Reddit's r/opensource bans AI slop, and quite a few humans for good measure
New rules also shut out solo developers, fledgling projects, and anyone who doesn't speak English
Reddit's r/opensource community has banned AI-generated software and many humans from their platform. The new rules, announced this weekend, prohibit projects that utilize AI, were created with AI, or are intended for AI applications. Moderators explained that AI, as it currently exists, is incongruent with the Open Source community.
To be featured on the subreddit, developers must now demonstrate that their project has been actively maintained for at least a year, has an established community, and has at least three contributors. Student projects, such as note-taking apps and PDF viewers, are also not welcome. The new rules also impose a minimum Reddit account age of one year and require significant prior contributions.
Non-English speakers are required to find a different community, as moderators cannot distinguish AI-written content from AI-translated text. This rule has been particularly contentious, with some moderators objecting to its implementation. The rules have caused controversy within the open source community, with other projects, such as Linux, taking a different approach to AI-assisted contributions.
The debate over AI-generated contributions in open source development has led to the creation of alternative communities, such as r/TrueOpenSource and r/OpenSourceAIAllowed.
Written by urgent.news from The Register Science's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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