I believe some core engineering team or chair person that has been there since the early days has kept aspects of the old reddit alive as best they can. 
The platform has gone way downhill but you can still visit the old layout by adding the old. Prefix and sign up without an email, start a subreddit and if it's on good behavior and moderates well, be left alone. They might suspend for really obscure dumb reasons though, if they think you are a bot using VPN and tor.
I say this as someone who deleted their large karma account in protest. 

I use "Stealth" on f-droid to keep up with the few good communities left.