Comment by spez on 21/04/2017 at 16:12 UTC

154 upvotes, 21 direct replies (showing 21)

View submission: The web redesign, CSS, and mod tools

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There are multiple reasons:

Yes, make it easier to use generally
Yes, more inviting to new users
Increase developer speed. Rewrites are a last resort, but Reddit runs on a lot of old code, and development in the current code base is painfully slow.

Replies

Comment by [deleted] at 21/04/2017 at 21:56 UTC

608 upvotes, 4 direct replies

[deleted]

Comment by LiveBeef at 22/04/2017 at 19:42 UTC

141 upvotes, 6 direct replies

* Increase developer speed. Rewrites are a last resort, but Reddit runs on a lot of old code, and development in the current code base is painfully slow.

There's no way in hell that going through and meticulously adding in each functionality that CSS mods have painstakingly worked to create, along with programming options into subreddit settings that would allow for the current level of creativity, would save you any more time than leaving the current default subreddit style alone (or just tinkering with that instead).

Listen to me: you will *kill reddit* if you did this. Do you really believe that letting users have ultimate creativity and control over their communities with minimal oversight is the spirit of reddit, or was your masturbatory write-up of /r/place built on a false premise? You need to sit down and really think about what you think the spirit of this website is, where its value comes from, and think about once-popular websites that tried to sell out what made them unique.

Comment by [deleted] at 22/04/2017 at 17:12 UTC

95 upvotes, 1 direct replies

* Yes, make it easier to use generally

* Yes, more inviting to new users

Alright spez I've been willing to give you the benefit of the doubt in the past but I'm going to have to call bullshit here. CSS isn't difficult to use, and for any potential issues it's widely documented across the internet as it is a common standard.

That third reason has some legitimacy, but it's a pretty big stretch to remove a major feature over it. Were there any other deciding factors behind this change that you haven't shared with us yet?

Comment by chiefrebelangel_ at 22/04/2017 at 15:15 UTC

19 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Obviously, not a whole lot of people who do the mod work on subreddits think this this a good idea.

Change your HTML and let us keep our custom CSS. We'll change our sheets when you make changes.

It's really starting to look like the only reason you want this change is conformity. No one wants conformity. There's literally no reason for this.

Comment by Baldemoto at 21/04/2017 at 16:14 UTC

40 upvotes, 0 direct replies

How customizable does the Reddit team want the new design system to be?

How will these changes affect how we use Reddit?

Comment by Hexatomb at 21/04/2017 at 17:04 UTC*

126 upvotes, 3 direct replies

You forgot one:

Destroy any way for subs to express their unique and individual ~~viewpoints~~ personalities other than a few color changes.

Edit: Changed a word based on u/underscorewarrior 's great point.

Comment by cdown13 at 21/04/2017 at 21:58 UTC

16 upvotes, 0 direct replies

There are multiple reasons:

Yes, make it easier to use generally

Yes, more inviting to new users

Sounds like Digg 2.0 to me. Reddit has millions of users already and it's uglyness is a big part why people stay here. It's not for your grandparents cause they will find it overwhelming.

Comment by [deleted] at 21/04/2017 at 20:22 UTC*

276 upvotes, 2 direct replies

[deleted]

Comment by thrawn0o at 22/04/2017 at 13:05 UTC*

4 upvotes, 1 direct replies

I fully support the idea of creating standard solutions to provide functionality that is commonly implemented via CSS (~~emoji~~ emoticons, spoilers, custom HTML etc.).

However, /u/spez, please answer the other half of the question:

Why exactly do you need to disable *all* CSS to launch your new system? Why can't you revoke CSS support but still allow subreddit mods to use CSS at their own risk?

edit: word

Comment by Mulsanne at 23/04/2017 at 16:23 UTC

5 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Well good luck dealing with the fallout of alienating your biggest ally (moderators) when this doesn't do anything you're intending it to.

Comment by [deleted] at 22/04/2017 at 05:15 UTC

6 upvotes, 1 direct replies

I think it's a great move. Have people forgotten the horrors of MySpace and the instant appeal that the uniformity of Facebook provided?

Comment by [deleted] at 21/04/2017 at 21:47 UTC

5 upvotes, 0 direct replies

are there any plans to make it possible to view sidebars on the mobile web view

Comment by as1992 at 24/04/2017 at 19:52 UTC

1 upvotes, 0 direct replies

How does it make it more inviting to new users, or easier to use? One of the things that attracted me to this site in the first place was the level of customization on the different subs.

Look, it's pretty obvious that you're doing this to make it look more appealing to investors. And there's nothing wrong with that, that's just good business practice. But be honest about it please :)

Comment by vxx at 21/04/2017 at 16:23 UTC

9 upvotes, 0 direct replies

As painfully slow as the respond time of admins?

Comment by te-freddy-faz-doctor at 26/04/2017 at 02:32 UTC

1 upvotes, 0 direct replies

You frogot a few.

1 to make more money

2 kill Reddit as a whole

3 we hate css because we think it's bad and now everyone has to suffer because of of it

Comment by [deleted] at 24/04/2017 at 06:16 UTC

2 upvotes, 0 direct replies

You forgot "So we can sell more ad space."