(But is new reddit slower than old reddit, in the first place?)
Extremely. I try to avoid complaining about the work of others, but it's genuinely so bad I have to wonder why any front-end developer at reddit has a job.
I’d argue the disaster was caused by front-end developers. “Let’s replace a perfectly functional website with megabytes of JavaScript browsers now have to parse & execute on every single page load.”
Technically the framework and payload is gonna be cached by your browser. That they don't server side render anything means all that JS has to load all the content into a big engine, which takes up a bunch of network calls. Also tracking + ads.
The framework & payload still needs to be initially loaded which can be a problem on unreliable mobile connections. Unlike a classic HTML page where a single request failing just means an image or font is missing, in this case the entire SPA won’t load and you’d be looking at a perpetual blank page.
Server-side rendering still means the browser has to parse & execute a ton of JS after the initial SSR-rendered page is loaded which is still going to be slow unless you’re running a big CPU with lots of RAM.
I don't work at Reddit but I take personal offense when someone so unfairly criticizes the "working class" of a software house like that (ie the non manager level software engineers).
What makes you think that whatever is wrong with Reddit is due to lack of talent? It almost never is.
I think you missed the fact that I'm talking relatively (i.e. within a software house as I say) and the quotes around "working class".
Still, If we want to be pedantic and literal (i.e. assume I'm talking about the Marxist definition) it still holds true, as class is not defined by compensation but by the role of the individual within the production process.
Extremely. I try to avoid complaining about the work of others, but it's genuinely so bad I have to wonder why any front-end developer at reddit has a job.