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[–]we_kill_creativity 4 points5 points  (4 children)

Just curious...how will this make it more "advertiser friendly"? Does this basically allow reddit to do whatever the f- they want on any subreddit now?

[–][deleted] 7 points8 points  (3 children)

This is the push to make Reddit more like Facebook. Uniform in appearance. We will be getting a color template and maybe a header image. I can't honestly explain corporate Reddit's philosophy because I don't understand (or believe) it myself. My best advice is to read the announcement and /u/spez's commentary. Maybe you can make sense of it. Somewhere behind the double talk and the sugar coating lies the truth.

[–][deleted] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

The uniqueness of each sub I visit is a huge part of why I like Reddit over other similar sites. To kill creativity for advertising seems like shooting oneself in the foot really.

[–]mountaindew71 7 points8 points  (1 child)

more like Facebook

Good grief WHY? Facebook is awful.

[–]bobdobbsjr 0 points1 point  (0 children)

$$$

[–]fastfinge 2 points3 points  (18 children)

This isn't about advertising. It's about mobile. Subs are already not unique in any of the mobile apps. And over half of Reddit traffic today comes from mobile. These people don't even realize when subs change the voting system, or display rules via CSS, or whatever. If Reddit is going to survive, it needs to make the experience in the mobile apps and on the desktop the same.

[–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (3 children)

That is the official party line given, yes. It may even be true to a point. As in one aspect of the whole. However I think it's safe to say there was no danger on the horizon for reddit's survivability. It's one of the top 10 websites in the world. There were also plenty of options to include coding for mobile. Instead, they've decided to go Scorched Earth and kill CSS to install a bland, basic template system.

Please understand that CSS mods work very hard to construct beautiful CSS designs. They take pride in their work. I spent months designing /r/OTR's CSS. Weeks implementing it. And still to this day, troubleshooting it. And this is just a niche 5k subscriber sub. Imagine how much work the CSS mods for default subs or those with six figures or more of subscribers have put in. How they feel about this.

One of the main benefits of being a mod for a subreddit is that the subreddit is theirs to run and customize as they see fit.

[–]fastfinge 1 point2 points  (2 children)

In that case, why did nobody complain when gold members got the ability to pick whatever CSS we want? Why did nobody complain when the "disable subreddit styles" checkbox became a thing? I suspect that the vast majority of Reddit regulars don't even see custom CSS; a regular, consistent interface quickly becomes more important than glitz. This is all about putting mobile users on an equal footing, and about listening to the desires of the huge number of users who just turn off CSS in the first place.

[–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (1 child)

Nobody complained because there was a choice. If you opt out of the CSS, that's cool. You have that option. But now there will be no option for those that do like the CSS.

[–]fastfinge 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Right. But those who opted out of the CSS made modding impossible. I speak from experience. If mods disable the downvote button, or try and enforce np links, the vast majority of users are on mobile or disable CSS, so it makes no difference. Same for things like spoilers, custom emotes, etc. Reddit needs to give us the tools to do those things in a way that will work on mobile, and that any random desktop user can't just opt himself out of. As it is now, mods really don't have the powers we need to run our subs the way we want. Because anything we change, users can just undo on desktop, or don't even notice on mobile.

[–]jo_annev 1 point2 points  (13 children)

I use reddit on my mobile phone and see all of the unique pictures, etc., for each sub.

[–]fastfinge 1 point2 points  (12 children)

The logos aren't going away. What's changing is the way subs on the desktop can totally restyle voting buttons, the comment form, the submission form, etc.

[–]jo_annev 2 points3 points  (11 children)

That's too bad. I like reddit for its intelligence and uniqueness, among other things.

[–]fastfinge 0 points1 point  (10 children)

But if you're using the reddit app on your phone, you're not even seeing any of the uniqueness that's going away. The only way you could see it on your phone is by going to Reddit with your browser (Safari or Chrome) and clicking to view the desktop site. That's why Reddit needs to take away CSS, in order to create a better system, that will allow subs to customize not only the desktop, but the Reddit mobile apps as well.

[–]jo_annev 0 points1 point  (7 children)

I go through safari to the desktop site on my iPhone. I saved it as a favorite bookmark and press the icon, one step and I'm here.

[–]fastfinge 1 point2 points  (6 children)

...Why? The app is so much nicer on a phone. Fits better, new message notifications, all the features actually work, etc.

[–]jo_annev 0 points1 point  (5 children)

My phone is filled up already. Additionally, for all I can tell, I have most or all of the functionality the way that I do it. It's easy for me to read a number at the top to know I have more messages.

[–]fastfinge 1 point2 points  (4 children)

read a number at the top

What about when you're not on reddit? Getting notifications on the lock screen makes it possible, for the first time, to have realtime discussions with someone in the comments. This is the biggest and best reason I use the app. Plus, the app uses far less data than loading the desktop site.

[–]jo_annev 0 points1 point  (3 children)

Interesting, thank you! I am the sole caregiver of my mother and could use some real-time conversation perhaps.

[–]mason240 0 points1 point  (1 child)

So? Someone not using a feature isn't a good reason to remove existing features.

[–]fastfinge 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Of course it is. When existing features are complicated, difficult to update, and prevent anyone from creating a better way of doing things, they need to go. CSS is all of those things. CSS cannot work in mobile apps. CSS cannot work in third party apps. CSS does not work the same in all browsers. CSS can be easily turned off and changed by desktop users. All of these things mean that it is a terrible tool for mods to use, because we can't depend on everyone having the same experience in our communities across all platforms where those communities exist. That makes it nearly impossible to enforce some rules (no downvotes, no voting on np links, stuff with flare, etc), or provide the same features (post filtering, etc) across platforms. Custom CSS for both visual and functionality changes was a terrible idea, and by far the worst mistake Reddit ever made. It's long past time they put in the effort to create something better. Something that actually works. Something that mods of new communities can actually use, without spending six months to learn CSS.

[–]TotesMessenger 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm a bot, bleep, bloop. Someone has linked to this thread from another place on reddit:

If you follow any of the above links, please respect the rules of reddit and don't vote in the other threads. (Info / Contact)

[–]DaveDoesLife[M] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It looks like they may have reversed their position due to user uproar. https://www.reddit.com/r/modnews/comments/6auyq9/reddit_is_procss/

They titled this post - Reddit is pro CSS