Experimental reddit change: subreddits may now opt-out of /r/all

https://www.reddit.com/r/changelog/comments/2a32sq/experimental_reddit_change_subreddits_may_now/

created by alienth on 07/07/2014 at 21:29 UTC

253 upvotes, 43 top-level comments (showing 25)

Greetings all,

Some subreddits have voiced a desire to generally opt-out of forced exposure on reddit. To help facilitate that, I've made a change to how the 'allow this subreddit to be in the default' checkbox works. If this box is unchecked for a given subreddit, that subreddit will be excluded from /r/all as well as the defaults and trending lists.

Those wishing to see content from subreddits who opt-out of /r/all can still find it directly, via multis, or via their front-page subscription set.

I want to strongly impress that this is an experiment, with no goals other than to give communities an additional option and see how it is used. The experiment may be altered or altogether reverted in the future, based on results and feedback from the community.

One extra note is that this opt-out does not apply to /r/all/new.

See the code on github.

cheers,

alienth

Comments

Comment by [deleted] at 07/07/2014 at 21:56 UTC

149 upvotes, 3 direct replies

As a mod, I love this news. As a user, I don't like it.

I'm torn!

Comment by K_Lobstah at 07/07/2014 at 21:43 UTC

134 upvotes, 3 direct replies

And the collective mods who enforce comment standards go wild!

Comment by hansjens47 at 07/07/2014 at 22:23 UTC

42 upvotes, 2 direct replies

As a user, where can I see that/if a sub has opted out of /r/all?

That's information that's really useful in choosing where to subscribe, or what subreddits to add to my multireddits.

Comment by [deleted] at 07/07/2014 at 21:38 UTC

15 upvotes, 4 direct replies

Which subs requested this? And why?

Comment by outofband at 14/07/2014 at 21:35 UTC

11 upvotes, 0 direct replies

To be honest, this doesn't seem a really smart change. Wouldn't it be better to let all subreddits on /r/all and let an option for the single subreddits to allow participation (post/upvotes/comments) only when subscribed?

I mean it's called /r/all not /r/almosteverything, and I found a lot of interesting subreddits through /r/all

Comment by account9211 at 07/07/2014 at 22:06 UTC

70 upvotes, 2 direct replies

/r/all should not be called /r/all then.

Comment by DiamondDark at 14/07/2014 at 10:35 UTC

12 upvotes, 0 direct replies

I don't like this at all. /r/all should be exactly that, ALL the content of reddit that got enough net votes to make it to the front page.

Comment by [deleted] at 07/07/2014 at 21:46 UTC

113 upvotes, 5 direct replies

I disagree, /r/all should be for *all* subreddits, I've discovered many new and interesting subreddits through /r/all/top/hour, if they want to be exclusive, why not become private? Subreddit discovery is already fairly mediocre, this'll just make things worse.

Alternative idea: Subreddits can set a .np-style setting, which would prevent unsubscribed visitors (or visitors from /r/all?) from voting/commenting. But browsing and discovering the subreddit would still be possible.

Comment by three_man at 17/07/2014 at 17:40 UTC*

6 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Boo, I say.

Comment by Gaget at 07/07/2014 at 21:34 UTC

12 upvotes, 1 direct replies

Sometimes I like to browse /r/all/top and sort by "this hour" -- will this change affect what I see there as well?

Comment by family2dyl at 08/07/2014 at 10:13 UTC

9 upvotes, 0 direct replies

In that case can it be changed from /r/all to /r/most?

Comment by happyaccount55 at 09/07/2014 at 06:18 UTC

7 upvotes, 0 direct replies

So, /r/all is going to be renamed /r/some ?

Comment by anonymoose654321 at 10/10/2014 at 20:03 UTC

5 upvotes, 1 direct replies

I'm aware this is 3 months old now but I'm extremely disappointed by this change. I've found many of my favorite subreddits through /r/all, and had no idea they existed before then. I loved having the insight into the random hobbies people have or big local news.

Would it be possible to disable user participation from /r/all or something? This has impacted my reddit experience quite negatively.

Comment by ManWithoutModem at 07/07/2014 at 22:04 UTC

13 upvotes, 2 direct replies

Is it possible to make it so that defaults can opt out of /r/all during this test (just to bother the undelete people)?

Comment by radd_it at 07/07/2014 at 22:17 UTC

17 upvotes, 3 direct replies

One extra note is that this opt-out does not apply to /r/all/new.

Boo*. What's the point if it doesn't protect your sub from the "Knights of New"? Back when I modded /r/listentous, I always wanted to remove it from the /r/all listings as I'd see post after post getting downvoted on its way through that gambit.

reddit has grown big enough that it needs *less* out-of-context voting. Votes from /r/all are almost as irrelevant as votes from user profiles. Let the actual, interested subscribers cast the votes.

Other than that detail, I think it's a good idea. Viva la subreddit customization!

Comment by Stuck_In_the_Matrix at 08/07/2014 at 02:41 UTC

3 upvotes, 2 direct replies

Does this change affect comment scrapers listening to /r/all/comments.json?

Comment by Hasaan5 at 10/07/2014 at 01:20 UTC

3 upvotes, 0 direct replies

This seems useful for those subreddits that like closed communities, but terrible for users looking for new subreddits. Maybe you could add an option in preferences for being able to see an unfiltered /r/all? It solves the problem of being able to find the filtered subreddits but doesn't create a huge target on their backs like a list of the subreddits that have opted out would. It should be off by default obviously though.

Another thing, there should be different boxes for opting out of being a default, being on /r/all, or being on the trending list so that mods can specialize the way they want their subreddit presented.

Comment by SuperCaptainMan at 01/09/2014 at 04:57 UTC

3 upvotes, 0 direct replies

It seems like the admins never acutally listen to what the majority wants. This is an incredibly dumb idea, and disallowing participation to non-subscribers would have been the best route.

Comment by andytuba at 07/07/2014 at 21:33 UTC

3 upvotes, 1 direct replies

If this experiment proves useful, do you plan to extend the opt-out to /r/all/new? (I assume you left that out because of technical difficulties.)

Comment by totes_meta_bot at 07/07/2014 at 22:07 UTC*

8 upvotes, 0 direct replies

This thread has been linked to from elsewhere on reddit.

[/r/MetaHub] Experimental reddit change: subreddits may now opt-out of /r/all.

[/r/Oppression] A new reddit feature allows mods to opt-out of /r/all. The worry is that subreddits will now serve as containment zones for free speech rather than launchpads for the mass dissemination of information

[/r/foobarbazquuxination] HTTPS test

^If ^you ^follow ^any ^of ^the ^above ^links, ^respect ^the ^rules ^of ^reddit ^and ^don't ^vote ^or ^comment. ^Questions? ^Abuse? ^Message ^me ^here.[1]*

1: http://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Fmeta_bot_mailbag

Comment by captainbergs at 07/07/2014 at 22:31 UTC

15 upvotes, 1 direct replies

Good, giving subreddits more control over their growth is a brilliant decision. I think it is far more important for sub mods and users to have this ability than it is for people to find new subs.

It doesn't matter if *you* are a model subscriber, if you come in through /r/all you probably came in with many more "bad" users. Lets be honest, do you want a community built from a trickle of new users who found their own way to a sub (or found it through associated communities) or do you just want massive growth from the /r/all crowd?

This isn't about turning subreddits into isolated communities no one can find, its about giving power back to medium sized communities that do not want the influx from /r/all.

Comment by Kapps at 08/07/2014 at 14:23 UTC

4 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Sounds like a good way to remove users from seeing subs with actual content, as many of the major ones (Ask Historians was mentioned in this thread) will do it, leaving more and more low effort / image / meme subs and less useful ones, especially as the other ones opt out.