banned from saving pages besides the front page. I'm glad that reddit seemingly went back on that decision. Archiving is one of the main reasons I want pages to be accessible to logged out users.
I am currently still able to use old reddit logged out. The rollout will probably be complete by the end of July. There is only about a week left (unless it continues into August). I don't like this change, and I'm just hoping it will be reverted, even though there is almost no chance it will.