The moderators of r/opensource have posted new submission rules that prohibit projects built with or for AI, a move that has divided the Reddit community and prompted the creation of a rival forum, r/trueopensource. The rules were announced in a post published Saturday evening. In the post, the moderators said projects that use AI, are made by AI, or are intended for AI are not welcome on the subreddit, arguing that AI as it exists today is incongruent with the open source community.
The AI restriction has drawn the most reaction in the comments. Moderator Wolvereness joined the discussion to say the rules carry nuance and leave room for selective enforcement, citing software with accessibility features that use AI, such as automatic captioning, as an example. Critics have nonetheless argued the rules are too broad, misguided, or vague. Many pointed out that the Linux kernel now contains some AI-generated code, meaning projects using it could fall under the ban.
The moderators also imposed other limits on submissions. Projects must be at least one year old, actively maintained, and have multiple contributors. That would exclude solo developers with new projects who are looking for help, and the moderators said the community can no longer field requests asking for maintainers or people to contribute.
The rules also effectively bar non-English speakers from the community. According to the post, members who do not speak English need to find a different community. The moderators said they cannot distinguish between AI-written and AI-translated text, and that someone who does not speak English cannot verify whether a translation is correct.
The changes apply to one of Reddit's open source discussion forums and affect developers who submit projects there, including solo maintainers and non-English-speaking contributors. The dispute follows the moderators' own acknowledgment that enforcement will involve judgment calls.
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