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Tell HN: Reddit mandatory login to see sensitive pages

• swarnie 4y ago
  Stan tells me https://www.reddit.com/r/randnsfw https://www.reddit.com/r/randnsfw has been broken for months now also.
  • chownie 4y ago
    Both r/random and r/randnsfw are broken, they appear to be reseeding every day rather than every request, a bit of a bizarre bug. For what it's worth the reddit admins acknowledged it's non-functioning a few weeks ago but I don't think anything has come from that yet.
• jamesbfb 4y ago
  Desktop mode on mobile still works fine for me. That said, I really don’t feel like having to login when in incognito mode when I want a cheeky wank in the loo.
  • obituary_latte 4y ago
    For me this morning on ios it was forcing me to use the app to view nsfw content otherwise return to the homepage was the only other option. They're probably a/b testing, but either way, it's an immediate exit for me.
    • orev 4y ago
      I think you missed the part about using desktop mode. On Safari it’s the option “Request Desktop Website” on the menu that comes up when you tap the “aA” icon on the site.
• alkonaut 4y ago
  When you want to browse a graphical subreddit just use a Reddit image browser like scrolller. Doesn’t work for commenting/posting though. old.Reddit works for interacting but the UX on mobile is terrible.
• frakt0x90 4y ago
  On a related note, on mobile if they try to make you install the app to view some content, you can just "request desktop site" and that will bypass the block. It's annoying and breaks a lot of the formatting for mobile, but if you're just trying to read something or watch a video, it works in a pinch.
  • Tenoke 4y ago
    The most annoying part is that android forgets to open reddit pages in rif all the time, so I have to deal with their site constantly.
    • bcraven 4y ago
      Updates break the 'open with' selection. Simply re-enable RIF to open *.Reddit links its app settings.
      • Tenoke 4y ago
        I know but it literally happens all the time. I feel like any app update breaks them, not just RIF updates or at minimum updates to Reddit app (which I have installed) and/or RIF.
  • shreyshnaccount 4y ago
    also some links on the app open up the website inside the app and then that redirects to the app again it's crazytown
• bennysomething 4y ago
  Use either old.reddit.com or i.reddit.com Firefox and Chrome both have old Reddit plugins that will do it automatically. Unfortunately it's not compatible with newer Firefox android .
  • hbn 4y ago
    I also have a very strong hunch that the day is coming where this gets deprecated. There will be some kind of big database migration or service refactor, and reddit devs will not want to be messing with that "gross, old legacy codebase" to make it continue working and so the entire thing will be taken offline.
    • bdw5204 4y ago
      The day they shut down "old" Reddit is probably the day a large number of people leave Reddit altogether because the main Reddit site is a dark patterns hell. I think they'll still do it though because most web sites only want the kind of users who don't know how to install ad blockers.
      • bil7 4y ago
        large number? Reddit has seen by far the most growth after switching to the new UI. The old reddit has already not been maintained to support new features such as polls.
        • undersuit 4y ago
          Maybe it's a larger number than you suspect. r/TheBoys had a controversial poll recently and had less than 400 responses for their 500k subscribers.
          • sofixa 4y ago
            Subreddit moderators get per-platform (old/new reddit.com, official mobile app, third-party mobile app) stats and all that I've seen share those numbers indicate new reddit.com is minority, old.reddit.com is basically invisible, vast majority is mobile apps. Of course it will be highly subreddit dependent.
• xqcgrek2 4y ago
  It's best to just entirely avoid reddit and other low quality social media.
  • JustSomeNobody 4y ago
    Yeah yeah yeah. Let's just dismiss the entire site without regard to the fact that there are actually some very good subs on it.
    • didericis 4y ago
      I think reddit still allows you to turn subreddits into rss feeds, which seems like a better way to consume content without the distractions.
    • Sebb767 4y ago
      Working your way around Reddits problems and dark patterns while still feeding the content machine and contributing to its network effect isn't really a superior solution, either. Also, this is just a personal anecdote, but ditching Reddit was one of the best ideas I've ever had. There's good stuff in there, but also a lot of obvious and hidden advertisement and it's very easy to get lost and spend hours just scrolling.
      • JustSomeNobody 4y ago
        Not really. I use either Apollo or Relay (depending on what device I have in my hand) and only subscribe to the subs I want to view. I do not have to work my way through anything. Here are a few because I know someone will ask: /r/personalfinance /r/TropicalWeather /r/homelab /r/homeserver /r/datahoarder /r/Bogleheads /r/pizza Edit: Now, will someone post some BS on one of those subs? yes, sometimes. But the mods tamp it down pretty quick.
    • woweoe 4y ago
      You forget that those subs could be replaced by a more practical forum.
• newaccount2021 4y ago
• NowhereMan 4y ago
  On another note, I tried to make a throwaway on `old.reddit.com`. I couldn't find a way to make an account without using an email. I had to manually type in `old.reddit.com/register` to get to a form that would let me not type in an email and even then it wasn't obvious that the email wasn't required.
  • n4bz0r 4y ago
    I would've never guessed it's still possible to create an account without using an email or a phone on any site in 2022. Makes me wonder, why do they keep the functionality? Did they forget about the page?
    • grumple 4y ago
      Throwaway accounts that can't be easily linked to the poster are essential to a number of reddit communities.
    • mdp2021 4y ago
      > I would've never guessed it's still possible to create an account without using an email or a phone on any site in 2022 ... why do they keep the functionality? Is this a joke? Participation is assumed to be only on the basis of anonymity. If the baker requested your name, there would be something very wrong around your parts. Intrusive requests would mean refusal of participation.
      • sofixa 4y ago
        It's not intrusive to ask for an email. It's a slight barrier against spam (trivially bypassed but still) and of course it's mandatory for resetting accounts, informing users about stuff (like Terms of Service changes). I honestly cannot remember the last time a website let me register without an email.
        • mdp2021 4y ago
          I can read one possible such «time» one click away (on your username). It is not intrusive only if you can give a random address. It would be intrusive if all you had available was an address already used for other services. It is intrusive to ask you for, or coming to know, your name.
• ss48 4y ago
  Very likely, on non-reddit mobile app clients, you can access pages normally. iOS: https://apolloapp.io/ https://apolloapp.io/ Android: https://github.com/Docile-Alligator/Infinity-For-Reddit https://github.com/Docile-Alligator/Infinity-For-Reddit
• the_only_law 4y ago
  They also give idiotic prompts in their UI. Half the time I end up on their mobile site I get a pop up talking about cats and dogs, which I assume is supposed to be a metaphor for the mobile site and app somehow.
• sudden_dystopia 4y ago
  Interesting because I have had this experience for about a year now.
• citizenkeen 4y ago
  Using old.reddit.com, on mobile, you can look at an NSFW subreddit for about... a minute? And then you have to either log in or install the app.
• swayvil 4y ago
  It's another form of information control. Or maybe call it propaganda. I mean, it's a public conversation. But when you selectively reveal and censor. That's a narrative sculpter. And of course "sensitive" means whatever reddit wants it to mean.
  • arbitrage 4y ago
    who's ever been censored on reddit? what is actively being censored, there?
    • propogandist 4y ago
      unless you’re new to reddit, you’d know there’s heavy censorship on plebbit r/undelete has some things and there were other sites created to catch the stuff that was pruned outright, especially comments. If you don’t support the ‘hivemind’ echo chamber, and talk about forbidden things (+govts) you get censored.
• obituary_latte 4y ago
  For me this morning I noticed for the first time on iOS Safari it was trying to force me to use the Reddit app to view nsfw content otherwise return to the homepage was the only other option. They're probably a/b testing, but either way, it's an immediate page close for me. As soon as a website starts trying to force me to view their content a certain way, I become 99% less interested. I will just Google whatever it is and find it somewhere else if I want to see it bad enough.
• metacritic12 4y ago
  Reddit's corporate masters have basically figured out a user's LTV is way higher on their native app / logged in. Therefore they've degraded public access as much as possible without being called out on it to push people to native.
• RosanaAnaDana 4y ago
  Can they IPO already so we can short this dying corpse of a company and have new anonymous but social way of sharing news and content? What I want: a federated, self-hosted/pay-to-play, anonymous, active community. I've tried mastodon. I never liked twitter and I prefer long form, threaded discussions. Do you want to make the next social media company? Figure out a way to do reddit without needing adds. If you can, FOSS/ federated. Remember when reddit users covered the cost of reddit server time with donations? It can be done.
  • CodeWriter23 4y ago
    How much are you willing to pay?
    • swayvil 4y ago
      A buck a month?
    • RosanaAnaDana 4y ago
      $5 a month but I want a shares in the company. I'll also take responsibility for what I post.
• nosefrog 4y ago
  I love how Reddit forces you to the mobile app to see NSFW content, but iOS apps aren't supposed to be pornographic...
  • deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
• Kiro 4y ago
  Stop abusing Tell HN. It has been like this for ages for many people and it still works for others. Just reddit's regular stupid A/B testing.
• robertoandred 4y ago
  Oh I’m sure you’re being logged. It’s a question of if you’re logged in.
• 5350-uiop-1130 4y ago
  I have this bug on reddit where it keeps enabling nsfw content. I disable it then next day it's re-enabled.
• deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
• Eavolution 4y ago
  If you're on android, honestly relay for reddit pro is the best thing I've bought. So glad it was a one time purchase and not a subscription. It's actually a good experience to use too.
• mikkergp 4y ago
  Is this in web? It’s been terrible on mobile for a while. I think you have to login and be on the app. Reddit has added nothing but user hostile features over the past few years. It sucks because all things considered Reddit used to feel like a pretty bottom-up non corporate “for the people” type product, that’s almost all gone now.
  • DiffEq 4y ago
    Welcome to the new Dig, oh….I mean Reddit.
    • arbitrage 4y ago
      After all of Digg's toxic users migrated to reddit en masse, Digg became a much nicer and more enjoyable place, IMHO. It's nice not to have to wade through the people who identify with a website on a personal and intimate level -- when all i really want to do is scroll a news aggregator, and potentially have light-weight conversations.
  • prawn 4y ago
    In Safari/iOS you can just hit Request Desktop Website in the aA menu to bypass the app-pushing messages and Mature or divisive or NSFW thread blocking. I wish I hadn’t discovered this because it was a great way for me to realise I was time-wasting and should just read a different site.
  • btzo 4y ago
    Yes that was on the web, not mobile
• Victerius 4y ago
  Try old.reddit.com instead.
  • deleted 4y ago
    [deleted]
  • btzo 4y ago
    It seems to work
• nathanaldensr 4y ago
  This has been happening for awhile. I'm not sure why sometimes one is able to continue and other times one must logged in. I've chalked it up to Reddit insisting on tracking you (along with their ridiculous "use our app!" BS on mobile browsers).
  • arbitrage 4y ago
    reddit does covert and aggressive A/B evaluation on its live user base. that may be why you see that behaviour inconsistently.
• bjt2n3904 4y ago
  It's not just that. If you attempt to view something "spicy" like 3D printed guns on a mobile device, it tries to force you to install the app.
• Areibman 4y ago
  Replace `reddit.com` with `teddit.net`. Pages load normally and without ads
  • digitallyfree 4y ago
    I use Teddit a lot but found the original "teddit.net" performance to be quite poor, especially during peak US hours. It takes a lot of time to load more niche subs that aren't cached and video playback is stuttery. I generally prefer teddit.adminforge.de, which uses the same Teddit code but runs on a much less loaded server and thus performs much better.
  • JLCarveth 4y ago
    You could also view the old version of reddit "old.reddit.com", however editing URLs like that is a pain to do on mobile. Very frustrating if I am looking for information on my phone and what I am looking for is on Reddit.
    • toomuchtodo 4y ago
      Apollo is a treat on iOS if that’s your mobile ecosystem. It is the best way to consume Reddit imho.
      • nemacol 4y ago
        Can I swipe left/right through content on Apollo? The reddit app used to but they are pushing everything into the new media player (including photos) and it takes you into algorithm content hell. Not even restricted to your subs.. just whatever they want to throw at you. It is enough that I cannot use the reddit app anymore (or hardly use it).
    • MengerSponge 4y ago
      On iOS you can make a shortcut to find/replace www with old in the url. I imagine there's a similar tool for Android, but someone else will have to make that recommendation.
• Comevius 4y ago
  They are A/B testing the login requirement at the moment. Unfortunately logging in is also a nightmare on Reddit, with distracting content continuously flying in your face.
  • nend 4y ago
    Yes, they're A/B testing multiple things with NSFW content. Up until recently I was in the "you must use the mobile app instead of mobile site to see nsfw content" group. I'm not sure exactly when that changed for me, maybe a week or so ago, but I no longer have that requirement anyway.
    • ch4s3 4y ago
      It's really annoying because people often use the tag in a jokey way. I see it a lot on the bread/sourdough reddits. It's funny, but the new redirect to login really breaks the assumption there.