Reddit redesign (2018): did it need fixing?

2018

Before: Reddit: dense lists of text links, plain and a little ugly, mostly unchanged since 2005.
The fix: Rolled out a redesign with card views, infinite scroll and a more modern look.
Then: People who hated it kept using old.reddit.com, and it stayed open for eight years. In July 2026 Reddit started requiring a login to use it, citing scrapers.

Half took it back

Old Reddit still exists, now for logged-in users only.

Your call

More fixes nobody asked for

2016

HP

Before: HP OfficeJet printers that took cheaper third-party ink cartridges without complaint.
The fix: A firmware update, set to switch on September 13, 2016, made printers reject cartridges without HP chips.
Then: Printers started calling perfectly good cartridges damaged. HP admitted no fault, but paid $1.5 million to settle a US class action and up to $1.35 million to settle in Europe.

Kept it.

HP printers were still blocking non-HP chips in 2023.

Your call

2012

Microsoft

Before: A Start button and Start menu in the corner of the screen, where they had been since Windows 95.
The fix: Windows 8 removed both and sent people to a full-screen grid of tiles instead.
Then: Windows 8.1 put a Start button back in 2013, but it still opened the tile screen. A real Start menu did not return until Windows 10 in 2015.

Took it back

Start menu back in Windows 10, three years later.

Your call

2023

Deere & Company

Before: Tractors that owners and independent shops could repair themselves.
The fix: Made many repairs need Service ADVISOR, software only dealers get in full. A 2023 pledge with the Farm Bureau promised more access.
Then: In return, the Farm Bureau agreed not to push repair laws. The FTC sued anyway in January 2025, joined by five states. Deere paid $99 million to settle a farmers' class action, then in July 2026 agreed to give owners the dealers' repair tools.

Half took it back

Dealer-grade repair tools for owners, under FTC watch for 10 years.

Your call