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The moment old.reddit.com stops working is the moment I will stop using Reddit generally, the new design is just too slow for me to create a pleasant experience

The moment old.reddit.com stops working is the moment I will stop using Reddit generally, the new design is just too slow for me to create a pleasant experience (and the UX of the redesign is overall very unpleasant). Ever since they began limiting viewing on mobile browsers I already stopped using Reddit with my mobile phone completely. There are ways to circumvent that of course, but I just can't be bothered.

kache_ 6y ago
New reddit is an attempt to make it too painful to use reddit on a browser and instead edge you to use a mobile app.
- depingus 6y ago
  The F-Droid repo has a few nice ones. I'm using Infinity.
  - brocket 6y ago
    RedReader isn't bad either. UI looks a little more dated compared to Infinity but it's been around awhile, stable, and still getting updates.
ubermonkey 6y ago
It's slower, and it has insane amounts of wasted space. I like a data-dense display. Oh mobile, consider Apollo.
- apaprocki 6y ago
  The one comment I did not expect to see leveled against old.reddit.com was that it was slower. I generally hit it only because it is an order of magnitude faster than the main site in Safari. The dynamic/lazy loading of what must be megabytes of assets make the experience 100% jank. The wasted space is actually a preference. The 10,000 ft view is nice and lets you achieve your preferred level of zoom for quickly browsing things, as opposed to being forced to view everything at a certain size/speed.
  - ubermonkey 6y ago
    I was imprecise, I guess, because I mean NEW Reddit is slower.
    - apaprocki 6y ago
      Then we are in complete agreement, sorry!
loceng 6y ago
Is someone willing to share why old.reddit.com is so much better UX/UI wise? It's not obvious to me for some reason. Is it simply the load time is better - and that it doesn't have the shenanigans trying to lead you to a "better experience" via downloading their mobile app?
- speedyapoc 6y ago
  For me, it's information density.
- waihtis 6y ago
  Mobile issues when you don't want the reddit app: 1) no "this subreddit is only available via the app" walls 2) subreddit search functionality that doesn't require jumping through hoops to execute 3) no comment reading limitations (again a push for the app) I'm sure there's more, but these are the things that pop to mind instantly
- ink404 6y ago
  the main thing that I dislike about it is that they try to highlight certain - relevant - comments instead of showing the comment thread as is this happens a lot when searching, and is especially annoying on mobile where it's not clear at all on how to view the entire thread. This could follow with information density in general, I think another important piece to consider is most of the people who are using old.reddit.com probably still use RES (reddit enhancement suite).
- qq4 6y ago
  Imagine if HN looked like reddit.com. Compare scrolling through a thread to one here.
- toyg 6y ago
  Information density, load times, speed of navigation, UX simplicity, effort required client-side... TBH I struggle to see how the new interface could be considered better in any respect worth considering. The only good feature is, I believe, showing images by default, which you can achieve trivially with Reddit Enhancement Suite and would have not required a complete re-engineering on a SPA model. There might well be server-side improvements that make it worth to Reddit, but from a user perspective the new UI was a straight UX downgrade; without old.reddit.com they would probably have become another Digg.
TheSmiddy 6y ago
i.reddit.com still works on mobile. It's how I use it.

kache_ 6y ago

New reddit is an attempt to make it too painful to use reddit on a browser and instead edge you to use a mobile app.

depingus 6y ago
The F-Droid repo has a few nice ones. I'm using Infinity.
- brocket 6y ago
  RedReader isn't bad either. UI looks a little more dated compared to Infinity but it's been around awhile, stable, and still getting updates.

ubermonkey 6y ago

It's slower, and it has insane amounts of wasted space. I like a data-dense display. Oh mobile, consider Apollo.

apaprocki 6y ago
The one comment I did not expect to see leveled against old.reddit.com was that it was slower. I generally hit it only because it is an order of magnitude faster than the main site in Safari. The dynamic/lazy loading of what must be megabytes of assets make the experience 100% jank. The wasted space is actually a preference. The 10,000 ft view is nice and lets you achieve your preferred level of zoom for quickly browsing things, as opposed to being forced to view everything at a certain size/speed.
- ubermonkey 6y ago
  I was imprecise, I guess, because I mean NEW Reddit is slower.
  - apaprocki 6y ago
    Then we are in complete agreement, sorry!

loceng 6y ago

Is someone willing to share why old.reddit.com is so much better UX/UI wise? It's not obvious to me for some reason. Is it simply the load time is better - and that it doesn't have the shenanigans trying to lead you to a "better experience" via downloading their mobile app?

speedyapoc 6y ago
For me, it's information density.
waihtis 6y ago
Mobile issues when you don't want the reddit app: 1) no "this subreddit is only available via the app" walls 2) subreddit search functionality that doesn't require jumping through hoops to execute 3) no comment reading limitations (again a push for the app) I'm sure there's more, but these are the things that pop to mind instantly
ink404 6y ago
the main thing that I dislike about it is that they try to highlight certain - relevant - comments instead of showing the comment thread as is this happens a lot when searching, and is especially annoying on mobile where it's not clear at all on how to view the entire thread. This could follow with information density in general, I think another important piece to consider is most of the people who are using old.reddit.com probably still use RES (reddit enhancement suite).
qq4 6y ago
Imagine if HN looked like reddit.com. Compare scrolling through a thread to one here.
toyg 6y ago
Information density, load times, speed of navigation, UX simplicity, effort required client-side... TBH I struggle to see how the new interface could be considered better in any respect worth considering. The only good feature is, I believe, showing images by default, which you can achieve trivially with Reddit Enhancement Suite and would have not required a complete re-engineering on a SPA model. There might well be server-side improvements that make it worth to Reddit, but from a user perspective the new UI was a straight UX downgrade; without old.reddit.com they would probably have become another Digg.

TheSmiddy 6y ago

i.reddit.com still works on mobile. It's how I use it.