Reddit opens its code to the masses, goes Open Source
By Leslie Poston
Reddit seems to have taken a page from heavy hitters like FaceBook by making the announcement that it has decided to “open source” its code. This is great news for the Digg competitor, and will give it an edge over its rival in a way that continuing to compete on a flat playing field never could.
Digg remains stuck in the rut of having mostly males of a certain age and maturity level as its heavy users. These heavy users ensure that new, fresh content from non-mainstream sites rarely sees the front page. While there is nothing wrong with having favorite sites, it makes it hard to use Digg for what it was built for – discovering new places to go for online content.
Reddit already had my vote as a better system with little to no favoritism. Now that it has gone the true egalitarian route and opened its code to its users for development into what they truly need, it wins my loyalty even further. This is a true innovation for a site like this.
This move also speaks to Reddit’s goal of transparency in news and content, as discussed in an interview with Center Networks. With sites like Digg remaining closed to onlookers, this new nod to a transparent web is exciting for the end user.
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