If you have an account, you can use the old version of reddit by default by unselecting "Use the redesign as my default experience"

But for how long?

It's all but guaranteed that if Reddit removes old Reddit and forces new Reddit on everyone third party web clients with ads that generate money for someone else will pop up and fill the gap.

Sure until they change the api and/or api terms of service. See twitter.

That didn't work for me and many others. I had to install an extension.

It looks like that option is only available on old reddit. If I opt out of both beta tests and the redesign in the "Account settings" section of my user settings, I go back to old reddit by default.

This is one of the most frustrating things for me. Two weeks ago they'd set a cookie to redirect www. to old., then they removed that and now all of my old links take me to the redesign.

Has the CEO ever defended the redesign?

Maybe they are planning for the audience they want rather than the one they have? Or maybe they just feel safe since there aren't any alternatives?

"Maybe they are planning for the audience they want rather than the one they have?"

That's definitely a reasonable possibility since it appears to me to be formatted for the Instagram crowd.

"Or maybe they just feel safe since there aren't any alternatives?"

Possible as well but ironic since its creating a space for an alternative.

I like this sites design. Clean, simple, and nothing superfluous. Seems to understand people are here for the user shared content and not the site itself so it stays out of the users way.