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Does anyone else want to rant about Reddit’s AMP pages that show up on Google? Oh I could go on about it… The managers at Reddit, in their infinite wisdom, dec

Does anyone else want to rant about Reddit’s AMP pages that show up on Google? Oh I could go on about it… The managers at Reddit, in their infinite wisdom, decided that the preferred experience of a Google user searching for content on reddit should redirected to their wonky app. And if they don’t have the app, they should be punished with modals upon modals. “Reddit looks better in the app!” Oh, you disagree? Well press this tiny button to indicate your unsaved preference and we will allow you to view a preview of the thread you came for. But…if you can find the illusive button which shows the whole thread, we will grant you full access — after asking you to install the app again! It’s enough to make the designers of the Get Smart door scene collapse in embarrassment knowing that their parody has become the reality of every unsuspecting person who just wants to browse Reddit. And while I have you here, please tell me what’s going on with the Reddit’s scroll positioning when navigating out of the site. Just by clicking a external link in a thread, you’ve not only lost your position, navigating back to Reddit will tease you with the last version of the page before everything refreshes back to the top. And God forbid if you keep a tab open up for too long, encountering the most obnoxious error screen imaginable. “Ouch! Something went wrong. Refresh!” Yeah, something did go wrong. You broke your site. You killed the golden goose. You were the Chosen One! It was said that you would destroy Digg, not join them. Bring balance to the force, not leave it in darkness.

00jimbo 5y ago
speaking of their google results, let's also draw attention to the fact that they lie about post dates in google results to get you to click on a result from this week, only to click through and find that it's a post 7 years old
- lazyweb 5y ago
  Yes! I've noticed that as well lately. So incredibly dishonest.
ishiz 5y ago
There is also a bug with the AMP pages such that the submission dates for the threads are often wrong. For example you're searching for threads that have been posted in the last month, some of the results will say something like "7 days ago" until you click and see it is actually 5 years old.
- CamelCaseName 5y ago
  Are you talking about a Reddit issue? Google is notoriously bad at indexing the correct time a Reddit thread is posted. I have no clue why this is, I assume perhaps it is seeing a different date somewhere on the page (e.g. the "recently viewed threads" box). It doesn't seem to be directional either. That is, it's not just old threads pretending to be newer, but new threads also sometimes appear older. This is why I don't attribute any malice to the issue.
  - ishiz 5y ago
    I don't attribute any malice either. I can't remember where I read it but I heard somewhere earlier this year that Reddit was trying to fix it.
- edgyquant 5y ago
  Yes this is so annoying. Looking for a thread within the last year doesn’t work and I always end up with 7-10 years ago
- dole 5y ago
  Just recently they changed the submission date display format from “7 months” to “7m”, not like that’s ambiguous at all. One of my favorites is how it’ll load a basic profile with just your name, 0 karma and no subs when the site seems to be overloaded.
- xmprt 5y ago
  Reddit has a MASSIVE security vulnerability with their AMP pages and I really hope they get in trouble for it because of how much they shove it down people's throats. It's possible to visible quarantined or even banned subreddits through their AMP pages. From there you can still view deleted videos and other content through the autoplay "previews".
m-p-3 5y ago
What annoys me even more is that they kinda block the ability to read more /all comments when you're not logged in, at least this has been my experience so far.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
PragmaticPulp 5y ago
The Reddit mobile web experience is so obviously bad that I can only assume it's intentional. There must be some huge incentive for Reddit to push users toward the mobile app. Most likely, the app allows for higher or more accurate monthly active user counts and enables more targeted advertising, both of which are critical to increasing advertising revenues. Reddit is in a difficult spot because they're mostly an ad-supported business but their users are vehemently opposed to advertising and any forms of tracking. They have to tip-toe around all of the advertising and user tracking that they do. Strangely, their users mostly seem to give them a pass on the tracking. Their users are relatively trustworth, viewing Reddit as far more trustworthy of a company than Facbeook, despite the two companies having largely similar business models.
- ethbr0 5y ago
  I'd phrase it as "Reddit, the product" is fine. "Reddit, the investors who bought the product" are in a difficult spot. And certainly haven't shown an overabundance of creativity in monetization approaches. Suffice to say, you probably don't deserve a "front page of the Internet" tagline if your first display is a redirect request to your app.
  - toomuchtodo 5y ago
    Reddit is a potential B Corp or non profit masquerading as a VC backed tech startup with exit or ad revenue potential. Bag holders get tired eventually.
    - intended 5y ago
      Reddit is building the best content moderation tools for humans - by blundering in every possible direction, often in direct opposition to potential progress. Mod tools and the data on what works is the untapped resource. Every other major data or tool set for moderation is behind an NDA.
      - valparaiso 5y ago
afterburner 5y ago
I've tried alternatives, and I keep going back to i.reddit.com for mobile. I've also installed extensions to deal with the bullshit on desktop. My number one gripe right now is when using Google to search for stuff on reddit and use the time filter ("last week"), Reddit does not accurately report dates, and you get 4 year old threads showing up as "last week".
- DoingIsLearning 5y ago
  fyi you can also append '.compact' to a reddit page to view the same mobile view as i.reddit.com
- joecool1029 5y ago
  Regarding desktop, and even mobile. old.reddit.com still points to the previous version of the site. It's less than ideal for mobile but you can set this as the default site in your account settings. It's under beta section, need to uncheck box for using the new reddit site.
shusaku 5y ago
Every time I get annoyed by something like this, I go to the front page if Reddit, see that 90% of the posts are political advertisements disguised as viral content, and realize it’s a minor problem in the grand scheme. I just wish communities would make their own message boards again instead of coalescing on subreddits that they have zero control of.
rdiddly 5y ago
I hate the fake folksy conversational tics like "Ouch!" Oh are you hurt? And who is the "you"?
philjohn 5y ago
Oh - it's even better than that - I've never got the "open in app" to work, it just opens the app store, despite having the reddit app installed.
LeftHandPath 5y ago
Reddit's design is what actively pushed me to Hacker News, the Risks Digest, and a healthy mix of paid news (WSJ, FT, Bloomberg, etc). The site is really being redesigned to enable astroturfing and user manipulation on a commercial level. Ads are made to look like posts, and sometimes the posts themselves are just ads. I've come to the opinion that it's impossible for any free social media platform to avoid this unless the people running it are doing it as an act of charity. If you want to make money, you either make users pay or you sell access to / information from the userbase itself.
- PostThisTooFast 5y ago
  Really? Hacker News is even worse. This POS site lets you type out an answer to something or a comment, only to reject it with "YOU'RE POSTING TOO FAST." Really? Anything beyond two comments an hour is "too fast?" Then why do you let us even bring up the commenting window and waste our time? FUCK YOU, HACKER NEWS.
- bserge 5y ago
  Not defending Reddit, but it's the same with Facebook, and have you seen the Google Search results in a "developed country"? First full screen on mobile is ads that look like search results. Thankfully there's a small "ad" in the corner that no one can see.
pkamb 5y ago
The AMP page is mostly the same as the normal "new." Reddit mobile page... except worse in the AMP-specific ways. So why does Reddit use AMP at all? I can only understand AMP being good for some news site where it gives you them a mobile site design "for free".
dorfsmay 5y ago
Have you tried https://old.reddit.com https://old.reddit.com ?
- the_snooze 5y ago
  Shhh! Keep it quiet, or else reddit might remember that exists and kill it.
  - davidivadavid 5y ago
    Kinda afraid of this at this point. I honestly have no idea how they can get away with the non-old version of the website which is one of the most unstable pieces of shit I've ever seen.
    - Sunspark 5y ago
      There is probably a special floor in hell where middle-managers roll around grating "in-no-vate!".
      - davidivadavid 5y ago
        Today reddit chat doesn't work on either old or new reddit, and images aren't loading. Like... How bad can they fuck this up?
- tmh88j 5y ago
  The day old reddit dies is the day I stop using reddit entirely. The desktop version is every bit as awful as the mobile version. For some reason they seem to think that seeing a few more posts or comments on the screen at page load is too much information to process, but taking up 1/4 of my screen with some pictures or videos is a better use of the space. Everything is so obfuscated and difficult to find. I can't stand it.
  - dorfsmay 5y ago
    Same here.
swiley 5y ago
I should write a thank you email to the guy who did the redesign, I know he's on HN somewhere. Nothing worked for my reddit addiction like that did.
ehsankia 5y ago
Reddit is literally the worst use of AMP I've ever seen, and honestly probably plays a great part in why a lot of people dislike AMP. It honestly has no place using AMP in the first place since it isn't really a static page.
seanmcdirmid 5y ago
You can avoid this by using old.Reddit.com, which doesn’t nag about an app and avoids all the real offensive UI design decisions.
eulgro 5y ago
Do yourself a favor and install a third-party app: Apollo, RIF, Boost, Infinity whatever. A few are available on F-Droid. No ads or other bullshit, web links open in the app, which loads must faster than the website. As long as Reddit maintain their API and keep it free, I'll keep using Reddit. If they ever drop it, there's not much chance I will.

00jimbo 5y ago

speaking of their google results, let's also draw attention to the fact that they lie about post dates in google results to get you to click on a result from this week, only to click through and find that it's a post 7 years old

lazyweb 5y ago
Yes! I've noticed that as well lately. So incredibly dishonest.

ishiz 5y ago

There is also a bug with the AMP pages such that the submission dates for the threads are often wrong. For example you're searching for threads that have been posted in the last month, some of the results will say something like "7 days ago" until you click and see it is actually 5 years old.

CamelCaseName 5y ago
Are you talking about a Reddit issue? Google is notoriously bad at indexing the correct time a Reddit thread is posted. I have no clue why this is, I assume perhaps it is seeing a different date somewhere on the page (e.g. the "recently viewed threads" box). It doesn't seem to be directional either. That is, it's not just old threads pretending to be newer, but new threads also sometimes appear older. This is why I don't attribute any malice to the issue.
- ishiz 5y ago
  I don't attribute any malice either. I can't remember where I read it but I heard somewhere earlier this year that Reddit was trying to fix it.
edgyquant 5y ago
Yes this is so annoying. Looking for a thread within the last year doesn’t work and I always end up with 7-10 years ago
dole 5y ago
Just recently they changed the submission date display format from “7 months” to “7m”, not like that’s ambiguous at all. One of my favorites is how it’ll load a basic profile with just your name, 0 karma and no subs when the site seems to be overloaded.
xmprt 5y ago
Reddit has a MASSIVE security vulnerability with their AMP pages and I really hope they get in trouble for it because of how much they shove it down people's throats. It's possible to visible quarantined or even banned subreddits through their AMP pages. From there you can still view deleted videos and other content through the autoplay "previews".

m-p-3 5y ago

What annoys me even more is that they kinda block the ability to read more /all comments when you're not logged in, at least this has been my experience so far.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

PragmaticPulp 5y ago

The Reddit mobile web experience is so obviously bad that I can only assume it's intentional. There must be some huge incentive for Reddit to push users toward the mobile app. Most likely, the app allows for higher or more accurate monthly active user counts and enables more targeted advertising, both of which are critical to increasing advertising revenues. Reddit is in a difficult spot because they're mostly an ad-supported business but their users are vehemently opposed to advertising and any forms of tracking. They have to tip-toe around all of the advertising and user tracking that they do. Strangely, their users mostly seem to give them a pass on the tracking. Their users are relatively trustworth, viewing Reddit as far more trustworthy of a company than Facbeook, despite the two companies having largely similar business models.

ethbr0 5y ago
I'd phrase it as "Reddit, the product" is fine. "Reddit, the investors who bought the product" are in a difficult spot. And certainly haven't shown an overabundance of creativity in monetization approaches. Suffice to say, you probably don't deserve a "front page of the Internet" tagline if your first display is a redirect request to your app.
- toomuchtodo 5y ago
  Reddit is a potential B Corp or non profit masquerading as a VC backed tech startup with exit or ad revenue potential. Bag holders get tired eventually.
  - intended 5y ago
    Reddit is building the best content moderation tools for humans - by blundering in every possible direction, often in direct opposition to potential progress. Mod tools and the data on what works is the untapped resource. Every other major data or tool set for moderation is behind an NDA.
    - valparaiso 5y ago

afterburner 5y ago

I've tried alternatives, and I keep going back to i.reddit.com for mobile. I've also installed extensions to deal with the bullshit on desktop. My number one gripe right now is when using Google to search for stuff on reddit and use the time filter ("last week"), Reddit does not accurately report dates, and you get 4 year old threads showing up as "last week".

DoingIsLearning 5y ago
fyi you can also append '.compact' to a reddit page to view the same mobile view as i.reddit.com
joecool1029 5y ago
Regarding desktop, and even mobile. old.reddit.com still points to the previous version of the site. It's less than ideal for mobile but you can set this as the default site in your account settings. It's under beta section, need to uncheck box for using the new reddit site.

shusaku 5y ago

Every time I get annoyed by something like this, I go to the front page if Reddit, see that 90% of the posts are political advertisements disguised as viral content, and realize it’s a minor problem in the grand scheme. I just wish communities would make their own message boards again instead of coalescing on subreddits that they have zero control of.

rdiddly 5y ago

I hate the fake folksy conversational tics like "Ouch!" Oh are you hurt? And who is the "you"?

philjohn 5y ago

Oh - it's even better than that - I've never got the "open in app" to work, it just opens the app store, despite having the reddit app installed.

LeftHandPath 5y ago

Reddit's design is what actively pushed me to Hacker News, the Risks Digest, and a healthy mix of paid news (WSJ, FT, Bloomberg, etc). The site is really being redesigned to enable astroturfing and user manipulation on a commercial level. Ads are made to look like posts, and sometimes the posts themselves are just ads. I've come to the opinion that it's impossible for any free social media platform to avoid this unless the people running it are doing it as an act of charity. If you want to make money, you either make users pay or you sell access to / information from the userbase itself.

PostThisTooFast 5y ago
Really? Hacker News is even worse. This POS site lets you type out an answer to something or a comment, only to reject it with "YOU'RE POSTING TOO FAST." Really? Anything beyond two comments an hour is "too fast?" Then why do you let us even bring up the commenting window and waste our time? FUCK YOU, HACKER NEWS.
bserge 5y ago
Not defending Reddit, but it's the same with Facebook, and have you seen the Google Search results in a "developed country"? First full screen on mobile is ads that look like search results. Thankfully there's a small "ad" in the corner that no one can see.

pkamb 5y ago

The AMP page is mostly the same as the normal "new." Reddit mobile page... except worse in the AMP-specific ways. So why does Reddit use AMP at all? I can only understand AMP being good for some news site where it gives you them a mobile site design "for free".

dorfsmay 5y ago

Have you tried https://old.reddit.com https://old.reddit.com ?

the_snooze 5y ago
Shhh! Keep it quiet, or else reddit might remember that exists and kill it.
- davidivadavid 5y ago
  Kinda afraid of this at this point. I honestly have no idea how they can get away with the non-old version of the website which is one of the most unstable pieces of shit I've ever seen.
  - Sunspark 5y ago
    There is probably a special floor in hell where middle-managers roll around grating "in-no-vate!".
    - davidivadavid 5y ago
      Today reddit chat doesn't work on either old or new reddit, and images aren't loading. Like... How bad can they fuck this up?
tmh88j 5y ago
The day old reddit dies is the day I stop using reddit entirely. The desktop version is every bit as awful as the mobile version. For some reason they seem to think that seeing a few more posts or comments on the screen at page load is too much information to process, but taking up 1/4 of my screen with some pictures or videos is a better use of the space. Everything is so obfuscated and difficult to find. I can't stand it.
- dorfsmay 5y ago
  Same here.

swiley 5y ago

I should write a thank you email to the guy who did the redesign, I know he's on HN somewhere. Nothing worked for my reddit addiction like that did.

ehsankia 5y ago

Reddit is literally the worst use of AMP I've ever seen, and honestly probably plays a great part in why a lot of people dislike AMP. It honestly has no place using AMP in the first place since it isn't really a static page.

seanmcdirmid 5y ago

You can avoid this by using old.Reddit.com, which doesn’t nag about an app and avoids all the real offensive UI design decisions.

eulgro 5y ago

Do yourself a favor and install a third-party app: Apollo, RIF, Boost, Infinity whatever. A few are available on F-Droid. No ads or other bullshit, web links open in the app, which loads must faster than the website. As long as Reddit maintain their API and keep it free, I'll keep using Reddit. If they ever drop it, there's not much chance I will.