So Reddit has decided that plain HTML is unsafe
The author criticizes Reddit's recent changes to its platform, specifically the restriction of plain HTML access, which impacts users of older frontends and privacy-focused tools. The piece frames these changes as part of a broader trend of platforms prioritizing data extraction for AI training over user experience.
Why it matters
It reflects growing user frustration with the 'enshittification' of social media platforms and the tension between human-generated content and AI development.
If you don't know Reddit, it basically is the host of many popular forums. And like any company which encourages you to "come for the cats [and] stay for the empathy," Reddit seems to be in the business of extracting as much value as it can from said forums without completely destroying them.
After all, simply fostering community is not a noble enough goal for the New Tech, and fortunately for Reddit, genuinely human-generated data is now gold in the LLM Age. You are welcome to read about the last time they decided to pluck the metaphorical liver from their communities .
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