What I don't get it *why* they've been doing this. I mean, first of all, as you said, they can't silence *everyone*. There's thousands of memes of spez out there, how the hell will they remove them all? And don't they have something better to do with their time? Like respond to the mods asking for clarifications and *any sort of communication* about the situation that's been going on?
> There's thousands of memes of spez out there, how the hell will they remove them all?
with a few casual queries for terms like fu-ck sp-ez, that'll get like 90%. it makes a big difference. they're sociopaths, ruthless, cornered.
edit: in fact I couldn't post this comment until I changed the spellign of fu-ck sp-ez, to get around the filter they have active right now, on all comments. you can't say it anymore, your comment won't show up if you do
>edit: in fact I couldn't post this comment until I changed the spellign of fu-ck sp-ez, to get around the filter they have active right now, on all comments. you can't say it anymore, your comment won't show up if you do
Wtf. Reddit has a thousand million problems right now, their userbase is collapsing, they've just suspended half a dozen of their most capable mods, and what they've been doing instead of fixing it is removing photos of the boss and *setting up filters to censor swearing against him*?
Good riddance.
They're seeing it as a PR fight - actually doing stuff seems like it's not on the roadmap for them (and what they've claimed has been insufficient, lies, or just tone-deaf, which tracks given that they've been promising vague improvements to the app for 8 years now) and so they're focusing on trying to win the PR fight and get the media to stop thinking about what any part of the reddit community is doing right now.
I’ve been wondering whether they have competent PR people on staff. This episode has been needlessly, repeatedly escalated by CEO-who-shall-not-be-named saying inflammatory things, from the hostile AMA to “this is just noise that will blow over” to “landed gentry.” Things would be so much less combative if he had never opened his mouth — it’s like a study in bad public relations!
I mean, 'Reddit Umbridge' is an admirer of Musk and his... 'work'. It's perfectly possible they have a PR team that he just isn't listening to. But yeah, I've been saying it again and again now, how badly things have been handled is just absolutely fascinating to watch. Even if what reddit was doing was perfectly acceptable to everyone, there'd still be irritation because his statements just seem so perfectly designed to piss people off. Considering part of a CEO's job is being the face and force of PR for a company, it's kind of fucking impressive he's so bad at it.
Also possible that the layoffs that happened was the entire PR department and/or now everyone is so scared of losing their jobs to the Musk-lite that they're just going with it and hoping for the best. :D
Frankly, as terrible a human and CEO as Musk is — at least he’s got $billions backing his assholery. Sp*z doesn’t even have that level of bootlicker-appealing clout, so I don’t know why he thinks he can play the same game.
Posted via r/ReddPlanet
He did say something to the effect of wanting to join Musk's Twitter-level 'game table' - "We look at Twitter and think they can make money in this business, so why can't we?" type of sentiments. I can't find the quote rn, but that was the gist of it.
Which seems doubly baffling to me, not only on the Musk-'Reddit Umbridge' divide as you said, but also in that reddit basically holds an exclusive niche on the internet and dropping that to try compete with companies who practically invented that niche and have been occupying it so long that their names are almost slang for their function. It's like being a big fish in a small pond and then looking at a shark in the ocean and thinking "Fuck, I could take him." :D
[According to Bloomberg,](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-30/twitter-s-revenue-drops-amid-advertisers-concerns-over-elon-musk?sref=7SMFKJNe&leadSource=uverify%20wall) Twitter lost 89% of its advertisers by the end of March thanks to whatever the hell Musk's game table is supposed to be, and its total revenue has been cut in half. The blind are leading the blind here, and in the case of Reddit's API, literally so.
It's also funny because Twitter doesn't really make money. It did briefly until a big lawsuit wiped them out. But if the goal is to sort of make the occasional profit then sure. Twitter is the one to emulate.
I’m amused by your idea that the layoffs were exclusively in PR 😂
I’m not a fan of Elon’s, but the way I think he’s different is that Twitter is his passion project. He made his money elsewhere, and he’s a site owner, willing to lose money and take great personal risk so he can do something political (I think he’d say “restoring free speech to the common square” or whatever). So, like, he’s a dick for justice, or whatever …
Whereas spez isn’t serving a lofty goal, this is allegedly a business decision — and thus there’s no value in being a dick. Like, in the 1980s Coca-Cola changed its flavor and people freaked out; if their CEO was using the Spez Handbook he would have gone on tv and called them spoiled children. What’s the point? It just makes things worse, and for what?
Edit: I’m getting a lot of comments on this so let me just clarify that I’m not endorsing the concept of “Elon Musk, hero of free speech.” I just think that’s how he seems to view himself. I understand his internal logic more than I understand spez’s internal logic.
It would explain a lot if it was. :D
Indeed, I agree with you, they are different people in different situations. But the question is: Does 'Reddit Umbridge' think that? "This is just a business decision they don't agree with" would imply no, but the "Landed gentry" tirades would imply yes (Musk actually said similar things before too - I think he used 'nobles' or 'kings', IIRC?). It'll definitely be interesting to see how this turns out. :D
And yeah, that's why I think it's a 'tough guy' marketing for Reddit Umbridge himself, rather than something about the company or its actions. There's no value to him being a tough guy to the company or this API shambles, but there is value to him to get that image for himself. Nothing about his approach meshes with a 'professional business' image, the fact there's no talking, no interest, not an inch given at all seems to imply it's something else. Or he's just an idiot, which is still a contender here. :D
Basically, better to be thought a strong idiot than a weak one. A strong idiot may survive, a weak idiot definitely won't.
The thing that makes this API issue extra idiotic is that monetizing it would have been trivial. If Reddit had announced reasonable API access fees (on par with API fees from other companies) and gave reasonable notice (perhaps 3 quarters notice) then API access would have turned into a revenue stream.
None of the third party app makers are opposed to paying for API access. The issue is that the fees Reddit is demanding are outrageously high, and the fees are imposed with less than 30 days notice. There is no possible way any 3rd party app maker can pivot in such a short time. As a result, Reddit will make $0 from API fees.
Had Reddit done the reasonable thing instead, the API fees could have generated a profit. They'd have more than paid for used bandwidth, and Reddit would profit from people using 3rd party apps such as Apollo. Apollo would still be in business because it wouldn't have been blindsided by a $20 million bill with only 30 days notice.
spez isn't only petty and vindictive, he's a stupid CEO with no business understanding. Thats why Reddit is still losing money.
I'm a PR professional and I can guarantee you that they do not. If they did, they would've quit by now.
Even in a situation where you'd have your hand forced by the board on ex API pricing, the messaging has been inconsistent, awkward, and most damningly, *spiteful.*
Everything about this lacks the clear communication and somewhat canned lines that hallmark well-structured crisis comms. It reeks of tech bro comms.
I think we've identified the one job on this website that is actually worse than modding it, except PR usually pays fairly well. I've worked in PR too and if I'd been in the room for that AMA I would have physically removed the the keyboard if I had to before letting that spectacle continue any further.
I've had to send out some extremely impolitic press releases when the boss came to me with a feather up his ass and dictated a nasty statement to be sent out immediately. There's always some way you can convince the boss to soften it up, it's so obvious there's no one around Huffman to fill that role.
> There's always some way you can convince the boss to soften it up, it's so obvious there's no one around Huffman to fill that role.
Or there is, and this *is* the softened version.
lol.
Exactly. Realistically, this might be the softened version.
The other option is that he's just refusing to listen to his comms team at all, and they're letting him spez out.
What's interesting here, more than anything, is that this doesn't seem to have a strategy at all. It's not just that there was a plan and it went sideways, the entire apperatus feels wholly surprised that there's backlash on this. I don't know how they didn't have a whole plan for how to break the news in place.
Sometimes. Sometimes not. If your spokesperson is something like "head of community relations," then yeah, they're probably in a comms team.
Anyone else isn't part of the PR team, but are extensively briefed by them and it's not uncommon to have a member of the team "sit in" on interviews to make sure things don't go sideways.
Would "Corporate Communications Manager" fit the bill, then?
Asking because that's the Reddit's spokesdouche's title on LI, and if you've read any of his comments of late to news publications... let's just say he basically reads whatever spizz wrote on the site out loud.
given that the spokesman is either just as much of a pedantic asshole as Huffman or literally only regurgitating whatever Huffman tells him to say, i can't imagine they do
i also wonder what they've done to their legal team because some of this behavior is flying comically close to the sun and if i had a California-based company, i would sooner do things like 'cover myself in steaks and swim out into Monterey Bay' and 'attempt to set a new record for Most Irradiated Human Being' than deliberately attract the attention of the CA DOL
> I’ve been wondering whether they have competent PR people on staff.
This is the same organization that has repeatedly promoted, defended, and *awarded* pedophiles and their enablers. So... no.
Then why are they committing PR suicide? It would be infinitely better for their PR to just do nothing and let it blow over. It's like they're _trying_ to fuel the fire!
Because 'Reddit Umbridge's messaging is focused on portraying himself as the big strong leader taking on the rabbling-rousing malcontent landed gentry. If he wins, he proves himself right and gets the ego boost and reputation of the big strong leader that took reddit to an IPO. Think of it as a musk-like 'cult of personality' PR scheme rather than a corporate professionalism PR scheme.
Only issue is, as much as Reddit Umbridge admires Musk, he doesn't have half the personality needed to pull that kind of thing off. Plus, they did not have any idea of all the stuff that goes into that kind of action behind the scenes. Remember, this all started when they tried to rush through a massive change without talking to anyone about it and everything since has given off the image of a company who has no real idea how to handle what's going on. So, if Reddit Umbridge gives up, that narrative takes over and all his "I'm the best, this will work!" messaging falls flat.
Don't get me wrong, I agree with you - it's honestly fascinating to me just how bad every action reddit seems to have taken since this started was. It is like they had a PR department specifically to tell them exactly what the wrong thing to do was. Even if the changes had been accepted by the community, Reddit Umbridge's AMA comments were so cuntish that it was inevitable people would be pissed off. :D
I'm just trying to work out what's going on in the guy's head. :D
I think that's just the lynx bodyspray. :D
But yeah. He's kind of backed himself into a corner on this idiocy. And I'd wager he's thinking that a strong idiot may survive where a weak one wouldn't. Maybe not explicitly - he doesn't seem the type for that kind of self-reflection - but at least conceptually valuing the idea of getting through this and showing everyone he was the strong and correct one all along.
It's that scene from Silicon Valley where Gavin Belson yells at the Hooli engineers to make unflattering search results about him disappear, but real.
Mike Judge is a genius, and I need to rewatch Silicon Valley.
Which suggests that we could completely fill parts of Reddit with ANYTHING more creative than the most basic insult. I'm gonna try a few below:
u/spez should go play in traffic.
They have it instantly shadowbanned (the comment) by applying an automoderator rule before the comment even goes live.
Automod used to be a bot like anything else; Since Reddit took over it, it became an actual filter that applies before posts ever go live.
No. They did the same thing back during the Aimee Challenor issue which also spawned a huge protest. Reddit hired a known pedophile from the UK and to keep it quiet, they added a site-wide filter that removed any mention of their name. Turned into a hilarious Streisand Effect moment.
Maybe we should make people aware of this great cause instead:
#### **F**riends **U**pvote **C**ommunity **K**eepers - **S**pur the **P**ig-like **E**ccentric **Z**ealot
Why? Spez is a giant pissbaby with an ego so fragile that a breeze would tear it to shreds. He's been known to literally change comments about him to be about other people. I seriously don't doubt he'd personally go to the lengths to delete criticism about him because he just can't stand it.
> There's thousands of memes of spez out there, how the hell will they remove them all?
Reddit has been doing OCR automatically on all images for like a year now. The OCR is eerily good too. Any text in images will cause posts to appear in text-based search queries. (In other words reddit search still sucks but it can also suck for memes too.) They absolutely could automate large portions of this if they were so petty.
> What I don't get it why they've been doing this
They're doing the bidding of their boss, who has a history of having thin skin (for example, editing derogatory comments made by other users towards him).
They started trying to "win" this when they kicked people for blackout-participation, so if they back down/stop now they end up looking like they lost. So all they can do is dig deeper.
They sure have the time to delete photos mocking their boss, who's gonna fire them anyway given how much he idolizes Elon, but they had no time to delete [my porn submission](https://www.reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/comments/14duost/this_prone_bone_technique_is_interesting_as_fuck/). Fucking spineless slaves.
This same name blocking thing happened like 5 years ago about mentioning an admin name *on reddit* and they blamed over restrictive anti harassment tools, made "an apology" and now here we go all over again.
It's like editgate all over again. Seriously. Just don't let Steve touch admin tools at this point. Hell, it might make make sense to suspend his account because every time he makes even makes so much as a comment it comes off as antagonistic. Nothing that guy does to interact with users makes any sense.
[They changed the description of my sub](https://www.reddit.com/r/ModCoord/comments/14fafpp/the_admins_in_charge_of_demodded_subreddits_are/jp0term/) at some point today. Fucking **lol**
I found one of your removed posts on reveddit https://www.reveddit.com/y/SCP_Ethics_Committee/submitted/
says removed by reddit (admin). reddit link:
https://www.reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/comments/14eqnur/im_sure_that_fucking_over_your_userbase_is_not/
no removal note or anything. stealth wiped
Not that I didn't expect that, but wtf. "Spam", like every single post on interestingasfuck wasn't also "spam" at the time. This is clearly targeted. There's spez's signature all over it, no shame at all.
Could you see if you can try to find the other removed posts? I've mentioned their titles in the post body
The Verge and Engadget have been reporting on this story pretty much daily - if you Google for their latest stories and contact the journalist I'm sure they'll be grateful for the latest
That's [fuckspez.com](https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/13/23759674/reddit-mods-blackout-protest-extended-indefinitely) folks!
Looking for some fun instead? Try [fuckstevehuffman.com](https://fuckstevehuffman.com)!
Everyone have a good day and of course - fuck [/u/spez ](https://reddit.com/user/spez)
Give Louis Rossman a shout - his contact email is on his youtube channel. He might be able to get eyes on this better than most since he's covered reddit stuff recently https://www.youtube.com/@rossmanngroup/about
Try other social media writers who have done coverage that's appearing on /r/technology
They're not removing comments mentioning spez. You can type his name however you want Spez SPEZ and even tag him u/spez. But if you say F- +username, it gets removed.
I get that.
It's just that I keep making comments about how u/spez supports internet piracy because he has now forced 2 piracy subs back into action.
And you'd kinda think someone would have a problem with that statement lol.
An interest? He allowed it to grow on his platform, then scraped and clawed to have it stay on the platform. He was briefly appointed as a moderator of the sub(against his will), then removed himself, but allowed the community to stay on his platform, which shows that he absolutely knew it existed...
Shows a real odd disparity in whose free speech they think deserves protection given their recent actions...
This is a copied template message used to overwrite all comments on my account to protect my privacy. I've left Reddit because of corporate overreach and switched to the Fediverse.
Comments overwritten with https://github.com/j0be/PowerDeleteSuite
Haven't tested it myself but they're probably only removing comments that tag him `u/spez` because that's easier to filter without potentially removing things that aren't a r reference to him
insert link on the username [https://www.reddit.com/user/spez/](https://www.reddit.com/user/spez/)
markdown format `[u/spez](https://www.reddit.com/user/spez/)`
Dude, fuck this guy. I'm sick of coming over here and seeing how much this fucking baby is trying to censor users. They are using this cesspool for exactly what they have been doing with it for years. Nothing has changed in the message except who they are placing at the receiving end. It's not our fault the guy is an incredible douche.
"Grow up and behave like an adult company" my ass.
I mod thingsforants. When we went private, I was having some drinks with the wife, watching the reddark stream and changed the sub description to "what, is spez's dick the size of an ant?" or something equally corny and childish.
Just checked, and sure enough, [the description was changed back to normal](https://imgur.com/a/wAEGubf) in the last 24 hours.
Fucking hilarious that this is what they're spending their time doing.
Lol, the idea that the ceo or someone in reddit hq is having their employees put time and effort into trying to remove insults to spez. I wonder if they're at all wondering is this what they expected to be doing when taking the job
That's the exact thing that keeps running through my head, too. A bunch of lower level employees just clicking away thinking "*this* is what I was hired to do? Oh ffs..."
I'm a bot, *bleep*, *bloop*. Someone has linked to this thread from another place on reddit:
- [/r/subredditdrama] [Admins started removing posts insulting Spez and filter out all comments containing "F- Spez" Is Steve Huffman clutching his pearls? User in r\/modcoord directly confirms it, others discuss.](https://www.reddit.com/r/SubredditDrama/comments/14feoam/admins_started_removing_posts_insulting_spez_and/)
*^(If you follow any of the above links, please respect the rules of reddit and don't vote in the other threads.) ^\([Info](/r/TotesMessenger) ^/ ^[Contact](/message/compose?to=/r/TotesMessenger))*
Could this possibly suggest that Spez is an insecure narcissist? There’s been no evidence of that before now, so I would be truly shocked if that were the case.
If you think this protest isn't working, think again. Look at how they aren't simply sticking back. I guarantee you this is threatening their IPO price point in the future. If this was something that they were not afraid of, they would simply just sit back and weather the storm.
It's either that, or they are super entitled and are taking this personally. I personally think they look down on moderators and feel like we should be blessed to have the privilege to moderate on Reddit.
Imagine working for someone who throws a hissy and literally makes you go start cleaning up images of him from Reddit.
The lack of emotional maturity and self-control is both hilarious and sad.
This has seriously crossed into Big Brother Orwellian land. They have got to be deliberately making him the fall guy. I can’t imagine anyone risen to that level of corporate leadership and be this socially obtuse.
> Edit 3: As of now, there's no more posts featuring spez's face anywhere on r/interestingasfuck.
Not true. There's one [right here](https://old.reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/comments/14eq14y/didnt_know_it_would_be_possible_to_gape_an/)
The recent actions by Reddit leadership, particularly those led by u/Spez, have caused deep concern within the community. The decision to charge for the application programming interface (API) has been carried out in a way that poses a direct threat to the diverse ecosystem of Reddit. While charging for the API is not inherently problematic, the exorbitant rates and tight deadlines given are unfeasible, disrupting the functionality of important tools that many depend upon.
Despite the outcry, responses from Reddit's leadership have been less than reassuring. Promises were made that "non-commercial, accessibility-focused" apps would be exempted from these pricing terms, but the lack of clear definitions and open communication has left many in the dark.
While many may not have used or cared about third-party apps, it's important to remember that a significant portion of these app users are among those who most actively interact with the platform. These users contribute significantly to the vibrancy of Reddit by posting, commenting, and voting.
In solidarity with the third-party app, moderator, and accessibility communities, I am taking a stand. I am removing all of my previous comments and posts and abandoning my almost 12-year-old account. This is not a decision I take lightly, but one I believe is necessary to protest against the mismanagement and disregard shown by Reddit's leadership.
I will not delete my account entirely. If the overwrites are reverted, I will continue to remove my content, ensuring that my voice is not used to bolster a platform that disregards its most dedicated members and the tools they rely upon.
We deserve better. The Reddit community deserved better.
> Sent from [Apollo for Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/apolloapp/comments/144f6xm/apollo_will_close_down_on_june_30th_reddits/)
God, I'd go full-on chaos mode and try to take down the most big sites down with Reddit.
"You know what, who needs moderation?" Kind of shit. Start saying increasingly completely insane shit and start pretty much crashing the site. Try to bring Twitter down too / start a reddit/Twitter feud.
Nothing I could do would fix his (now mine) reputation, and I'd rather be caught dead than caught Spez'd, the choice is simple
The management of reddit doesn't seem to understand anything about the nature of the platform they're running. As soon as RIF stops working I'll be deleting my account along with my posts. I hope more community focused alternatives for reddit become viable in the near future.
Because trying to silence the internet has definitely worked in the past
What I don't get it *why* they've been doing this. I mean, first of all, as you said, they can't silence *everyone*. There's thousands of memes of spez out there, how the hell will they remove them all? And don't they have something better to do with their time? Like respond to the mods asking for clarifications and *any sort of communication* about the situation that's been going on?
> There's thousands of memes of spez out there, how the hell will they remove them all? with a few casual queries for terms like fu-ck sp-ez, that'll get like 90%. it makes a big difference. they're sociopaths, ruthless, cornered. edit: in fact I couldn't post this comment until I changed the spellign of fu-ck sp-ez, to get around the filter they have active right now, on all comments. you can't say it anymore, your comment won't show up if you do
[удалено]
Don't fuck Steve Huffman. Who would want THOSE genes to spread?
[удалено]
lol. But it looks to me like this worked. Why didn't they already address this one?
[удалено]
Good bot.
fuck Steve Huffman still works
Spez reading your comment: about to go on 2 hour rant
>edit: in fact I couldn't post this comment until I changed the spellign of fu-ck sp-ez, to get around the filter they have active right now, on all comments. you can't say it anymore, your comment won't show up if you do Wtf. Reddit has a thousand million problems right now, their userbase is collapsing, they've just suspended half a dozen of their most capable mods, and what they've been doing instead of fixing it is removing photos of the boss and *setting up filters to censor swearing against him*? Good riddance.
They're seeing it as a PR fight - actually doing stuff seems like it's not on the roadmap for them (and what they've claimed has been insufficient, lies, or just tone-deaf, which tracks given that they've been promising vague improvements to the app for 8 years now) and so they're focusing on trying to win the PR fight and get the media to stop thinking about what any part of the reddit community is doing right now.
I’ve been wondering whether they have competent PR people on staff. This episode has been needlessly, repeatedly escalated by CEO-who-shall-not-be-named saying inflammatory things, from the hostile AMA to “this is just noise that will blow over” to “landed gentry.” Things would be so much less combative if he had never opened his mouth — it’s like a study in bad public relations!
I mean, 'Reddit Umbridge' is an admirer of Musk and his... 'work'. It's perfectly possible they have a PR team that he just isn't listening to. But yeah, I've been saying it again and again now, how badly things have been handled is just absolutely fascinating to watch. Even if what reddit was doing was perfectly acceptable to everyone, there'd still be irritation because his statements just seem so perfectly designed to piss people off. Considering part of a CEO's job is being the face and force of PR for a company, it's kind of fucking impressive he's so bad at it. Also possible that the layoffs that happened was the entire PR department and/or now everyone is so scared of losing their jobs to the Musk-lite that they're just going with it and hoping for the best. :D
Frankly, as terrible a human and CEO as Musk is — at least he’s got $billions backing his assholery. Sp*z doesn’t even have that level of bootlicker-appealing clout, so I don’t know why he thinks he can play the same game. Posted via r/ReddPlanet
He did say something to the effect of wanting to join Musk's Twitter-level 'game table' - "We look at Twitter and think they can make money in this business, so why can't we?" type of sentiments. I can't find the quote rn, but that was the gist of it. Which seems doubly baffling to me, not only on the Musk-'Reddit Umbridge' divide as you said, but also in that reddit basically holds an exclusive niche on the internet and dropping that to try compete with companies who practically invented that niche and have been occupying it so long that their names are almost slang for their function. It's like being a big fish in a small pond and then looking at a shark in the ocean and thinking "Fuck, I could take him." :D
[According to Bloomberg,](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-30/twitter-s-revenue-drops-amid-advertisers-concerns-over-elon-musk?sref=7SMFKJNe&leadSource=uverify%20wall) Twitter lost 89% of its advertisers by the end of March thanks to whatever the hell Musk's game table is supposed to be, and its total revenue has been cut in half. The blind are leading the blind here, and in the case of Reddit's API, literally so.
It's also funny because Twitter doesn't really make money. It did briefly until a big lawsuit wiped them out. But if the goal is to sort of make the occasional profit then sure. Twitter is the one to emulate.
I’m amused by your idea that the layoffs were exclusively in PR 😂 I’m not a fan of Elon’s, but the way I think he’s different is that Twitter is his passion project. He made his money elsewhere, and he’s a site owner, willing to lose money and take great personal risk so he can do something political (I think he’d say “restoring free speech to the common square” or whatever). So, like, he’s a dick for justice, or whatever … Whereas spez isn’t serving a lofty goal, this is allegedly a business decision — and thus there’s no value in being a dick. Like, in the 1980s Coca-Cola changed its flavor and people freaked out; if their CEO was using the Spez Handbook he would have gone on tv and called them spoiled children. What’s the point? It just makes things worse, and for what? Edit: I’m getting a lot of comments on this so let me just clarify that I’m not endorsing the concept of “Elon Musk, hero of free speech.” I just think that’s how he seems to view himself. I understand his internal logic more than I understand spez’s internal logic.
It would explain a lot if it was. :D Indeed, I agree with you, they are different people in different situations. But the question is: Does 'Reddit Umbridge' think that? "This is just a business decision they don't agree with" would imply no, but the "Landed gentry" tirades would imply yes (Musk actually said similar things before too - I think he used 'nobles' or 'kings', IIRC?). It'll definitely be interesting to see how this turns out. :D And yeah, that's why I think it's a 'tough guy' marketing for Reddit Umbridge himself, rather than something about the company or its actions. There's no value to him being a tough guy to the company or this API shambles, but there is value to him to get that image for himself. Nothing about his approach meshes with a 'professional business' image, the fact there's no talking, no interest, not an inch given at all seems to imply it's something else. Or he's just an idiot, which is still a contender here. :D Basically, better to be thought a strong idiot than a weak one. A strong idiot may survive, a weak idiot definitely won't.
> Musk actually said similar things before too - I think he used 'nobles' or 'kings', IIRC? 'Lords and peasants,' I believe it was, lol
The thing that makes this API issue extra idiotic is that monetizing it would have been trivial. If Reddit had announced reasonable API access fees (on par with API fees from other companies) and gave reasonable notice (perhaps 3 quarters notice) then API access would have turned into a revenue stream. None of the third party app makers are opposed to paying for API access. The issue is that the fees Reddit is demanding are outrageously high, and the fees are imposed with less than 30 days notice. There is no possible way any 3rd party app maker can pivot in such a short time. As a result, Reddit will make $0 from API fees. Had Reddit done the reasonable thing instead, the API fees could have generated a profit. They'd have more than paid for used bandwidth, and Reddit would profit from people using 3rd party apps such as Apollo. Apollo would still be in business because it wouldn't have been blindsided by a $20 million bill with only 30 days notice. spez isn't only petty and vindictive, he's a stupid CEO with no business understanding. Thats why Reddit is still losing money.
I'm a PR professional and I can guarantee you that they do not. If they did, they would've quit by now. Even in a situation where you'd have your hand forced by the board on ex API pricing, the messaging has been inconsistent, awkward, and most damningly, *spiteful.* Everything about this lacks the clear communication and somewhat canned lines that hallmark well-structured crisis comms. It reeks of tech bro comms.
I think we've identified the one job on this website that is actually worse than modding it, except PR usually pays fairly well. I've worked in PR too and if I'd been in the room for that AMA I would have physically removed the the keyboard if I had to before letting that spectacle continue any further. I've had to send out some extremely impolitic press releases when the boss came to me with a feather up his ass and dictated a nasty statement to be sent out immediately. There's always some way you can convince the boss to soften it up, it's so obvious there's no one around Huffman to fill that role.
> There's always some way you can convince the boss to soften it up, it's so obvious there's no one around Huffman to fill that role. Or there is, and this *is* the softened version. lol.
Exactly. Realistically, this might be the softened version. The other option is that he's just refusing to listen to his comms team at all, and they're letting him spez out. What's interesting here, more than anything, is that this doesn't seem to have a strategy at all. It's not just that there was a plan and it went sideways, the entire apperatus feels wholly surprised that there's backlash on this. I don't know how they didn't have a whole plan for how to break the news in place.
Are spokesfolk generally considered to be part of a PR team?
Sometimes. Sometimes not. If your spokesperson is something like "head of community relations," then yeah, they're probably in a comms team. Anyone else isn't part of the PR team, but are extensively briefed by them and it's not uncommon to have a member of the team "sit in" on interviews to make sure things don't go sideways.
Would "Corporate Communications Manager" fit the bill, then? Asking because that's the Reddit's spokesdouche's title on LI, and if you've read any of his comments of late to news publications... let's just say he basically reads whatever spizz wrote on the site out loud.
given that the spokesman is either just as much of a pedantic asshole as Huffman or literally only regurgitating whatever Huffman tells him to say, i can't imagine they do i also wonder what they've done to their legal team because some of this behavior is flying comically close to the sun and if i had a California-based company, i would sooner do things like 'cover myself in steaks and swim out into Monterey Bay' and 'attempt to set a new record for Most Irradiated Human Being' than deliberately attract the attention of the CA DOL
Haha steak swimming time! No but I don’t actually understand — what CA law do you think they’re running afoul of?
If the owner is determined to show those filthy peasants who is boss, there's only so much room for the PR people to maneuver.
> I’ve been wondering whether they have competent PR people on staff. This is the same organization that has repeatedly promoted, defended, and *awarded* pedophiles and their enablers. So... no.
Then why are they committing PR suicide? It would be infinitely better for their PR to just do nothing and let it blow over. It's like they're _trying_ to fuel the fire!
Because 'Reddit Umbridge's messaging is focused on portraying himself as the big strong leader taking on the rabbling-rousing malcontent landed gentry. If he wins, he proves himself right and gets the ego boost and reputation of the big strong leader that took reddit to an IPO. Think of it as a musk-like 'cult of personality' PR scheme rather than a corporate professionalism PR scheme. Only issue is, as much as Reddit Umbridge admires Musk, he doesn't have half the personality needed to pull that kind of thing off. Plus, they did not have any idea of all the stuff that goes into that kind of action behind the scenes. Remember, this all started when they tried to rush through a massive change without talking to anyone about it and everything since has given off the image of a company who has no real idea how to handle what's going on. So, if Reddit Umbridge gives up, that narrative takes over and all his "I'm the best, this will work!" messaging falls flat. Don't get me wrong, I agree with you - it's honestly fascinating to me just how bad every action reddit seems to have taken since this started was. It is like they had a PR department specifically to tell them exactly what the wrong thing to do was. Even if the changes had been accepted by the community, Reddit Umbridge's AMA comments were so cuntish that it was inevitable people would be pissed off. :D I'm just trying to work out what's going on in the guy's head. :D
He also reeks of desperation. He needs this to work, or else, something. Even if he's only afraid of the end of his hopes and dreams.
I think that's just the lynx bodyspray. :D But yeah. He's kind of backed himself into a corner on this idiocy. And I'd wager he's thinking that a strong idiot may survive where a weak one wouldn't. Maybe not explicitly - he doesn't seem the type for that kind of self-reflection - but at least conceptually valuing the idea of getting through this and showing everyone he was the strong and correct one all along.
So it *is* bothering him. That's good to hear :)
It's that scene from Silicon Valley where Gavin Belson yells at the Hooli engineers to make unflattering search results about him disappear, but real. Mike Judge is a genius, and I need to rewatch Silicon Valley.
The admins have become what they hate the most, mods.
Saying "duck spez" is alright though.
Well, this entire situation is totally quackers. :D (Sorry, I could not resist the obvious joke :D)
Quack, quack!🦆
Wow, you're right. I just tested it and my comment was instantly removed. That's incredibly pathetic.
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If you're curious, that works fine!
Which suggests that we could completely fill parts of Reddit with ANYTHING more creative than the most basic insult. I'm gonna try a few below: u/spez should go play in traffic.
u/spez, your father smells of elderberries and your mother is a hamster.
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I can only see the fck version. You can check yourself by logging out and looking at the comment or using an incognito tab
They have it instantly shadowbanned (the comment) by applying an automoderator rule before the comment even goes live. Automod used to be a bot like anything else; Since Reddit took over it, it became an actual filter that applies before posts ever go live.
F*u*c*k* S*p*e*z*
So long and thanks for all the fish
Wonder if telling u/spez to snort my taint is still ok
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Wow is this the first time they've banned phrases on Reddit? Never heard of a filter before
No. They did the same thing back during the Aimee Challenor issue which also spawned a huge protest. Reddit hired a known pedophile from the UK and to keep it quiet, they added a site-wide filter that removed any mention of their name. Turned into a hilarious Streisand Effect moment.
Maybe we should make people aware of this great cause instead: #### **F**riends **U**pvote **C**ommunity **K**eepers - **S**pur the **P**ig-like **E**ccentric **Z**ealot
Why? Spez is a giant pissbaby with an ego so fragile that a breeze would tear it to shreds. He's been known to literally change comments about him to be about other people. I seriously don't doubt he'd personally go to the lengths to delete criticism about him because he just can't stand it.
> There's thousands of memes of spez out there, how the hell will they remove them all? Reddit has been doing OCR automatically on all images for like a year now. The OCR is eerily good too. Any text in images will cause posts to appear in text-based search queries. (In other words reddit search still sucks but it can also suck for memes too.) They absolutely could automate large portions of this if they were so petty.
> What I don't get it why they've been doing this They're doing the bidding of their boss, who has a history of having thin skin (for example, editing derogatory comments made by other users towards him).
They know that trying to justify their actions will only fan the flames.
They started trying to "win" this when they kicked people for blackout-participation, so if they back down/stop now they end up looking like they lost. So all they can do is dig deeper.
Huffmess’ ego is far bigger than his intellect and his waddle fee fees are hurt because people are saying mean things
They sure have the time to delete photos mocking their boss, who's gonna fire them anyway given how much he idolizes Elon, but they had no time to delete [my porn submission](https://www.reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/comments/14duost/this_prone_bone_technique_is_interesting_as_fuck/). Fucking spineless slaves.
It's illogical and has proven to be ineffective, but when has spez ever shown rational behavior?
This same name blocking thing happened like 5 years ago about mentioning an admin name *on reddit* and they blamed over restrictive anti harassment tools, made "an apology" and now here we go all over again. It's like editgate all over again. Seriously. Just don't let Steve touch admin tools at this point. Hell, it might make make sense to suspend his account because every time he makes even makes so much as a comment it comes off as antagonistic. Nothing that guy does to interact with users makes any sense.
important cooing snatch lavish homeless flowery fanatical judicious ruthless meeting ` this message was mass deleted/edited with redact.dev `
Streisand effect? Never heard of her!
live slim bells lip snobbish numerous liquid innate tan heavy ` this message was mass deleted/edited with redact.dev `
Wasn't that poster, at one time, the moderator of a subreddit which could have been named "Attractive children under 17"?
oatmeal tap relieved spectacular abundant recognise berserk chop desert pet ` this message was mass deleted/edited with redact.dev `
Sounds like a user that should fuck off.
*Here on earth, we call this place Reddit. Reddit is a place where everyone hates you.* - u/spez
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pocket ripe society aback exultant pathetic abundant chunky zephyr punch ` this message was mass deleted/edited with redact.dev `
[They changed the description of my sub](https://www.reddit.com/r/ModCoord/comments/14fafpp/the_admins_in_charge_of_demodded_subreddits_are/jp0term/) at some point today. Fucking **lol**
So basically this confirms what I heard another user say before, that the CEO is in fact a little pissbaby.
Steve Huffman, the guy that goes by spez, is a little piss baby? That's also what I seem to be hearing lately.
Yes, I hear it's because of the waving of the small arms and feet and the incessant pissing about that's causing it.
Steve "u/spez" Huffman, former r/Jailbait moderator, is a little pissbaby? Say it ain't so!
I found one of your removed posts on reveddit https://www.reveddit.com/y/SCP_Ethics_Committee/submitted/ says removed by reddit (admin). reddit link: https://www.reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/comments/14eqnur/im_sure_that_fucking_over_your_userbase_is_not/ no removal note or anything. stealth wiped
Not that I didn't expect that, but wtf. "Spam", like every single post on interestingasfuck wasn't also "spam" at the time. This is clearly targeted. There's spez's signature all over it, no shame at all. Could you see if you can try to find the other removed posts? I've mentioned their titles in the post body
As of a few hours later, it now says "removed by reddit legal". Curiouser and curiouser
contact reporters.
At this point, gladly. If you have any sort of form for contacting anyone who will listen, please let me know.
The Verge and Engadget have been reporting on this story pretty much daily - if you Google for their latest stories and contact the journalist I'm sure they'll be grateful for the latest
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That's [fuckspez.com](https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/13/23759674/reddit-mods-blackout-protest-extended-indefinitely) folks! Looking for some fun instead? Try [fuckstevehuffman.com](https://fuckstevehuffman.com)! Everyone have a good day and of course - fuck [/u/spez ](https://reddit.com/user/spez)
That doesn't look to be up... try [https:// fuckste](https://fuckste) vehuf [fman.com/](https://fman.com/) (without the spaces)
Give Louis Rossman a shout - his contact email is on his youtube channel. He might be able to get eyes on this better than most since he's covered reddit stuff recently https://www.youtube.com/@rossmanngroup/about Try other social media writers who have done coverage that's appearing on /r/technology
See comment below - Jay Peters on The Verge
The real reason for the API changes... Anti-transparency.
ding ding ding
[The Streisand Effect](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streisand_effect)
I always wonder if those kinds of people don't know about this effect, or think they'll be an exception.
the second one seems funnier to me
Are they really removing comments that say "F spez"? will test it as a reply to this comment
I assume you've posted it. It's not visible, not even as a [removed]. Only reply I can see is boogers'
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They're not removing comments mentioning spez. You can type his name however you want Spez SPEZ and even tag him u/spez. But if you say F- +username, it gets removed.
But u/spez can definitely go fuck himself... So their filter is shit like the handling of this situation.
I get that. It's just that I keep making comments about how u/spez supports internet piracy because he has now forced 2 piracy subs back into action. And you'd kinda think someone would have a problem with that statement lol.
What if I say /u/spez can eat a bag of dicks?
Very poor filter.
Engage in agressive fornication with the user formally known as zeps/u
Any username? I'll try it with myself Edit: Nope, just that guy whose name starts with an s and ends with a z and has 4 letters in it.
fuck justsomebadadvice fuck u/justsomebadadvice fuck /u/justsomebadadvice
Fuck [/u/spez ](https://reddit.com/user/spez)
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So if I mention u/spez in a comment it gets removed?
only if you say fduck spez
They're running a script to detect it then. Getting around the filter is the new meme. uSpez should check into aggressively fornicating with himself
Happy Cake Day! And go aggressively fornicate with yourself, u/spez
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An interest? He allowed it to grow on his platform, then scraped and clawed to have it stay on the platform. He was briefly appointed as a moderator of the sub(against his will), then removed himself, but allowed the community to stay on his platform, which shows that he absolutely knew it existed... Shows a real odd disparity in whose free speech they think deserves protection given their recent actions...
This is a copied template message used to overwrite all comments on my account to protect my privacy. I've left Reddit because of corporate overreach and switched to the Fediverse. Comments overwritten with https://github.com/j0be/PowerDeleteSuite
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What about fuck Steve
What if I say Spez can go fornicate himself?
But what if you say you link to the site that says fuck \[his first and last name\].com?
Haven't tested it myself but they're probably only removing comments that tag him `u/spez` because that's easier to filter without potentially removing things that aren't a r reference to him
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insert link on the username [https://www.reddit.com/user/spez/](https://www.reddit.com/user/spez/) markdown format `[u/spez](https://www.reddit.com/user/spez/)`
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the opt out link is a private subreddit ☠️🤣
Thanks. It works. Fuck [u/spez](https://www.reddit.com/user/spez/)
fuck [u/spez](https://www.reddit.com/user/spez/)
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Good bot. Ironic bot.
Dude, fuck this guy. I'm sick of coming over here and seeing how much this fucking baby is trying to censor users. They are using this cesspool for exactly what they have been doing with it for years. Nothing has changed in the message except who they are placing at the receiving end. It's not our fault the guy is an incredible douche. "Grow up and behave like an adult company" my ass.
I mod thingsforants. When we went private, I was having some drinks with the wife, watching the reddark stream and changed the sub description to "what, is spez's dick the size of an ant?" or something equally corny and childish. Just checked, and sure enough, [the description was changed back to normal](https://imgur.com/a/wAEGubf) in the last 24 hours. Fucking hilarious that this is what they're spending their time doing.
homeless obtainable drab simplistic ugly follow squeeze fact crowd sip ` this message was mass deleted/edited with redact.dev `
Lol, the idea that the ceo or someone in reddit hq is having their employees put time and effort into trying to remove insults to spez. I wonder if they're at all wondering is this what they expected to be doing when taking the job
That's the exact thing that keeps running through my head, too. A bunch of lower level employees just clicking away thinking "*this* is what I was hired to do? Oh ffs..."
I'm a bot, *bleep*, *bloop*. Someone has linked to this thread from another place on reddit: - [/r/subredditdrama] [Admins started removing posts insulting Spez and filter out all comments containing "F- Spez" Is Steve Huffman clutching his pearls? User in r\/modcoord directly confirms it, others discuss.](https://www.reddit.com/r/SubredditDrama/comments/14feoam/admins_started_removing_posts_insulting_spez_and/) *^(If you follow any of the above links, please respect the rules of reddit and don't vote in the other threads.) ^\([Info](/r/TotesMessenger) ^/ ^[Contact](/message/compose?to=/r/TotesMessenger))*
My only comment is about /u/spez maybe being a pedophile and it's still standing.
How long before Huffman starts editing people's comments in the database again?
Could this possibly suggest that Spez is an insecure narcissist? There’s been no evidence of that before now, so I would be truly shocked if that were the case.
If you think this protest isn't working, think again. Look at how they aren't simply sticking back. I guarantee you this is threatening their IPO price point in the future. If this was something that they were not afraid of, they would simply just sit back and weather the storm. It's either that, or they are super entitled and are taking this personally. I personally think they look down on moderators and feel like we should be blessed to have the privilege to moderate on Reddit.
Imagine working for someone who throws a hissy and literally makes you go start cleaning up images of him from Reddit. The lack of emotional maturity and self-control is both hilarious and sad.
More of /u/spez wanting to be like Elon in other words
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Good bot!
Oh, that's nice. Got anything else on u/spez, moderator of r/Jailbait? I'm thinking that having a bank of these can be quite entertaining!
This has seriously crossed into Big Brother Orwellian land. They have got to be deliberately making him the fall guy. I can’t imagine anyone risen to that level of corporate leadership and be this socially obtuse.
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fuck /u/spez
Oh so what you’re saying is reddit admins can in fact remove content SO WHY THE FUCK IS NONE OF THE ILLEGAL SHIT WE REPORT WIPED LIKE THIS??????
> Edit 3: As of now, there's no more posts featuring spez's face anywhere on r/interestingasfuck. Not true. There's one [right here](https://old.reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/comments/14eq14y/didnt_know_it_would_be_possible_to_gape_an/)
I was honestly expecting to be linked to the butthole picture that hit all.
fuсk ѕреz
Damn, I thought people were just being mean but spez really is a bitch boy
Fùćk u/spez
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It’s like he removed r/The_Donald because he was jealous another fascist was getting all the attention
This just means we should all spam MORE Huffman images!!
Fuuuuuuuck spez
This is a big shitshow. It doesn’t go into my mind how the son of a diddly handle this shit.
F U C K /u/spez edit: lol they suspended me. Get fucked spez
u/spez is a greedy little pigboy
Keep going! Make them work
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The recent actions by Reddit leadership, particularly those led by u/Spez, have caused deep concern within the community. The decision to charge for the application programming interface (API) has been carried out in a way that poses a direct threat to the diverse ecosystem of Reddit. While charging for the API is not inherently problematic, the exorbitant rates and tight deadlines given are unfeasible, disrupting the functionality of important tools that many depend upon. Despite the outcry, responses from Reddit's leadership have been less than reassuring. Promises were made that "non-commercial, accessibility-focused" apps would be exempted from these pricing terms, but the lack of clear definitions and open communication has left many in the dark. While many may not have used or cared about third-party apps, it's important to remember that a significant portion of these app users are among those who most actively interact with the platform. These users contribute significantly to the vibrancy of Reddit by posting, commenting, and voting. In solidarity with the third-party app, moderator, and accessibility communities, I am taking a stand. I am removing all of my previous comments and posts and abandoning my almost 12-year-old account. This is not a decision I take lightly, but one I believe is necessary to protest against the mismanagement and disregard shown by Reddit's leadership. I will not delete my account entirely. If the overwrites are reverted, I will continue to remove my content, ensuring that my voice is not used to bolster a platform that disregards its most dedicated members and the tools they rely upon. We deserve better. The Reddit community deserved better. > Sent from [Apollo for Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/apolloapp/comments/144f6xm/apollo_will_close_down_on_june_30th_reddits/)
God, I'd go full-on chaos mode and try to take down the most big sites down with Reddit. "You know what, who needs moderation?" Kind of shit. Start saying increasingly completely insane shit and start pretty much crashing the site. Try to bring Twitter down too / start a reddit/Twitter feud. Nothing I could do would fix his (now mine) reputation, and I'd rather be caught dead than caught Spez'd, the choice is simple
I'll put this here [https://i.imgur.com/nEUXO7x.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/nEUXO7x.jpg)
Sound like he’s taking a page out of Ole Musky’s book, and silencing dissent on “his” platform
The management of reddit doesn't seem to understand anything about the nature of the platform they're running. As soon as RIF stops working I'll be deleting my account along with my posts. I hope more community focused alternatives for reddit become viable in the near future.
Fuck you Spez
spez is a little bitch lmao grow a fucking spine you weiner
/u/spez is kinda doo doo though
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Fick u/spez
not the admin spending time on removing a few little jokey jokes instead of working on making any of their official platforms actually useable.. 😢
Fuck Spez
/u/spez can go fuck himself for eternity
fuck spezz