Reddit's r/opensource bans AI projects and non-English speakers, prompting backlash

The moderators of r/opensource have banned projects that use AI, are made by AI, or are intended for AI, and have effectively closed the subreddit to people who do not speak English. The new submission rules, posted on Saturday evening, also require projects to be at least a year old, actively maintained and backed by multiple contributors. The changes set off a revolt in the comments and led to the creation of a rival community.

New rules target AI and project maturity

The rules state that any project that uses AI, is made by AI, or is intended for AI is not welcome in the community. The announcement said AI as it exists today is incongruent with the open source community. Projects must also be at least one year old, actively maintained, and have multiple contributors. The moderators added that they will no longer field requests asking for maintainers or people to contribute.

Community reaction and rival subreddit

The changes triggered a firestorm in the comments. Many users argued the AI ban is too broad and noted that the Linux kernel now contains some AI-generated code, which could get projects that use it banned. Moderator Wolvereness responded that there is nuance and room for selective enforcement, citing software that incidentally has accessibility features using AI, such as automatic captioning. Despite the explanation, complaints continued and a rival subreddit called r/trueopensource was created.

Language restriction draws criticism

The new rules also effectively ban non-English-speaking members. The announcement said that if you do not speak English you need to find a different community, because the moderators cannot distinguish between AI-written and AI-translated content. It added that non-English speakers cannot verify whether a translation is correct. Commenters called the rules too broad, misguided or vague.

Sources: The Verge