The company started in 2005, in the era of online anonymity and message boards. It grew its community of users — or “Redditors,” who tend the site’s thousands of forums — without many updates to its interface. But as Reddit took off, it became known as one of the darkest parts of the internet, and its founders met resistance from users about ads on the site.
Reddit cleaned up its act, and advertising now accounts for the vast majority of its income.
Amy Lombard for The New York Times
