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

[Bosque]

Historically speaking he’s probably right, I can’t remember the last time a protest like this hurt a website. 
 

lately there’s also been a lot of anti-Reddit posts on Reddit getting a lot of awards which seems counterproductive…

[Ryan]

Strikes do work when all are working on the same page and are following a specific strategy.

 

I don’t this seems silly for those who don’t use third party apps or whatever, but accessibility is a MAJOR thing that should be prioritized. Just because people have disabilities doesn’t mean they should be treated as an afterthought. 
 

I use the official app and it’s extremely limited in what it can do for those needing accessibility features and those who mod. Pricing small developers out of being able to use the API under some totalitarian guise to put profit over the community is a mess. The CEO accused the developer of one app of trying to blackmail Reddit, so the guy Apollo released the taped call. It was a mess. 
 

TLDR disabled people will be hurt and they matter. 
 

I’ve become a lot more sensitive to the needs of those with disabilities since I ended up in a wheelchair after an accident left me unable to walk last year. Even though my present disability is temporary, you realize just how much of the world ignores the needs of those who need accessibility features once you’re a part of it. 

[WildOne]

1 hour ago, playboi said:

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

The CEO is why this is all happening. If you want your favorite subs back, you’re not on team CEO. 

1 hour ago, AbeHicks said:

Strikes never work and I wish people realized that. The people in charge don't care. Do something else.

Strikes literally do work and are one of the most powerful tools the masses have at their disposal. 

[arceus]

tbh i am missing my subreddits

 

i didnt have anything to do at work today 

[DamianSolo]

My feed is still booming and constantly updating. I'm pretty sure Reddit doesn't care, when so many subreddits are still very active. I understand the cause, but I've always been horrible at boycotting anything—even things I, personally, swore to not support anymore.

[The7thStranger]

1 hour ago, samsclubPRESENTSavam said:

the way I understand it is that people use third party apps to access reddit, which is basically like using adblock. reddit is losing money from that.

This isn't exactly what's happening although you aren't far off. Third party apps are still allowed to exist, however Reddit has chosen to make API access a luxury item, something that most developers cannot afford. Also, access to the API via third party apps will not allows users to find or view any content deemed "NSFW." (Note: This does not just mean adult content or p*ornography). The issue is not necessarily that the API will cost money to use (although there are users who take umbrage with this given Reddit's founding credo of freely accessible information); the far larger issue is that this pricing freeze-out is a way to cut developers off at the knees (i.e., those which are Reddit's "competition") and harm users. Reddit's own app is, beyond being buggy and reportedly a nightmare for disabled redditors, simply a way for the business to collect more data freely. And the CEO has been in a personal battle with one of the developers of an extremely popular Reddit client, which has added a bucket of gasoline onto an already raging fire.

 

Essentially, these changes only serve Reddit and its executives and not the users, developers, or mod teams, many of which do free work to keep the site right and healthy.

 

1 hour ago, Flanders said:

Do people really care that much about what app they use? I'm not one for sticking up for capitalist companies, but it is kind of understandable that they want control of their platform. It's not like there are multiple apps for Facebook, TikTok, Snapchat etc. It's one service, one app

Yup, this is a major part of the culture on Reddit among its core userbase. A very large and loud faction of Reddit's userbase does not use the Reddit app because it has not been properly developed or maintained. It also is not accessible friendly. The difference between Reddit and other sites you mentioned is that Reddit was built on a foundation of free access. Facebook did (and maybe still does?) have alternate apps that have come and go as time has passed. Twitter is another good example. Snapchat, by comparison, I believe has never allowed third party apps and shuts them down whenever they crop up. Reddit has a very different ethos to an application like Snapchat, or rather, it should in theory and does on paper.

  

58 minutes ago, Dephira said:

Historically speaking he’s probably right, I can’t remember the last time a protest like this hurt a website. 

I think the same fate as Tumblr, Digg, and Deviant Art could befall Reddit if the executive team isn't careful. It will continue to exist but no longer thrive. And, eventually, it will be forgotten.

Edited June 13, 2023 by The7thStranger

[Keter]

I don’t know a ton about this beyond some third party apps being used for accessibility purposes. I think they should definitely sort that aspect out, but that specifically aside, I don’t see the issue with them charging to use their API. I’ve never used a third party Reddit app. I just wanna scroll and read interesting ****. Reddit will just seize the subreddits, make them public, and call it a day! 

[imabadkid]

3 hours ago, JennyWayne said:

Reddit is falling apart rn. All because they wanted even more money 

Unfortunately the American story of greed and capitalism... touches every faucet of everything in this country and is only getting worse

 

[elevate]

A 2 day blackout is silly, but an indefinite one can make a mark.

 

At least they're trying, and hitting them where it hurts: engagement and therefore advertising money. This is a lot more effective than Twitter protests where people actively engage with their detractors and thereby give them more attention. I know Twitter users are dumb as rocks but I'm surprised Reddit users are sticking to their guns; good on them.

[Sergi91]

Should Atrl join the blackout in solidarity? 

[Komet]

I cannot believe how dumb the company is. Reddit is unique because its users are not only consuming content, but also creating AND moderating it. For free. They are nothing without them. This is just yet another chapter in the Capitalism And Greed Ruining Things For Everybody series, I hate it.

 

Love the blackout, keep it going

[Assassin]

13 hours ago, Gwendolyn said:

If I lose r/BoxOffice, r/Eurovision, r/Popheads and r/Fauxmoi any longer, I'm going to lose it 

 

/r/BoxOffice will be back 

[Fevesy]

We need the subreddits to go private indefinitely, and more gaming centric ones need to start caring!

Edited June 14, 2023 by Fevesy

[Gwendolyn]

1 hour ago, Fevesy said:

We need the subreddits to go private indefinitely, and more gaming centric ones need to start caring!

What is so funny about my loreen pfp... does it look goofy? 

-

Subreddits have gotten back and most of them are revolting against the modteam now, this blackout has not gone well.

[GentleDance]

9 minutes ago, Gwendolyn said:

Subreddits have gotten back and most of them are revolting against the modteam now, this blackout has not gone well.

2 days without their porn subs was truly too much huh?

 

The community is not being supportive, spez won, I'll be using sync with Revanced, they can keep their shitty app  

 

[Fevesy]

18 minutes ago, Gwendolyn said:

What is so funny about my loreen pfp... does it look goofy? 

No, it's giving intellectual take and c*nt

 

Disappointing that most of the subreddits are coming back. My frequent ones have polls if they want to go indefinite and the indefinite option is losing 

[Gwendolyn]

4 minutes ago, Fevesy said:

No, it's giving intellectual take and c*nt

 

Disappointing that most of the subreddits are coming back. My frequent ones have polls if they want to go indefinite and the indefinite option is losing 

When Reddit goes full on tumblr because the community didn't do **** the first time, cant wait for the meltdowns when that happens.

 

Also r/popculturechat trying to paint the place as a safe space and escapism for the reasons why they will be open for further notice is so tonedeaf and dumb, it's literally pop base with a insta mom font.

Edited June 14, 2023 by Gwendolyn

[Komet]

27 minutes ago, Gwendolyn said:

Also r/popculturechat trying to paint the place as a safe space and escapism for the reasons why they will be open for further notice is so tonedeaf and dumb, it's literally pop base with a insta mom font.

I saw that maam you're a reskin of stan twitter, let's calm down

[Miss Fortune]

14 hours ago, Keter said:

I don’t know a ton about this beyond some third party apps being used for accessibility purposes. I think they should definitely sort that aspect out, but that specifically aside, I don’t see the issue with them charging to use their API. I’ve never used a third party Reddit app. I just wanna scroll and read interesting ****. Reddit will just seize the subreddits, make them public, and call it a day! 

They third parties are happy to pay for the APIs but the API usage has been priced so high that no developer can afford it (even the most popular third party app developers)

[The7thStranger]

32 minutes ago, Miss Fortune said:

They third parties are happy to pay for the APIs but the API usage has been priced so high that no developer can afford it (even the most popular third party app developers)

This. Reddit is essentially trying to charge MacBook prices for bread.

Edited June 14, 2023 by The7thStranger

[VOSS]

Quote

Reddit CEO Steve Huffman said Thursday that he wants to bring an end to a user-led protest that has made large parts of the influential website inaccessible this week. Huffman said in an interview that he plans to institute rules changes that would allow Reddit users to vote out moderators who have overseen the protest, comparing them to a “landed gentry.”

 

Huffman, also a Reddit co-founder, said he plans to pursue changes to Reddit’s moderator removal policy to allow ordinary users to vote moderators out more easily if their decisions aren’t popular. He said the new system would be more democratic and allow a wider set of people to hold moderators accountable. 

 

Reddit’s current policy says moderators may be removed by higher-ranking moderators or by Reddit itself for inactivity or violations of Reddit-wide rules. They may also remove themselves. Many have held their positions for years. 

 

“If you’re a politician or a business owner, you are accountable to your constituents. So a politician needs to be elected, and a business owner can be fired by its shareholders,” he said. 

 

“And I think, on Reddit, the analogy is closer to the landed gentry: The people who get there first get to stay there and pass it down to their descendants, and that is not democratic.” 

x likening unpaid reddit moderators to landed gentry is insane lmao

[ChrisTheLoner]

The subreddits going dark indefinitely are so dumb, I’m sorry but like really?

 

Clearly reddit doesn’t care about yalls little protest so why bother? I was looking for answers on reddit the last few days and most of the pages I tried to open were “privated” and I was FUMING.

 

Maybe I just don’t get it since I don’t use third party apps to access reddit and the whole API thing doesn’t affect me.

 

 

[ChrisTheLoner]

On 6/13/2023 at 7:30 PM, Keter said:

I don’t know a ton about this beyond some third party apps being used for accessibility purposes. I think they should definitely sort that aspect out, but that specifically aside, I don’t see the issue with them charging to use their API. I’ve never used a third party Reddit app. I just wanna scroll and read interesting ****. Reddit will just seize the subreddits, make them public, and call it a day! 

Exactly, I’ve never even heard if using 3rd party apps for reddit until this blackout mess.

 

I hope reddit does seize the subreddits and make them public, just to make the faux outragers fume 

[Tropez]

33 minutes ago, ChrisTheLoner said:

The subreddits going dark indefinitely are so dumb, I’m sorry but like really?

 

Clearly reddit doesn’t care about yalls little protest so why bother? I was looking for answers on reddit the last few days and most of the pages I tried to open were “privated” and I was FUMING.

 

Maybe I just don’t get it since I don’t use third party apps to access reddit and the whole API thing doesn’t affect me.

 

 

It may not affect you. But it affects a lot of people who use it. Especially to stop spam, and other scams. What the CEO did is wrong. Because Reddit was accusing them of doing things they were not. 
 

Will this affect Reddit? No. People will forget in a few months. The blackout is pointless if everyone isn’t doing it and only few a set time. The blackout was absolutely stupid. 

[Crashed]

Apparently Reddit is threatening to remove moderators to keep the subreddits open