On desktop I just use "Old Reddit Redirect" extension :)

But yup, I wholly agree with your point. The redesign feels like a mix of product managers trying to get promoted + boosting "engagement" numbers at the expense of all else.

Or perhaps we are the odd ones out - I'm sure there's been a huge growth in new users Reddit since the redesign and I doubt that new users are hankering for a different experience now that they're used to it.

I'm convinced that most people just hate text and that everything we're complaining about is just part of a larger move of the entire internet away from text.

I don't know if it's so much a move away from text but instead an addition of other media. Short form text (tweets) and images enable "snacking" and infinite scroll just feeds the dopamine machine. That's what a lot of people want out of the web.

I don't think there's any less demand for long form text content on the web. It's growth just isn't ever going to eclipse the snack sized content.

In the case of Reddit, there's still plenty of long form text links and discussions in the comments. The current UX doesn't make that as prominent by default but it's there. The Reddit snackers make more money because they see way more ads. As long as there's an affordance for long form text content Reddit has utility for me.

If they go full TweetBook and kill the likes of i/old Reddit then I'm out. I guess I'll try to get a lobste.rs invite or something.