Old Reddit to Remain Online as Long as Users Continue to Embrace It

Reddit’s CEO, Steve Huffman, recently published a lengthy post discussing the platform’s evolution. In his message, Huffman joked about shutting down the old version of Reddit, only to clarify moments later that it was simply a jest.

«Old.reddit is a version we created back in the mid-2000s. It doesn’t scale, it’s not conducive to growth, and it looks terrible. We’re going to shut it down by the end of the month,» Huffman stated, before immediately adding, «Just kidding. I’m not sure why I said that. We’ll find a way to keep it running while people are still using it.»

In his post, Huffman also detailed numerous upcoming changes to the platform. For instance, he mentioned that creating subreddits will be simplified and that the r/popular feature is being enhanced. Reddit aims to shift the primary role of moderators from «control to community development,» which will be supported by «more advanced tools—particularly AI-based automation,» he noted.

Huffman acknowledged that «the misuse of AI within communities is a significant concern» and that it is a topic he frequently encounters from users and moderators. Nonetheless, he believes that «Reddit succeeds because it is created by people» and emphasized that «we are focused—and will always focus—on ensuring Reddit remains a reliable space for human interaction.»

Additionally, Reddit plans to ask its users for a bit more information for identification purposes. «Specifically, we will need to know if you are a human and, in some areas, if you are of legal age. However, we will never ask for your name or personal information,» clarified Huffman.

Previously, Reddit decided to tighten user verification measures to prevent AI bots from infiltrating its platform, following a release of a swarm of AI-driven bots that posed as humans in the subreddit «Change My View» by a team of researchers from the University of Zurich.