tech Reddit CEO "Blackout means nothing and will pass" - growing subreddits go indefinite

[Gwendolyn]

In an internal memo sent Monday afternoon to Reddit staff, CEO Steve Huffman addressed the recent blowback directed at the company, telling employees to block out the “noise” and that the ongoing blackout of thousands of subreddits will eventually pass.

 

The memo, a copy of which was obtained by The Verge, is in response to popular subreddits going dark this week in protest of the company’s increased API pricing for third-party apps. Some of the most popular Reddit clients say the bill for keeping their apps up and running could cost them millions of dollars a year. More than 8,000 Reddit communities have gone dark in protest, and while many plan to open up again on Wednesday, some have said they’ll stay private indefinitely until Reddit makes changes.

https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/13/23759559/reddit-internal-memo-api-pricing-changes-steve-huffman

 

r/Modcoord (the organiser of the blackout) is now calling for a indefinite blackout, big subreddits like r/Apple, r/Fitness are joining in 

 

Edited June 13, 2023 by Gwendolyn

[mystery]

It is good that most of the big subreddits are banding together to fight this! I do miss having access to my favourite subs like r/boxoffice but as long as it gets the message across it is great.

Edited June 13, 2023 by mystery

[Attitude]

All the porn reddits need to go dark and that will finally force their hands. 

[imabadkid]

Not surprised by his memo... Reddit is a billion dollar company. They don't care tbh.

[schnetzka]

So instead of addressing the issues, Reddit just seems to be doubling down. Goes to show they do not care about their users.

[TaggedGalaxy]

This blackout **** is annoying 

[Wicked]

Reddit users better than folks who couldn't not give Netflix money. Hope we win! Discord for now.

[harwee]

its barely a "blackout"

it won't work because theres lots of dissenters, for it to work everyone should protest. Otherwise, it becomes a cute little annoyance.

[Gwendolyn]

3 minutes ago, harwee said:

its barely a "blackout"

it won't work because theres lots of dissenters, for it to work everyone should protest. Otherwise, it becomes a cute little annoyance.

It seems to have worked, r/popular is a graveyard with one reddit spamming about the API Blackout and everything on my homepage outside like 3? reddits have been silent. 

Edited June 13, 2023 by Gwendolyn

[Starshine]

Google better upgrade their search bc 

 

Social media all going to ****. We need new alternatives  

[Miss Fortune]

I am loving the blackout. Keep it going! 

[Kayseri Mantisi]

 

 

[illia]

Noooo

I had so much fun reading my fav subreddits 

[Henry Torres]

Not me thinking it was about Britney's Blackout, I was ready to throw hands

[CaptainMusic]

I was wondering why I can’t access so many of my favourite subreddits  

[Gwendolyn]

And... I'm hearing their FORCING some subreddits to unprivatise .. this is gonna go on for a LONG time 

Edited June 13, 2023 by Gwendolyn

[iknowplaces]

5 minutes ago, harwee said:

its barely a "blackout"

it won't work because theres lots of dissenters, for it to work everyone should protest. Otherwise, it becomes a cute little annoyance.

Most of the subreddits i frequent are locked. My reddit homepage is empty. It is working.

[The7thStranger]

The severe loss in public content hurt their algorithm massively. But this is a moment where Reddit users need to choose whether they want to continue on supporting the site or not. The CEO is not going to change his mind. It is what it is. If anything, and only if things get severe enough, I could see Reddit's executive board ousting him, backpedaling, and using him as a scapegoat.

 

My prediction is that Reddit will win the battle but lose the war. After this blackout period, they will still have a viable community for a little while before it eventually dies out. See: Tumblr.

[Zeferino]

I was about to go off on the CEO for disrespecting Britney; but it looks like they don’t care about the users 

[The7thStranger]

Just now, Gwendolyn said:

And... I'm hearing their FORCING some subreddits to unprivatise .. this is going on for a LONG time 

Which ones? Watch the mods shut them down entirely.

[ifyouseekLEM]

I need my r/boxoffice and r/realhousewives back 

[nadiamendell]

They need to fix this because Reddit is the last social media platform I can stand to visit. I also use Reddit regularly to search for solutions for my job and it is becoming a nuisance. 

[sweetblindness]

Their CEO is absolutely insufferable. As much as I miss my favorite subs, I hope more of them stay blacked out indefinitely.

[Gwendolyn]

2 minutes ago, The7thStranger said:

Which ones? Watch the mods shut them down entirely.

[playboi]

I don't understand why they closed but I can't browse my fav subreddit anymore so i'm team CEO