rule34.xyz turns 8
Originally posted in Discord on 2026-03-12
TL;DR
rule34.xyz turns 8. Comments updated: GIFs, inline replies, expandable threads, and reporting. Angular 21 upgrade, better performance, refreshed UI. Light theme coming soon, app-next public test this fall
Hey @everyone We've come a long way together. The road wasn't easy. This past year brought waves of bot attacks, regional blocking issues (the UK situation in particular), and plenty of other friction along the way. But it also brought features I'm genuinely proud of. Last year on the 7th anniversary, I shipped an update focused on comments. This year is no different. A major quality-of-life update for the comments system is now live on rule34.xyz. Other sites will get it within the week. Here's what's new:
- GIF support. You can now add any GIF via a Giphy link, whether it's a post link or a direct file URL, and it will play inline the same way it does on Instagram or TikTok.
- Reply directly from the "All Comments" section. No more navigating to the post just to respond to someone.
- Expandable reply threads. If there's a new reply in a comment thread, you can now expand the full branch right there in "All Comments."
I've also upgraded the frontend to Angular 21. The update brought real improvements to frontend performance and rendering, and along the way I refreshed the interface as well. It looks noticeably more modern now. Light theme support is coming soon. On the architecture side, the frontend codebase now has two applications. app-main is the current stable app you're using. app-next will replace the Blazor version of the site. It's where I'll be testing my more experimental ideas, including TikTok-style mode as a primary navigation concept. app-main will stay stable with infrequent changes. app-next is where things get interesting. The next big feature is post filtering across all site sections, and once that's done app-next goes into public test. Targeting this fall. I hope you enjoy what I'm creating.
