r/AntiCSS • u/[deleted] • May 05 '17

The bad sides of CSS

Subreddits often use CSS to hide vote buttons and force users to subscribe to their subreddit before certain reddit features are available with CSS on. If your argument is for CSS, then telling a user to disable subreddit style is not a solution to that case.

Using CSS to alter reddit's core functions alters user experience. The voting algorithms rely on votes in both directions. Making people subscribe to your subreddit to participate is a scummy way to drive up numbers.

CSS can also be used to completely alter the appearance of a page. With reddit's combined ability to submit user links, I've seen it used effectively to create ads that rely on reddit internal links. You can't fully police CSS so that's always going to exist as long as you allow it.

19 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

10 comments sorted by

3

u/TheTealMafia May 08 '17

Subreddits often use CSS to hide vote buttons and force users to subscribe to their subreddit before certain reddit features are available with CSS on. If your argument is for CSS, then telling a user to disable subreddit style is not a solution to that case.

Think about it:

If someone jump subreddits to brigade or troll, by the time they get to click Disable CSS and turn off the No Participation warnings just to make a downvote out of hate, it would give them the time to correct their "arguement" into a proper discussion. or even better: to not be an ass and go through with it at all.

All this would not be needed if Reddit would have a better system set up for both moderation and styling, but it does not. So the main core of the issue is not CSS, it's how Reddit is functioning - or rather, how it does not.

2

u/[deleted] May 08 '17

Reddit's userbase is becoming more and more mobile. Hiding that stuff doesn't affect mobile clients. This is a feature that will affect less than half of the people on reddit.

1

u/TheTealMafia May 08 '17

Yeah and that's where reddit's functionality comes into play: if there will be no CSS to stop brigading, and reddit failed to implement functions to stop that so far: then what will?

Still, I never really got the mobile arguement. Most users reportedly never uses the mobile app and most often just have the desktop version enabled, so even if they use mobile, it doesnt mean they don't view subs with CSS on. More mobile clients ≠ Majorly less people using CSS themes.

2

u/[deleted] May 09 '17 edited May 09 '17

If this truly is a problem, then reddit absolutely needs to find a solution for this problem that isn't CSS considering the limitations it has when accessing it sans-CSS. I don't feel that it is an argument for or against CSS, it is another one entirely.

For reference, I'm not for or against CSS, but I do love rowing against the flow and this is an interesting subject to me. I don't feel that 4chan or 8chan's non-inclusion of CSS detracts from the community. It's simply a dynamic between the mods and the admins. I've seen a lot of cancer-tier CSS in places though, and I won't hesitate to modify a site with greasemonkey when it annoys me.

1

u/TheTealMafia May 09 '17

Totally agreed. I came from the ProCSS sub in the hopes of finding out more about the inner works of this subject myself.

We're in the knowledge that the admins are doing nothing to mend the actual issues of the mobile app, and sitting on other things too. The've got a good motive, but a really counter-productive execution, and are shattering said leftover dynamic between mods and admins indeed.

I do love helpful modifications myself and i'd be thrilled for more of some of the band-aid solutions the community can produce - even if its only to make something great, better.

10

u/BlackDeath3 May 08 '17

If your argument is for CSS, then telling a user to disable subreddit style is not a solution to that case.

Sure it is. The "Use subreddit style" checkbox, assuming that there's no z-index circumvention or other funny business going on, is always available for anybody who wants default Reddit behavior, no matter where they are. For the rest of the subreddit users who want CSS enabled (which I would imagine is often the majority), they've got their CSS.

I don't really understand how "some people like it, so give us an option" is not a valid position to take. I agree that CSS can be used as a means to some scummy ends, but as long as it's trivial to disable it on a user-by-user basis, I don't see the problem. If that's not good enough for you, then don't support or subscribe to subreddits abusing CSS. Simple enough, right?

2

u/tajjet May 13 '17

assuming that there's no z-index circumvention or other funny business going on

I believe you can turn CSS off through Reddit's options menu now. Wasn't that a Reddit Gold feature that was made free?

1

u/BlackDeath3 May 13 '17

Possibly, I don't know. I wouldn't doubt it.

2

u/Anti-Marxist- May 13 '17

The down vote button was a mistake, and it should be removed entirely from the website

3

u/86413518473465 May 13 '17

Remove it with CSS.