One signal

Update

What changed

Tom’s Hardware says the r/opensource rules also require projects to have been actively maintained for at least a year, have multiple contributors and use an OSI-approved licence. The rules exclude common student projects such as note-taking apps and PDF viewers, and no longer allow requests for maintainers or extra contributors.

The report says the moderators took particular aim at AI-assisted development, writing that they did not want projects where AI use was obvious. That makes the policy’s reach less limited to projects that use AI as a product feature: how a project was built may also matter.

One developer told Tom’s Hardware that their nine-year-old project, with more than 300 GitHub stars but just one contributor, could be excluded despite having no AI involvement.

Sources and evidence

• Reddit’s r/opensource bans AI-made and AI-focused projects, also bans non-English speakers: Tom’s Hardware reports that r/opensource’s rules impose additional project and contributor requirements, target projects with obvious AI-assisted development, and warn users who contact moderators after trying to post that they may face a permanent ban and mute. It also reports that a solo developer’s established project may be excluded despite having no AI involvement.

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