As of a few minutes ago old.reddit.com now seems to requre logging in to access it.
Shame as it was still the best place to browse for info about some niche interests.
Edit: Seems like they might be testing the change as it is hit or miss at the moment.
Edit: Adding this to My flilters in uBlock Origin seems to fix the issue for the time being:
||reddit.com^$header=referer:
I created a new account a year ago to lurk instead of comment, but you’re right, participation = growth. I’ll be joining in again.