I’ve found it depends on where I connect from. If I’m using my home WiFi, it works. If I use 4G or a VPN, I get the login prompt. Still seems to work on my WiFi at the moment.
There was an album by the Dead Kennedys called "Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death!"--an homage to the Patrick Henry battle cry--and I often recall its sentiments while reading HN comments.
The first of thousands of paywalls and gatekeeping of the old, free internet into the new subscription economy. All the old wisdom locked behind a login screen.
It seems to work fine here. Just be aware that you need to go into the site settings and re‑enable Old Reddit (even if it’s already enabled, you have to toggle it again). They did that some time ago, and it doesn't "remember" your preference if you use a fresh browser session.