As someone who has gotten to the top of Reddit front page twice with my free (no ads) web app I now cannot. It's all but impossible.
Mods are so over protective they will ban you for practically nothing.
If you attempt to evade the ban even innocently they will sniff you out.
I think Reddit's mod tools are disgusting and foster censorship and make Reddit a more negative and critical place.
A new post type as the OP suggests like IMGUR? This point is laughable OP. Good luck getting passed mods. They don't let you do shit like that anymore.
Mods rule with an iron fist on Reddit even to the chagrin of their communities. Shame on reddit and its handlers for taking Reddit in this direction.
I have since left reddit and only very casually browse it from time to time. Lots of group think. You will get banned simply for disagreeing with mods in some extreme cases.
Reddit didn't used to be this way. I had been a user there for over a decade. They so casually banned me it left a bad taste in my mouth.
Reddit has gone to the dogs or in this case the mods. It's embarrassing how far Reddit has fallen.
I met Steve and Alexis at MIT startup bootcamp. They were awesome. The reddit they created is no more.