r/OutOfTheLoop • u/HelloMyNameIsLola • Apr 23 '17
Answered What's up with the CSS on Reddit?
It appeared on top of /r/squaredcircle. What's the deal?
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u/sloth_on_meth Apr 25 '17
here is a good writeup of what this will mean to us moderators.
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u/jaxspider May 04 '17
r/SubredditOfTheDay just featured r/ProCSS today as well. Their write up is quite fair.
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u/disgustipated Apr 24 '17 edited Apr 24 '17
The r/nfl post here does a good job at explaining what's going on.
[EDIT to comply with Rule 3, which uses CSS to auto-expand the text box when you hover your mouse over it]
Basically, reddit is upgrading some tools and services, including the desktop website. Redditors who view the site on laptops and desktops are used to seeing the customizations that individual subreddit moderators have added (think flair, formatted sidebars, header animations, etc). This is what CSS adds to the site.
Reddit has announced that CSS is going to go away with the new desktop redesign. This doesn't affect mobile users because they don't use CSS; they instead have a set of preformatted templates, which is much more limiting and generic.
Many sites have built their userbase and uniqueness using CSS, and don't want it to go away, to be replaced by a cookie-cut mobile-friendly template. Lots of users visit the site on laptops and desktops because of the additional value and user satisfaction that CSS brings.
r/NFL and other sites that employ CSS to improve the user's experience are worried that the admins will eliminate CSS altogether. This would be bad for reddit long-term for many reasons, the most obvious being:
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no more individualism on the subreddits, everything will have the same look, or share from a common set of templates a few "corporate approved" looks
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no more added features like flair logos or fancy formatting on the look and feel of the sidebar.
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no more animations on pages or headers
While some - especially mobile-only users may think this isn't a big deal, those with experience in this kind of stuff see it as a huge step back for the platform. This will most definitely affect the quality of content on reddit.
How? Here's just one example:
A few years ago on April Fools Day, the r/NFL and r/soccer subreddits switched team flairs. It led to what's considered one of the best comedy threads ever on reddit. No CSS means no flair logos and no simple method of switching them.
Taking away the ability to add CSS to a page will remove the individualism of the subreddits, put an end to things that enhance the user experience, and wind up making reddit more corporate and less personal. In the bigger picture, catering to mobile users at the expense of laptop and desktop users will push reddit more towards being yet another social networking site, and away from being a true community where quality content and individualism is rewarded.
[EDIT 2] Reddit has said that they will attempt to implement as many of the design features that CSS brought to the subreddits. Forum moderators are concerned that this will limit what they can do. After all, without CSS we wouldn't have these user-created features to copy and implement in the first place.
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u/V2Blast Apr 24 '17
Please add a summary/excerpt of your link, per rule 3 in the sidebar. Thanks! :)
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u/lirnev Apr 24 '17
Is this going to kill RES?
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Apr 24 '17
Nah RES does a lot of other things too. The style part of RES will be nonfunctional until it updates
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u/DrVolzak Apr 24 '17
If anything, RES might be able to restore CSS functionality. After all, there are already browser addons which allow loading custom CSS styles for any websites. All it would need is a way for a subreddit to send the style to the addon. The logistics of that are more complicated than it sounds, but it's just a thought.
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u/ShaneH7646 Apr 24 '17
https://www.reddit.com/r/modnews/comments/66q4is/the_web_redesign_css_and_mod_tools/
Read this. the update will kill all extensions unless they have been updated in time, the major ones have been brought into the loop (RES + Toolbox) but others will likely have to update after release.
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u/Joshhawk Apr 24 '17
I'm dumb. What is CSS?
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u/omenmedia Apr 24 '17
In a nutshell, CSS (cascading style sheets) applies style rules to the content of web pages (HTML) to give it its layout and appearance.
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u/OvertOperation Apr 25 '17
Also, what's special about these rules is that they get applied to every element that matches (hence the 'cascading'). The way to do things before - applying the same set of rules to every element that matched individually (inline) - was cumbersome.
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u/Dunlocke Apr 24 '17
Anyone like me disable subreddit styles immediately? Some subs are so garish and hard to read, it's just easier to have the same style everywhere.
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u/helgaofthenorth Apr 24 '17
Yes. I do not enjoy subreddit styles. It's always a shock when I get logged out, go to a sub, and it looks insane compared to my usual generic reddit view.
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u/red_sutter Apr 25 '17
Yup, can't stand most styles (especially the ones that use overly bright colors or have animations that distract the eye) and dislike how a lot of the more hugbox-oriented subs use it to hide the downvote button or nag you
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u/CharsCustomerService Apr 24 '17
Yup. Disabled globally. However, lots (most?) people enjoy the custom subreddit styles, so it's still pretty shitty.
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u/slopeclimber Apr 24 '17
Are the reddit admins planning to introduce a new method of decorating subreddits or will everything look uniform and identical?
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u/V2Blast Apr 24 '17
Are the reddit admins planning to introduce a new method of decorating subreddits
Yes. From the r/modnews thread here:
We’re designing a new set of tools to address the challenges with CSS but continue to allow communities to express their identities. These tools will allow moderators to select customization options for key areas of their subreddit across platforms. For example, header images and flair colors will be rendered correctly on desktop and mobile.
We know great things happen when we give users as much flexibility as possible. The menu of options we’ll provide for customization is still being determined. Our starting point is to replicate as many of the existing uses that already exist, and to expand beyond as we evolve.
We will also natively supporting a lot of the functionality that subreddits currently build into the sidebar via a widget system. For instance, a calendar widget will allow subreddits to easily display upcoming events. We’d like this feature and many like it to be accessible to all communities.
How are we going to get there? We’ll be working closely with as many of you as possible to design these features. The process will span the next few months. We have a lot of ideas already and are hoping you’ll help us add and refine even more. The transition isn’t going to be easy for everyone, so we’ll assist communities that want help (i.e. we’ll do it for you). u/powerlanguage will be reaching out for alpha testers.
The admins have confirmed in the comments of that thread that various common uses of CSS will be possible in the new interface (they're more specific than that, but I'd recommend just reading through the thread yourself).
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Apr 24 '17
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u/V2Blast Apr 24 '17
True. I'm just trying to combat some of the fearmongering. It's fine to be skeptical that the new interface will be as customizable as CSS is now, but people should at least acknowledge what the admins have already stated about it.
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u/Arthurlurk1 Apr 28 '17
Can someone link a sub with amazing CSS. I'm curious to see what people can do while I still can.
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u/EpicLavalamp May 03 '17
^(Don't mind me I'm just testing reddit comment formatting)
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Apr 24 '17
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Apr 24 '17
You can disable CSS on PC. I highly recommend it, makes the experience much more uniform and you don't have to deal with subs that try to disable basic reddit functions.
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Apr 24 '17
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u/V2Blast Apr 24 '17
That might a RES feature though. I'm not sure.
You can disable subreddit styles sitewide natively by unchecking the following setting in your preferences:
[ ] allow subreddits to show me custom themes
If you have reddit gold (or RES), you can also disable individual subreddit CSS without disabling it sitewide.
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u/epistemic_humility May 06 '17
As a deveoper that keep front end software at a distance what alternative to css are they going with? Something like react js perhaps?
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u/Aggrons_shell Apr 23 '17
A couple of days ago, the reddit admins announced they would be redoing the site, and as a part of that CSS has to go. Needless to say, many mods are angry as CSS, while not being the easiest to work with, allows them a great range of freedom over how their subreddit looks. If you wonder what I mean by great, simply check r/ooer.
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