Reddit Goes Open Source, Takes Aim at Digg’s Shady “Algorithm”

Reddit has decided to open source their entire code base, allowing developers to see how exactly the social news site works. With the move, Reddit is encouraging developers to submit their own code and extensions for improving the site. Of course, they are also potentially opening up the site to serious gaming, since developers will be able to dissect precisely how Reddit’s algorithms determine what is popular and makes it to the homepage.

Steve Huffman, co-founder of Reddit, thinks this transparency is something users deserve, and is a strong competitive move against leading social news site Digg. “Digg has struggled to stay transparent with their users,” he said. “Social news in general has hid behind algorithms, which has caused some consternation amongst users. Users don’t get why things aren’t showing up on the front page.”

Full story: mashable.com