Reddit has disabled direct access to its old, HTML-based frontend, old.reddit.com, for logged-out users, citing security concerns related to "abusive scraping and automated traffic." The company argues that the older site lacks a "modern security stack" compared to the newer, JavaScript-heavy interface.

This move has frustrated users who preferred the lean, efficient experience of old.reddit.com, particularly those using it for search engine results. The author suggests Reddit's primary motivation is to make scraping more difficult, as user-generated content is valuable for LLMs. While new Reddit requires JavaScript and loads significantly more data, the author questions if this truly prevents sophisticated scraping.

The decision to restrict access to old.reddit.com, rather than simply removing it or issuing error codes, has been met with anger from users who feel blindsided by security justifications that mask a desire to control data access.