Addressing the Impact of Reddit's Subreddit Protest! 🚀 Sharing our perspective as a top API management provider on this impactful news article. The recent protest by Reddit's subreddits, resulting in private mode and API changes, sheds light on the significance of robust API strategies.
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#apimanagement#apisecurity#apiintegration#reddit
Researcher @ leticiaxavier.work | Digital Culture Specialist & Writer @ On my radar 📡
When over six thousand communities dim their lights, it's not a power outage – it's a statement. The virtual corridors of Reddit, Inc. are unusually quiet right now, as a digital protest unfolds.
✷ What's happening?
→ More than 6000 subreddits, including many of the most-followed communities like r/funny, r/aww, r/gaming, r/music, and r/science, have gone private. This sweeping response is in protest to Reddit's updated API pricing.
→ The protest was primarily initiated by third-party app developers like Apollo for Reddit, who announced that the API changes would make it financially unfeasible to continue their services.
→ While some subreddits have opted for a 48-hour blackout, others have decided to keep their doors shut indefinitely. It's a measure of the gravity of the issue and the seriousness with which the Reddit community perceives it. Alongside this, certain communities are limiting new posts, choosing instead to leave only historical content visible.
→ Amidst this chaos, the platform Reddark emerges as a lighthouse, keeping a vigilant track of which subreddits are going dark. It provides real-time data, spotlighting the growing list of privatized subreddits along with their subscriber counts, amplifying the gravity of this digital protest.
As someone who has been an active Reddit user for the past four years, the current state of the platform fills me with deep sadness. The widespread blackout of over six thousand subreddits, including many of the beloved and popular communities I have relied on and enjoyed, feels like a sudden and profound loss.
These subreddits have been my virtual homes, places where I could seek humor, adorable moments, gaming insights, musical discoveries, and scientific wonders. They were vibrant spaces that provided an escape from the challenges of daily life and a sense of belonging within a diverse community of fellow enthusiasts.
To witness the virtual corridors of Reddit unusually quiet and the absence of these once-thriving communities is disheartening. It serves as a stark reminder of the power of collective action and the impact that decisions made by platforms can have on the lives of their users.
The dedication and passion of the third-party app developers, like Apollo for Reddit, who have been instrumental in initiating this protest, is commendable. Their decision to stand up against the updated API pricing reflects a genuine concern for the future accessibility and viability of the platform.
As I navigate through this time of darkness on Reddit, I can't help but feel a sense of longing for the lively discussions, the shared laughs, and the valuable insights that were once abundant. Each click to refresh the page holds a tinge of hope, hoping to see the return of the communities that have shaped my online experience.
In the face of this sadness, it's important to remember the power of community and solidarity. Together, we can amplify our voices and express our concerns, advocating for a resolution that preserves the spirit of inclusivity and openness that has made Reddit a cherished online space.
Let us support one another during this challenging time, sharing memories and stories from the communities we hold dear. Reach out to fellow Redditors, engage in conversations, and explore the remaining active subreddits that are still shining their light.
Though the current state of Reddit may be dim, let us not lose sight of the resilience and determination that lies within its user base. Together, we can strive for a future where the vibrancy, diversity, and sense of connection are restored to this beloved platform we call home.
#reddit#apollo#redditblackout
Researcher @ leticiaxavier.work | Digital Culture Specialist & Writer @ On my radar 📡
When over six thousand communities dim their lights, it's not a power outage – it's a statement. The virtual corridors of Reddit, Inc. are unusually quiet right now, as a digital protest unfolds.
✷ What's happening?
→ More than 6000 subreddits, including many of the most-followed communities like r/funny, r/aww, r/gaming, r/music, and r/science, have gone private. This sweeping response is in protest to Reddit's updated API pricing.
→ The protest was primarily initiated by third-party app developers like Apollo for Reddit, who announced that the API changes would make it financially unfeasible to continue their services.
→ While some subreddits have opted for a 48-hour blackout, others have decided to keep their doors shut indefinitely. It's a measure of the gravity of the issue and the seriousness with which the Reddit community perceives it. Alongside this, certain communities are limiting new posts, choosing instead to leave only historical content visible.
→ Amidst this chaos, the platform Reddark emerges as a lighthouse, keeping a vigilant track of which subreddits are going dark. It provides real-time data, spotlighting the growing list of privatized subreddits along with their subscriber counts, amplifying the gravity of this digital protest.
Reddit, Inc. seems to have forgotten that its core as a community forum is powered by - you guessed it, COMMUNITY! This is an absolute master case in a show of how much impact audience groups have. SO many of the subreddits I'm in are dark today in solidarity, proving it really doesn't take physical protests to show an opposition to practices as the digital world expands to more corners. And Reddit's official app seems to be down as of this AM, which can either be a cover-up or a DDoS. But I digress...
Who on that side thought that there would be no backlash after putting API calls behind a massive paywall (not to mention the bad optics around the Apollo commentary - or lack thereof in follow-up), especially when it shuts down and hinders third-party solutions that exist to improve upon poor accessibility and UX? It's already bad form to have either of those in your platform or app in 2023, but why does it always seem to come to this in the first place? Has anyone else thought of how many times users and outside parties/communities need to come to the rescue with their own solutions to fix bugs, create mods/apps/etc. to improve things that should be thought of when developing and launching a project? These are only some of the gripes I have with technology and especially gaming, but it's applicable to everything. Do better.
Researcher @ leticiaxavier.work | Digital Culture Specialist & Writer @ On my radar 📡
When over six thousand communities dim their lights, it's not a power outage – it's a statement. The virtual corridors of Reddit, Inc. are unusually quiet right now, as a digital protest unfolds.
✷ What's happening?
→ More than 6000 subreddits, including many of the most-followed communities like r/funny, r/aww, r/gaming, r/music, and r/science, have gone private. This sweeping response is in protest to Reddit's updated API pricing.
→ The protest was primarily initiated by third-party app developers like Apollo for Reddit, who announced that the API changes would make it financially unfeasible to continue their services.
→ While some subreddits have opted for a 48-hour blackout, others have decided to keep their doors shut indefinitely. It's a measure of the gravity of the issue and the seriousness with which the Reddit community perceives it. Alongside this, certain communities are limiting new posts, choosing instead to leave only historical content visible.
→ Amidst this chaos, the platform Reddark emerges as a lighthouse, keeping a vigilant track of which subreddits are going dark. It provides real-time data, spotlighting the growing list of privatized subreddits along with their subscriber counts, amplifying the gravity of this digital protest.
Louis Rossman made a very telling point discussing reddit "going dark" for 2 days: if you want to get the attention of the management at reddit, throwing a tantrum for 2 days isn't going to effect any change. It shows them that they can announce a plan to charge "f**k you" prices to access their API, and that the worst that will happen is that a fraction of the userbase will make noise for a couple of days, then come back and get back to business as usual. They may lose a few hundred thousand eyeballs worth of traffic, but in the grand scheme it won't affect the bottom line that negatively.
To get their attention in a meaningful way, there has to be an exodus off of reddit to some other platform that charges more reasonable API access fees. reddit management is banking on their userbases' laziness and inertia to keep things going once the API changes actually take effect.
Link here:
https://lnkd.in/e6UpGxQA
Researcher @ leticiaxavier.work | Digital Culture Specialist & Writer @ On my radar 📡
When over six thousand communities dim their lights, it's not a power outage – it's a statement. The virtual corridors of Reddit, Inc. are unusually quiet right now, as a digital protest unfolds.
✷ What's happening?
→ More than 6000 subreddits, including many of the most-followed communities like r/funny, r/aww, r/gaming, r/music, and r/science, have gone private. This sweeping response is in protest to Reddit's updated API pricing.
→ The protest was primarily initiated by third-party app developers like Apollo for Reddit, who announced that the API changes would make it financially unfeasible to continue their services.
→ While some subreddits have opted for a 48-hour blackout, others have decided to keep their doors shut indefinitely. It's a measure of the gravity of the issue and the seriousness with which the Reddit community perceives it. Alongside this, certain communities are limiting new posts, choosing instead to leave only historical content visible.
→ Amidst this chaos, the platform Reddark emerges as a lighthouse, keeping a vigilant track of which subreddits are going dark. It provides real-time data, spotlighting the growing list of privatized subreddits along with their subscriber counts, amplifying the gravity of this digital protest.
Reddit communities go dark in protest at changes
Image source, Getty ImagesBy Tom GerkenTechnology reporterThousands of Reddit communities have "gone dark" as part of a protest by users over how the site is being run.Reddit is introducing controversial charges to developers of third-party apps, which are used to browse the social media platform.But moderators of some of the biggest subreddits have hit back by making their communities private for 48 hours. Reddit relies heavily on community moderation but on Monday almost 3,500 subreddits shut down.A subreddit is the name given to a forum within the Reddit platform - effectively a community of people who gather to discuss a particular interest. Reddit users - or Redditors - will typically join a variety of subreddits, rather than following individual users on other platforms, and see posts from these communities in their feed.As well as a few paid administrators, the website uses tens of thousands of unpaid moderators - known as mods - to keep the website functional.These mods may spend one or two hours per day ensuring that their subreddit does not get filled with off-topic comments, content that is banned, or even content which is illegal.But the flipside of this is that Reddit does not charge any hosting fees for people wh...
https://lnkd.in/ezbfFhX2
Reddit pressures mods to end the blackout as they find new ways to protest
Reddit appears to be ramping up the pressure on moderators to open communities that closed in the blackout protest against recently announced platform changes. A Reddit admin — an employee of Reddit — has told unpaid volunteer moderators of a subreddit that the “expectation here is that communities reopen,” according to a message shared publicly by a moderator of r/DIY.The pressure worked. The community was closed, but it reopened on Thursday, and a mod said that fears of Reddit actions forced the team’s hand: “We’re re-opening because if we don’t, the mods that Reddit appoint may not care about the subreddit the way we do,” the mod wrote.The mod’s post also announced a vast number of changes to the subreddit’s rules that hew more closely to Reddit’s general requirements, while also undoing many of the norms and rule tweaks that were in place to improve the quality of content. The changes include no longer requiring users to do basic research and lowering the standard for what the subreddit counts as spam. Reddit has its reopened community, but at what cost?Reddit users have been protesting over planned API changes ...
🚫 Reddit Blackout 🚫
Understanding the Controversial API Access Charge
Something big is happening in the Reddit community today. Numerous subreddits have shut down in protest against the controversial plan to charge for access to Reddit's API.
This move threatens to eliminate several third-party apps that rely on the API, disrupting the vibrant ecosystem of user-generated content.
🔍 What's happening:
➡️ Many subreddits have gone private, blocking user access and comments, to show their disagreement with the API access charges.
➡️ Subreddits involved in the protest include r/funny, r/aww, r/gaming, r/music, r/gadgets, and even r/nba during the NBA finals.
➡️ Reddark, a tracking site, reports that 7,177 subreddits have gone dark, while others have switched to read-only mode or expressed opposition to the API change.
⚡ Why it matters:
➡️ Reddit's API allows third-party apps to interact with the platform, but the new pricing structure will charge $0.24 per 1,000 API calls for high-volume access.
➡️ The API change threatens the viability of third-party apps like Apollo, which would cost $20 million per year to operate under the new pricing.
➡️ Moderators also raise concerns about the impact on third-party tools used to moderate the platform effectively.
📢 The community's voice:
➡️ The protest message from r/jokes highlights that Reddit should prioritize long-term viability over short-lived gains.
➡️ Moderators from r/pics stress the need for effective moderation tools and the freedom to choose how they access Reddit, warning that contributors may leave if these concerns aren't addressed.
While Reddit CEO Steve Huffman has stood firm on the API changes, the protest demonstrates the strong opposition within the community. The battle for open access to the API and the future of third-party apps hangs in the balance.
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#OpenAPI#RedditProtest#CommunityPower#redditblackout
Reddit blackout: Subreddits to go private on Monday
Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Apollo is a popular Reddit browser at the heart of the protestBy Tom GerkenTechnology reporterThousands of Reddit communities will be inaccessible on Monday in protest at how the site is being run.Reddit is introducing controversial charges to developers of third-party apps, which are used to browse the social media platform.But this has resulted in a backlash, with moderators of some of the biggest subreddits making their communities private for 48 hours in protest.Almost 3,500 subreddits will be inaccessible as a result.A subreddit is the name given to a forum within the Reddit platform - effectively a community of people who gather to discuss a particular interest. Reddit users - or Redditors - will typically join a variety of subreddits, rather than following individual users on other platforms, and see posts from these communities in their feed.Reddit, unlike other social media sites, relies heavily on community moderation.As well as a few paid administrators, the website uses tens of thousands of unpaid moderators -known as mods - to keep the website functional.These mods may spend one or two hours per day ensuring that their subreddit does not get filled with off-topic comment...
The continuing tensions at #Reddit is an object lesson on the importance of understanding and respecting the community. Moderators and users alike (including our very own Eugene Teplitsky) have protested decisions by Reddit, Inc.'s CEO to drastically raise the price of API access, thereby killing the third-party app ecosystem. This move, framed as a bid to stop app developers from leeching value from Reddit's "hard-earned content" feels more like an authoritarian dictatorship that disregards the community that fuels this content to begin with.
The interesting part? Many subreddit users voted to go private in response to the CEO's actions - only to be threatened by Reddit admins that their moderator teams will be replaced and forcibly made to reopen if they do not comply. This begs the question: who truly holds the power in a platform where user-generated #content is the core value?
There's a lesson here for all platforms: respect the users. They are not just numbers or potential ad impressions. They are the value. Ignoring their needs and contributions could have severe repercussions. This mess is doing more than scare away advertisers and kill shareholder value: it pushes more people towards decentralized platforms like #Mastodon and other #ActivityPub-supporting social tools, where user agency and respect for community choice are at the heart of their design.
The future of social platforms may very well lie in this direction, and I encourage everyone to keep an eye on these developments. Anyone in my network already a part of the #Fediverse? Let's connect (I'm at https://lnkd.in/e9uFky4W)!
The Importance of User Sentiment: A Lesson from Reddit's Recent Controversy
🔔 Heads up to all community builders, developers, and tech enthusiasts. A recent example from Reddit underlines the crucial role of user sentiment in maintaining and growing an online community.
Reddit, the popular discussion platform, recently decided to monetize its API. This decision impacts third-party applications like Apollo, a widely-used Reddit client, which now faces higher operating costs. Reddit's decision to charge for previously free API endpoints was made without consulting the community, causing a significant backlash. 🌪️
The reaction? Many subreddit moderators, frustrated with the lack of communication and potential impacts on their communities, made their subreddits private in protest. This move illustrates the power of user sentiment, and how ignoring it can lead to unforeseen consequences. As of writing this post, around 60% of subreddits went dark.
The takeaway? Whether you're running a start-up, a tech giant, or a local online forum, always consider the sentiment of your users before implementing major changes. 🗣️ User sentiment is not just a metric - it's the heartbeat of your community. Neglecting it can set off a downward spiral that could be challenging to control.
#tech Stay tuned to the situation and consider this a reminder of the importance of valuing and incorporating user sentiment in your decisions.
#UserSentiment#CommunityBuilding#TechNews
