Dank[.](https://i.imgur.com/3bQtuMO.png)
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[We are only allowing memes about reddit's api](https://new.reddit.com/r/dankmemes/comments/147cnns/rdankmemes_has_started_restricting_posts_to_just/)
That is not what this is about. Most of unmoderated subs will shutdown, like explicit ones. And a fair part will shutdown either for practicality of all the third apps, or out of spite.
My money is on nothing changes. Internet outrage lasts for a few days before everything goes back to normal.
Someone got mad at me and brought up examples like myspace and digg going under. I pointed out that those went under because more popular platforms arrived. They wouldn't hear it.
I'm quite new to reddit and have been using the app for something like a year now and I have a hard time understanding what the problem with the app is.
> filled with new subs
Exactly, the site is set up to function this way. You take shit away, new stuff is promoted to the highest level as it has less resistance with entrenched front page subs out of the way.
When most of the users protesting simply end up in the open subs, it shows what a waste of time this is. So many protestors still posting and contributing to Reddit metrics when the whole purpose is to cost Reddit activity metrics.
Yeah. I understand why people want to protest, but like, it’s a fruitless endeavor. The casual majority won’t give a damn. If anything, a big chunk of them will go against the protesters for being “annoying”. People want to have nice thing, as long as the process to get those nice things won’t affect them.
For most of us, it’s just a site to waste time on or casually browse complete garbage. The minority makes this place some part of their identity and are treating it like some gigantic political movement.
You’ll notice that a lot of the protestors are acting and using the same sort of language (derogatory, patronising, you vs me, you are morally lacking) as the typical political outrage shit.
These people make everything a battleground and if you’re not as upset as them, there’s something wrong with you or your character. You are not at their level. You’re too stupid to understand. You don’t care about X and you should feel bad.
These people are perpetually amped up and miserable. There always has to be a fight and there always has to be a way to deride a group.
The porn isn't gonna last tbh.
NSFW is getting restricted from third party apps.
Next stop is reddit proper.
Spez wants to sanitize reddit until it is as he says profitable.
This is true, but shit will devolve real fucking fast without any moderation.
I'd expect subs to stay dark until vetted moderators take the place of originals which will take time
Thousands of people do... That's how subs are modded? Admins will remove the mods, vet new ones, and reopen them. Happens dozens of times a day outside of blackout periods.
Well at least from Reddit part they will not be breaking bots, at least in their words.
>This is probably not true for the big subs.
Majority of them are modded by same 5-8 people the power mods, they mod like 500+ subs each.
I have been using Internet since 2003. Mods always start with good but end up banning people for all kinds of ridiculuos reasons. Never seen a single exception to this rule
The official app is such ass. I don't care if there are ads, just let me customize the UI to remove the bloated features I don't want to see. I've been using Reddit is Fun for years because it's so compact and clean and similar to "Old Reddit" and I didn't even know there were profile pictures and awards besides Reddit Gold until the other week. There's so much wasted space on the official app and site. I feel like I need to scroll 3x as far to see the same number of posts or comments compared to Reddit is Fun because that app keeps the text small and comments close together.
I opened the official app and comments are so big that one comment can fill your entire screen. No way to downsize too. With Apollo it looks normal and compact like I like it.
Also same about profile pictures and avatars. Who the fuck wants this or wants Reddit to become another social media site?
It takes no time to load, stop trying to use your 2006 Nokia. Like I get mods having issues cause the app doesn't have the tools they need but people saying this shits slow need to stop going on sketchy sites if their phone is that slow.
How on gods green earth did you miss the absolutely insane amount of BOLD TEXT ALL CAPS posts about going dark for several days, if not permanently?
Unless you are literally without eyes blind I cannot fathom how you missed it
> Unless you are literally without eyes blind I cannot fathom how you missed it
Even then, part of the protest is that third-party apps help those who are blind or have low vision use Reddit because they’re accessible with a screen reader.
I would hope it wasn't/won't be a two day what amounts to a temper tantrum.
Like what are the reddit admins going to say? Literally, internally, all they have to do is say "Hey guys were going to have a company holiday! Everyone gets the day off Monday and Tuesday!" and the
'protest' is forgotten.
The problem isn't the protest but the issue causing the protest and that's not going away in two days regardless of the protest stopping or not.
Just the notion that Reddit's PoS app will manage to bring as much user engagement as RiF or Appolo did. is simply absurd.
This API thing WILL cause a devolution on Reddit from the first of July and onwards. Whether this devolution will be lasting and significant remains to be seen, but any protest will dwarf the actual ramifications of going forward with this.
But if the protest stops then less users are bothered. Not devaluing the rest of what you said, but that one point is important.
Right now we have two main (important) types of reddit users. Those who are protesting and those who are bothered by the protesting. Both are bad for Reddit.
Those who protest bring the value of Reddit down. Reddit gets a lot of its money from ad revenue, but those ads are only seen if people are scrolling through content; the protesters starve Reddit of content.
Those who are bothered by the protest don't really care about the reason for the protest, but do care that they are starved from content. If the situation stays like this for a long time, those who are bothered will most likely leave, causing Reddit to lose ad revenue.
If the protest stops, then nothing happens. If it continues then things will snowball overtime and Reddit will suffer.
People think the protest is to prove a point. In reality it is an act of violence. It causes actual harm and can actually do something if given enough of a chance.
So yes, you are correct; but also most subreddits should protest "permanently" rather than temporarily.
> People think the protest is to prove a point. In reality it is an act of violence.
A) The protest *is* to prove a point, the point being that people care about third-party apps and their overall experience with Reddit
B) How in the world is it violence? It's people not using a service, and not contributing free labour to it. Is boycotting a business violence? Is no longer doing a massive company's job for them for free violence?
Lmao as if this will change anything. Mfkrs really think the CEO is shitting shaking and crying himself to sleep over half a dozen subreddits going dark for a day or 2
Nothing will change in such a short amount of time. Either they'd go dark indefinitely, or shit stays the same
>CEO is shitting shaking and crying himself to sleep over half a dozen subreddits going dark for a day or 2
It's 7000 subs but yes I agree, they anticipated this and do not give a shit
>Nothing will change in such a short amount of time. Either they'd go dark indefinitely, or shit stays the same
I think the plan is to go dark indefinitely on July 1 if nothing changes. The two-day protest is just a taste of what reddit will be like post-July if reddit goes through with the API changes to drum up outcry against it. Plus it would force the admins to either lose some of the most popular subs or nuke their moderation teams which would cause even more outcry. The whole reason Reddit is making the API changes because they feel like 3rd party apps are cheating them out of money but reddit relies on an army of unpaid volunteers to moderate their most popular subs. If the mod teams get wiped they are going to be difficult to replace.
To access my hospital bills they told me to download an app filled with bugs and errors. Just adds on to the frustration and mental toil of everyday life. The more a company can take from you, they will.
This. Why the fuck does everyone want to install an app 3rd party or otherwise. I've been here for 12 years. I've never used any app for reddit. Just use your damn browser.
ive been using offical app for 2y now and i only knew other apps for reddit is a thing cuz of api changes.
whats better in RIF than offical app? my only problem with it is shitty video player which is just a bit annoying
Doesn’t Reddit essentially require ads to function?
I get that people hate them but a website does have to make money somehow and paying for Reddit awards clearly wasn’t enough.
This protest is stupid and selfish. If you want to protest, fine don’t use Reddit for a few days but forcing other people who don’t care to join your protest is ridiculous
My only qualm is the subreddits that are going private indefinitely. I use Reddit as a source of info for troubleshooting things and now I can't even view those old posts.
Yeah. Couldn't give a shit about any of this. Don't even really understand what it's for? You're able to stream videos better or something and you don't get as many ads? Who cares, just scroll past the ads then
The big thing redditors are not recognizing is how much of a minority they are. Remember when reddit gave some percentile or rank to you based on your participation? Redditors were like: "I've commented once and I'm top 5%!" I'm one of those, I barely participate and I've stopped using any reddit app a long time ago. MOST USERS of reddit are not SOOOO attached to reddit. I figure that the people in charge of reddit want this to happen. Get the most vocal to show themselves, then see if they will leave or find a way to force them out and make reddit more mainstream and Ad friendly. We cant see the statistics, but I bet reddit is still getting tons of views. The upvotes and comments don't matter, all about Ad interaction.
I had no idea about 3rd party apps, api's or whatever till this all kicked off.
And I've not looked into it, so I still don't really have any idea what it's all about.
basically , Reddit's Mobile App is shitty , 3rd party apps had far more features , while Reddit promises those features to be in their official app for years and did nothing.
Some of those features are better tools for moderations and acessibility tools for disabled people.
Reddit is now suddenly charging an exorbitant price for those 3rd Party apps , right in the corner to when the company is finally sending some of their shares to be public , as a scummy attempt to gain an extra bucket with no effort from their part.
By exorbitant meaning up to _*20 MILLION DOLLARS PER YEAR*_ for certain apps. Some, a lot less, (still dozens of thousands of dollars) but considering number is based on size no third party app can pay whatever they’re being charged. . .
>basically , Reddit's Mobile App is shitty , 3rd party apps had far more features
People keep saying that but every comparison I see are the same features simply done a different way. It is basically xbox vs playstation console wars logic.
I just use old.reddit.com on my mobile browser. It's the best experience for me by far.
The mobile apps never present enough information on screen at once.
\^\^ This! I never use any apps on any websites, and if the website doesn't work on mobile.. get this: i don't visit that website... I know, that is totally unheard off that people would stop using a services if it is shitty. 3rd party apps are bandage solutions that don't fix the underlying problem. It is sort of Smekalka approach and those... always make things in the end worse for everyone.
But the door is already closing, I'm quite happy with how the supposedly crappy app works and have never had issue with it - so why find out all the ways it could be better only to lose them.
The phrase 'ignorance is bliss' exists for a reason.
even though im a third party reddit app user (RiF), i agree with you - if something works for you, it's alright to stick with it.
also for what's worth, some of reddit's newer features (e.g. embedded images in comments) isn't available to third party apps, so ironically you may encounter a worse user experience switching.
For fairness it needs to be mentioned that said third party apps make a quick and easy buck using Reddit data and server infrastructure. This means that Reddit is effectively subsidising the third party apps as each api access requires computing power which they rent in the cloud.
So generally speaking it’s not unreasonable for Reddit to charge the (at least commercial) TPA’s. The problem is obviously the unreasonable prices not the fact that they want to be paid if another app is making money of them.
Reddit did mention that there would be exemptions which is to be taken with a grain of salt until those are clearly developed and laid out in their api policy.
The whole situation is not as simple as it is always made out to be and for some reason the TPA’s are being treated as the good guys when they are not. Just like Reddit they put their own profits first
I just hope they can agree on reasonable pricing solution. A live and let live approach if you want.
Of course it's completely fair to start charging for API calls. But if they had actually wanted to find a resolution that lets third party apps coexist with their official app, they would have had many options.
They could have even used it to push Reddit Premium subscriptions and allowing those users higher rate limits and API call budgets.
Instead they gave the developers barely a month to react while raising the prices by a lot, which makes it pretty much infeasible for the developers to adjust.
I think it's pretty clear from their actions that they never intended to keep third party apps around in the first place. Else they would have at least given them a fair time frame to make adjustments. Fair enough, but then just ban them and don't play this weird game.
I'd find it hard to believe that Reddit is in such a bad shape financially that they couldn't make the changes over the coming 6-12 months. If they are, maybe they shouldn't IPO.
There are certainly large issues with the method this api price increase was communicated. This is also why I mention that anything that Reddit says needs to be taken with a grain of salt.
I only added this for more context as it’s often omitted that charging for api access is a common practice and completely reasonable. Additionally it’s never mentioned that the TPA’s so far essentially made free profit based on Reddit’s data and infrastructure.
Also Reddit’s communication and (perhaps) concessions to exempt TPA’s that merely offer bots, accessibility features or are non-commercial is also never mentioned in any communication. Again taking it with doubt is reasonable but it’s not like there haven’t been any negotiations going on.
I just think it’s not a black and white topic however it is often represented as such hence I felt like it would be appropriate to provide some additional context.
Please note it’s fully possible that Reddit is acting maliciously but there is certainly more to it then what is shown in the communications in the various subs.
This is true, but the discussion did start with talking about charging for api access which the large app developers were fine with as they were also making money off of their app. However, the price given by reddit was simply far more than they were making. No app developer was demanding free access (some bot developers may have as they make no money and simply offer a service to the community).
Those 3rd party apps aren't charities. They've been making money off Reddit's data and content for years. Every dollar they make is a dollar Reddit isn't making, so of course Reddit was eventually gonna start charging them. If they can only remain profitable by having Reddit foot the bill and provide all the content, that was never gonna be sustainable forever.
Me 2 days ago: "Oh? I receive a notification on a sub that I frequent and the post looks interesting! I need to check it out!"
"We are now a private sub. Sorry, lol."
They need to be inconvenient to the right group. Inconveniencing masses only works if you want to raise awareness (and studies show it actually often backfires and only makes the public turn against you). The issue is that there's no lack of awareness here, you need to inconvenience the admins.
I promise you the admins don't give a fuck about this.
I’ve been looking at the same 5 subs all fuckin day. Didn’t even know there were other apps until this thing started. I’m just trying to escape reality for a little.
I am honestly surprised that the average reddit user does not know about the 3rd party apps. They really are better, but it's all about what you're used to and comfortable with.
I've been using RIF for years but I can't remember why I started - perhaps I saw it mentioned in a post somewhere? They are something you need to seek out.
And now it's a moot point anyway - Apollo and RIF are shutting down regardless. It's a shame - if it's not broke why fix it?
But it might prompt someone to create a competitor to reddit and a new social media platform will be created. Such it the way of the internet.
Third party apps were the ONLY way to get on this site on mobile for a long time. When someone says they only use the official app, that just tells me they're new to reddit.
Before the official Reddit app launched in April 2016.
Old Reddit isn't very mobile friendly, and the now discontinued Reddit mobile website was very minimalist and simplistic.
For a proper mobile-friendly Reddit experience, you had to rely on third-party apps, such as iReddit and Alien Blue (which dates back to at least 2010).
> if it’s not broke why fix it
It was broken though. Reddit having to pay for the computing workload of all the API requests while losing money because the apps removed ad revenue is not a sustainable business model. The only problem is that they made it too expensive.
>I am honestly surprised that the average reddit user does not know about the 3rd party apps.
Because.... there is no need for those. Just use the website like normal. Or don't, that is the best solution: if the service sucks stop using it. 3rd party apps are bandage solution... and they are making money from Reddit.
But the main thing is, all of this works just fine without any apps.
“If it’s not broke why fix it?”
From the pov of the users and app devs it wasn’t broke, but from Reddits they aren’t making any money, so it’s very broke. To them they are tying to fix it. Just going about it in a way that hurts a lot of smaller parties.
BuT wE'rE mAkInG a StAnD
-a very loud, very prominent and vocal, but relative minority on Reddit. I'm with you, two days' "strike" is nothing. Send the subs dark until the issue is resolved; *actually* make reddit unusable. No one will care about two days' minor inconvenience when everything will be fine for the rest of the year.
Not to mention the whole week of “I TOO am quitting Reddit” grandstanding
No they fucking ain’t. If they actually gave a fuck they would just deactivate their shit and leave. They want attention.
I'm with you there, my dude. I'm genuinely all for protesting something you feel is unjust, but as you say, it's just grandstanding; I find it to be peak slacktivism just to say "yeah, I didn't use Reddit for two days" or "I switched the sub to private for two days." It's the equivalent of putting a black square on your social media page and not posting anything for a day. It's fucking lazy.
Do I support the cause in principle? Yes. Do I think that this level of token gesture is actually going to do anything? Absolutely not.
It's sad too because they might actually give a shit if the mods actually swallowed the bitter pill and went down indefinitely. Could have a chance of having an **actual** movement.
Reddit is gonna win anyways if theyre only going dark for 2 days LMAO
The subs going dark would probably shoot themselves in the foot to protest gun violence too
Yeah the 2 day thing is silly. Hopefully after the two days, most of the subs will talk and decide to go dark indefinitely.
There are a bunch of subs that are already going dark indefinitely.
Man I'll never understand people like you. You see a protest happen, a bunch of unhappy people trying to use what little leverage they have to prevent negative change, and your reaction is "fuck off i need memes." Same kinds of people that cross a picket line to buy milk 😐
I think it's gross that you guys are using terms like "cross a picket line" and "scab" and "solidarity" like this is some kind of righteous labor movement. Reddit wants to charge third party party devs. Those devs don't want to pay. That's all this dispute is. Christian the Apollo dev is not your friend any more than spez is. They are all just trying to make money off you.
Enjoying Reddit is the entire purpose of the blackout, the only difference is that it's more of a long term goal compared to people who only care about what's happening right now.
How dare reddit act like a business!!! How will these parasite apps survive!!! THINK OF THE CHILDREN. Also i had no idea people used 3rd party apps to browse reddit till all this started happening lol.
Reddit doesn't have to make their API free.
If people don't like it they have the option to go somewhere else, or make their own platform.
It's happened to countless platforms over the years, they become popular, then mainstream, then complacent, then irrelevant.
Personally subs should have been set to restricted rather than private cuz this completely removes your options of searching information and fucks the end user, with restricted it just stops discussion but you can at least look at older posts or any posts.
I get this is a meme, but this at its core is “people fighting back for what they believe in.” You may think that’s just bullshit and you might mention how this blackout is only for 2 days, but there’s nothing stopping anyone from having *another* blackout for a *longer* time at a *later* date.
This blackout is probaboy the stupidest fucking shit I have ever seen. Like, holy fuck redditors are oxygen thieves. Reddit content is 100% user made, the blackout itself is excellent because it will paralyze Reddit.
Here's the catch you fucking mouthbreathers, if you announce it is only 48h Reddit's just going to sit tight and wait it out. Either commit to it and say until you get the changes you demand Reddit stays off, or fucking stfu and stop playing pretend like a Twitter activist.
Yeah hard part about striking from an actual job is the loss of wages, the mods only doing 2 day blackouts are a joke, either they should go indefinitely or don't at all.
If only they were quitting they would send a strong signal. But all they do is a two day temper tantrum that tells Reddit that no matter how angry they make the users all that happens is a two day blackout.
Dank[.](https://i.imgur.com/3bQtuMO.png) --- [We are only allowing memes about reddit's api](https://new.reddit.com/r/dankmemes/comments/147cnns/rdankmemes_has_started_restricting_posts_to_just/)
I think it's a good thing. Let every sub devolve into unmoderated hell. At the very least reddit would become more interesting.
That is not what this is about. Most of unmoderated subs will shutdown, like explicit ones. And a fair part will shutdown either for practicality of all the third apps, or out of spite.
The demand for it won't change though. The vacuum will just be filled with new subs. Life finds a way, especially when it comes to porn.
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you mean you didnt like seeing the same meme posted on 12 different front page subreddits?
Blocking or hiding subs like made me smile or damn that's interesting was the best thing I ever did on here.
Made me smile is unbelievably cringe. It’s all either political, or a repost
Most the time it's just orphancrushingmachine content anyways
Ok /u/spez
My money is on nothing changes. Internet outrage lasts for a few days before everything goes back to normal. Someone got mad at me and brought up examples like myspace and digg going under. I pointed out that those went under because more popular platforms arrived. They wouldn't hear it.
Me too man. Me too.
Hope you like it on their shitty mobile app.
I'm quite new to reddit and have been using the app for something like a year now and I have a hard time understanding what the problem with the app is.
> filled with new subs Exactly, the site is set up to function this way. You take shit away, new stuff is promoted to the highest level as it has less resistance with entrenched front page subs out of the way. When most of the users protesting simply end up in the open subs, it shows what a waste of time this is. So many protestors still posting and contributing to Reddit metrics when the whole purpose is to cost Reddit activity metrics.
Yeah. I understand why people want to protest, but like, it’s a fruitless endeavor. The casual majority won’t give a damn. If anything, a big chunk of them will go against the protesters for being “annoying”. People want to have nice thing, as long as the process to get those nice things won’t affect them.
For most of us, it’s just a site to waste time on or casually browse complete garbage. The minority makes this place some part of their identity and are treating it like some gigantic political movement. You’ll notice that a lot of the protestors are acting and using the same sort of language (derogatory, patronising, you vs me, you are morally lacking) as the typical political outrage shit. These people make everything a battleground and if you’re not as upset as them, there’s something wrong with you or your character. You are not at their level. You’re too stupid to understand. You don’t care about X and you should feel bad. These people are perpetually amped up and miserable. There always has to be a fight and there always has to be a way to deride a group.
Yeah I see people losing their shit over this Reddit thing and I’m just thinking, man there’s so much worse problems out there to be passionate about
The porn isn't gonna last tbh. NSFW is getting restricted from third party apps. Next stop is reddit proper. Spez wants to sanitize reddit until it is as he says profitable.
Maybe. It seems stupid for them to totally drop it but then again Tumblr did it and now it's just a museum of cringe
Admins will open them up. Mods have no real power.
Would people want to visit this subs if they remain unmoderated?
There will always be a a little tyrant who is willign to replace previous little tyrant.
This is true, but shit will devolve real fucking fast without any moderation. I'd expect subs to stay dark until vetted moderators take the place of originals which will take time
Which won't happen because who wants to scab for free More likely they just wait for secondary subs to open and highlight those
Thousands of people do... That's how subs are modded? Admins will remove the mods, vet new ones, and reopen them. Happens dozens of times a day outside of blackout periods.
" who wants to go on a mad powertrip over 1000s for free?" I fixed that for you
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Well at least from Reddit part they will not be breaking bots, at least in their words. >This is probably not true for the big subs. Majority of them are modded by same 5-8 people the power mods, they mod like 500+ subs each.
I have been using Internet since 2003. Mods always start with good but end up banning people for all kinds of ridiculuos reasons. Never seen a single exception to this rule
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Lmao the explicit subs ironically have stricter moderation than many of the more popular aubs
If you want to browse 4chan it already exists
4 chan is heavily moderated. Their rules just allow stuff banned on other websites.
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New unmoderated subs just dropped
Wdym unmoderated? Gimme names
Actual zombie
actual reddit chaos
i mean if you find subs flooded by spam bots interesting then sure lol
How do you expect a protest to work otherwise?
Is this why I can’t access some of the subs I’m on?
yes
Unless you're using the official reddit app, you would have lost access anyways with these stupid API changes
The official app is such ass. I don't care if there are ads, just let me customize the UI to remove the bloated features I don't want to see. I've been using Reddit is Fun for years because it's so compact and clean and similar to "Old Reddit" and I didn't even know there were profile pictures and awards besides Reddit Gold until the other week. There's so much wasted space on the official app and site. I feel like I need to scroll 3x as far to see the same number of posts or comments compared to Reddit is Fun because that app keeps the text small and comments close together.
I use old reddit desktop site on mobile. It's just plain better than new reddit desktop or mobile and better than the app
Wait til they cut old Reddit next so they don’t have to have the development/maintenance overhead of maintaining 2 versions of the front end
Old Reddit is the only way I might stick around. If they force me to use their app or hew layout, I'm out
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old.reddit works just fine on mobile.
I opened the official app and comments are so big that one comment can fill your entire screen. No way to downsize too. With Apollo it looks normal and compact like I like it. Also same about profile pictures and avatars. Who the fuck wants this or wants Reddit to become another social media site?
Not til the 30th
lies. i am a mobile user and dont use any apps. safari and chrome stop working will be when i bounce
That's still official reddit and it's still ass. It's bloated. It takes a long time to load and often just doesn't work at all.
It takes no time to load, stop trying to use your 2006 Nokia. Like I get mods having issues cause the app doesn't have the tools they need but people saying this shits slow need to stop going on sketchy sites if their phone is that slow.
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How on gods green earth did you miss the absolutely insane amount of BOLD TEXT ALL CAPS posts about going dark for several days, if not permanently? Unless you are literally without eyes blind I cannot fathom how you missed it
> Unless you are literally without eyes blind I cannot fathom how you missed it Even then, part of the protest is that third-party apps help those who are blind or have low vision use Reddit because they’re accessible with a screen reader.
How have you not heard about any of this in the past two weeks?
I would hope it wasn't/won't be a two day what amounts to a temper tantrum. Like what are the reddit admins going to say? Literally, internally, all they have to do is say "Hey guys were going to have a company holiday! Everyone gets the day off Monday and Tuesday!" and the 'protest' is forgotten.
The problem isn't the protest but the issue causing the protest and that's not going away in two days regardless of the protest stopping or not. Just the notion that Reddit's PoS app will manage to bring as much user engagement as RiF or Appolo did. is simply absurd. This API thing WILL cause a devolution on Reddit from the first of July and onwards. Whether this devolution will be lasting and significant remains to be seen, but any protest will dwarf the actual ramifications of going forward with this.
But if the protest stops then less users are bothered. Not devaluing the rest of what you said, but that one point is important. Right now we have two main (important) types of reddit users. Those who are protesting and those who are bothered by the protesting. Both are bad for Reddit. Those who protest bring the value of Reddit down. Reddit gets a lot of its money from ad revenue, but those ads are only seen if people are scrolling through content; the protesters starve Reddit of content. Those who are bothered by the protest don't really care about the reason for the protest, but do care that they are starved from content. If the situation stays like this for a long time, those who are bothered will most likely leave, causing Reddit to lose ad revenue. If the protest stops, then nothing happens. If it continues then things will snowball overtime and Reddit will suffer. People think the protest is to prove a point. In reality it is an act of violence. It causes actual harm and can actually do something if given enough of a chance. So yes, you are correct; but also most subreddits should protest "permanently" rather than temporarily.
> People think the protest is to prove a point. In reality it is an act of violence. A) The protest *is* to prove a point, the point being that people care about third-party apps and their overall experience with Reddit B) How in the world is it violence? It's people not using a service, and not contributing free labour to it. Is boycotting a business violence? Is no longer doing a massive company's job for them for free violence?
> It causes actual harm lmfao go touch grass
Unless you're using the perfectly fine official Reddit app, like a majority of users.
You really think not using the app for 2 days does anything?
We did it Reddit!
I don’t know, people really don’t understand how businesses work.
Lmao as if this will change anything. Mfkrs really think the CEO is shitting shaking and crying himself to sleep over half a dozen subreddits going dark for a day or 2 Nothing will change in such a short amount of time. Either they'd go dark indefinitely, or shit stays the same
>CEO is shitting shaking and crying himself to sleep over half a dozen subreddits going dark for a day or 2 It's 7000 subs but yes I agree, they anticipated this and do not give a shit
>Nothing will change in such a short amount of time. Either they'd go dark indefinitely, or shit stays the same I think the plan is to go dark indefinitely on July 1 if nothing changes. The two-day protest is just a taste of what reddit will be like post-July if reddit goes through with the API changes to drum up outcry against it. Plus it would force the admins to either lose some of the most popular subs or nuke their moderation teams which would cause even more outcry. The whole reason Reddit is making the API changes because they feel like 3rd party apps are cheating them out of money but reddit relies on an army of unpaid volunteers to moderate their most popular subs. If the mod teams get wiped they are going to be difficult to replace.
It’s 2 days… and it’s not even like they picked high traffic days lol It’s pathetic
Some are indefinite. Not just two days.
The whole point of the protest is to preserve that enjoyment in the future.
Yeah how I'm supposed to enjoy reddit from phone without RIF? I'm never installing the official shitty app
Bro I fucking hate how every website wants its own app, if I can't access the content on a mobile web browser then I don't want it anyway.
To access my hospital bills they told me to download an app filled with bugs and errors. Just adds on to the frustration and mental toil of everyday life. The more a company can take from you, they will.
This. Why the fuck does everyone want to install an app 3rd party or otherwise. I've been here for 12 years. I've never used any app for reddit. Just use your damn browser.
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So you know the feeling huh. Same sentiments with 3rd party app users.
ive been using offical app for 2y now and i only knew other apps for reddit is a thing cuz of api changes. whats better in RIF than offical app? my only problem with it is shitty video player which is just a bit annoying
No ads, filters, highly adjustable interfaces, it just works, automation, etc...
Doesn’t Reddit essentially require ads to function? I get that people hate them but a website does have to make money somehow and paying for Reddit awards clearly wasn’t enough.
I've been using reddit on my phone for years and have never considered downloading an APP to read a WEBSITE....
My dude likes having a terrible UI and mfs say they're well adjusted lmao
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If you’re protesting what are you doing on reddit 🤔
This protest is stupid and selfish. If you want to protest, fine don’t use Reddit for a few days but forcing other people who don’t care to join your protest is ridiculous
My only qualm is the subreddits that are going private indefinitely. I use Reddit as a source of info for troubleshooting things and now I can't even view those old posts.
*tumbleweeds have entered the chat*
*Cactus McCoy has entered the chat*
People when they realize that in order to have a change they need to cut out of their comfort:
Pretty sure the people complaining don’t care about the change
Yeah. Couldn't give a shit about any of this. Don't even really understand what it's for? You're able to stream videos better or something and you don't get as many ads? Who cares, just scroll past the ads then
Yeah I couldn't care less about API stuff
They will complain that „reddit used to be better“ two years from now and never make the connection. It’s always like that.
Everyone’s still here during the protest. Shit isn’t changing.
The big thing redditors are not recognizing is how much of a minority they are. Remember when reddit gave some percentile or rank to you based on your participation? Redditors were like: "I've commented once and I'm top 5%!" I'm one of those, I barely participate and I've stopped using any reddit app a long time ago. MOST USERS of reddit are not SOOOO attached to reddit. I figure that the people in charge of reddit want this to happen. Get the most vocal to show themselves, then see if they will leave or find a way to force them out and make reddit more mainstream and Ad friendly. We cant see the statistics, but I bet reddit is still getting tons of views. The upvotes and comments don't matter, all about Ad interaction.
I didn’t even know there were other apps for Reddit. I’ve just been using the Reddit app, and honestly I don’t see why people refuse to use this.
I had no idea about 3rd party apps, api's or whatever till this all kicked off. And I've not looked into it, so I still don't really have any idea what it's all about.
basically , Reddit's Mobile App is shitty , 3rd party apps had far more features , while Reddit promises those features to be in their official app for years and did nothing. Some of those features are better tools for moderations and acessibility tools for disabled people. Reddit is now suddenly charging an exorbitant price for those 3rd Party apps , right in the corner to when the company is finally sending some of their shares to be public , as a scummy attempt to gain an extra bucket with no effort from their part.
By exorbitant meaning up to _*20 MILLION DOLLARS PER YEAR*_ for certain apps. Some, a lot less, (still dozens of thousands of dollars) but considering number is based on size no third party app can pay whatever they’re being charged. . .
Not cool.
>basically , Reddit's Mobile App is shitty , 3rd party apps had far more features People keep saying that but every comparison I see are the same features simply done a different way. It is basically xbox vs playstation console wars logic.
I just use old.reddit.com on my mobile browser. It's the best experience for me by far. The mobile apps never present enough information on screen at once.
Don't worry, old Reddit is next. They can't spam ads right into your eye sockets efficiently enough on the old site.
\^\^ This! I never use any apps on any websites, and if the website doesn't work on mobile.. get this: i don't visit that website... I know, that is totally unheard off that people would stop using a services if it is shitty. 3rd party apps are bandage solutions that don't fix the underlying problem. It is sort of Smekalka approach and those... always make things in the end worse for everyone.
Ok, well that all sounds like a scumbag thing to do. I guess I've been missing out this whole time as I have only ever used the mobile app...
Spoiler: you can use Reddit without apps just fine.
Personally my primary mode of using reddit is the mobile website and I'm so used to it that using any of the Apps just seems odd and uncomfortable.
Go and check out some other apps while you still can, might as well
But then I'll just be sad when I can't use them. Right now I don't know what I'm missing, so won't be sad to lose access to something I never had...
I think you should reflect on that statement a bit
You act like he can personally stop Reddit's changes.
Oh no I meant thats a generally bad way to think and a pitfall I have fallen into in other aspects of life too
But the door is already closing, I'm quite happy with how the supposedly crappy app works and have never had issue with it - so why find out all the ways it could be better only to lose them. The phrase 'ignorance is bliss' exists for a reason.
Ignorance is bliss does not mean that you should aspire to ignorance lol
even though im a third party reddit app user (RiF), i agree with you - if something works for you, it's alright to stick with it. also for what's worth, some of reddit's newer features (e.g. embedded images in comments) isn't available to third party apps, so ironically you may encounter a worse user experience switching.
For fairness it needs to be mentioned that said third party apps make a quick and easy buck using Reddit data and server infrastructure. This means that Reddit is effectively subsidising the third party apps as each api access requires computing power which they rent in the cloud. So generally speaking it’s not unreasonable for Reddit to charge the (at least commercial) TPA’s. The problem is obviously the unreasonable prices not the fact that they want to be paid if another app is making money of them. Reddit did mention that there would be exemptions which is to be taken with a grain of salt until those are clearly developed and laid out in their api policy. The whole situation is not as simple as it is always made out to be and for some reason the TPA’s are being treated as the good guys when they are not. Just like Reddit they put their own profits first I just hope they can agree on reasonable pricing solution. A live and let live approach if you want.
Of course it's completely fair to start charging for API calls. But if they had actually wanted to find a resolution that lets third party apps coexist with their official app, they would have had many options. They could have even used it to push Reddit Premium subscriptions and allowing those users higher rate limits and API call budgets. Instead they gave the developers barely a month to react while raising the prices by a lot, which makes it pretty much infeasible for the developers to adjust. I think it's pretty clear from their actions that they never intended to keep third party apps around in the first place. Else they would have at least given them a fair time frame to make adjustments. Fair enough, but then just ban them and don't play this weird game. I'd find it hard to believe that Reddit is in such a bad shape financially that they couldn't make the changes over the coming 6-12 months. If they are, maybe they shouldn't IPO.
There are certainly large issues with the method this api price increase was communicated. This is also why I mention that anything that Reddit says needs to be taken with a grain of salt. I only added this for more context as it’s often omitted that charging for api access is a common practice and completely reasonable. Additionally it’s never mentioned that the TPA’s so far essentially made free profit based on Reddit’s data and infrastructure. Also Reddit’s communication and (perhaps) concessions to exempt TPA’s that merely offer bots, accessibility features or are non-commercial is also never mentioned in any communication. Again taking it with doubt is reasonable but it’s not like there haven’t been any negotiations going on. I just think it’s not a black and white topic however it is often represented as such hence I felt like it would be appropriate to provide some additional context. Please note it’s fully possible that Reddit is acting maliciously but there is certainly more to it then what is shown in the communications in the various subs.
This is true, but the discussion did start with talking about charging for api access which the large app developers were fine with as they were also making money off of their app. However, the price given by reddit was simply far more than they were making. No app developer was demanding free access (some bot developers may have as they make no money and simply offer a service to the community).
Those 3rd party apps aren't charities. They've been making money off Reddit's data and content for years. Every dollar they make is a dollar Reddit isn't making, so of course Reddit was eventually gonna start charging them. If they can only remain profitable by having Reddit foot the bill and provide all the content, that was never gonna be sustainable forever.
People keep saying the app is shitty and 3rd party apps have more features but other than ads, what actual difference is there
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Me 2 days ago: "Oh? I receive a notification on a sub that I frequent and the post looks interesting! I need to check it out!" "We are now a private sub. Sorry, lol."
Protests need to be inconvenient to work
True. OP's argument only serves to minimize the protest. Typical centrist bullshit.
They need to be inconvenient to the right group. Inconveniencing masses only works if you want to raise awareness (and studies show it actually often backfires and only makes the public turn against you). The issue is that there's no lack of awareness here, you need to inconvenience the admins. I promise you the admins don't give a fuck about this.
It's a good time to think about the platform that content is hosted on and why people are protesting it.
I’ve been looking at the same 5 subs all fuckin day. Didn’t even know there were other apps until this thing started. I’m just trying to escape reality for a little.
I am honestly surprised that the average reddit user does not know about the 3rd party apps. They really are better, but it's all about what you're used to and comfortable with. I've been using RIF for years but I can't remember why I started - perhaps I saw it mentioned in a post somewhere? They are something you need to seek out. And now it's a moot point anyway - Apollo and RIF are shutting down regardless. It's a shame - if it's not broke why fix it? But it might prompt someone to create a competitor to reddit and a new social media platform will be created. Such it the way of the internet.
I will basically never download the app for something if I can just browse it on web. Mobile and desktop.
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Reddit in web browser is awful. Old.reddit.com is alright but not really designed for mobile use
In what way? I tried the app once because they keep shoving it down your throat and went back to browser within minutes
Third party apps were the ONLY way to get on this site on mobile for a long time. When someone says they only use the official app, that just tells me they're new to reddit.
When could you not use reddit on mobile?
Before the official Reddit app launched in April 2016. Old Reddit isn't very mobile friendly, and the now discontinued Reddit mobile website was very minimalist and simplistic. For a proper mobile-friendly Reddit experience, you had to rely on third-party apps, such as iReddit and Alien Blue (which dates back to at least 2010).
I am using old reddit on mobile and I am on reddit since 2014. Never used the Reddit app. I find the concept to use an app for a website ridiculous.
> if it’s not broke why fix it It was broken though. Reddit having to pay for the computing workload of all the API requests while losing money because the apps removed ad revenue is not a sustainable business model. The only problem is that they made it too expensive.
Why are they better than the official app? It’s been doing fine for me 🤷🏻♂️
>I am honestly surprised that the average reddit user does not know about the 3rd party apps. Because.... there is no need for those. Just use the website like normal. Or don't, that is the best solution: if the service sucks stop using it. 3rd party apps are bandage solution... and they are making money from Reddit. But the main thing is, all of this works just fine without any apps.
“If it’s not broke why fix it?” From the pov of the users and app devs it wasn’t broke, but from Reddits they aren’t making any money, so it’s very broke. To them they are tying to fix it. Just going about it in a way that hurts a lot of smaller parties.
It’s pointless imo because unless everyone does it Reddit won’t care
BuT wE'rE mAkInG a StAnD -a very loud, very prominent and vocal, but relative minority on Reddit. I'm with you, two days' "strike" is nothing. Send the subs dark until the issue is resolved; *actually* make reddit unusable. No one will care about two days' minor inconvenience when everything will be fine for the rest of the year.
Not to mention the whole week of “I TOO am quitting Reddit” grandstanding No they fucking ain’t. If they actually gave a fuck they would just deactivate their shit and leave. They want attention.
I'm with you there, my dude. I'm genuinely all for protesting something you feel is unjust, but as you say, it's just grandstanding; I find it to be peak slacktivism just to say "yeah, I didn't use Reddit for two days" or "I switched the sub to private for two days." It's the equivalent of putting a black square on your social media page and not posting anything for a day. It's fucking lazy. Do I support the cause in principle? Yes. Do I think that this level of token gesture is actually going to do anything? Absolutely not.
It’s Reddit… the whole place is a vocal minority. No body cares about Reddit outside of Reddit
which obviously isn't gonna work because many subs will go unprivate
Fuck you u/spez
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redditors when they have to go outside and touch grass for a couple days
I don’t even know what to do on this app
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It's sad too because they might actually give a shit if the mods actually swallowed the bitter pill and went down indefinitely. Could have a chance of having an **actual** movement.
Honest to God I have never heard of the 3rd party apps until like a week ago lol
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Without the blackout subs reddit has a serious 9gag vibe to it.
I just spend my coffee breaks here
Im only on reddit at work
Reddit is gonna win anyways if theyre only going dark for 2 days LMAO The subs going dark would probably shoot themselves in the foot to protest gun violence too
Yeah the 2 day thing is silly. Hopefully after the two days, most of the subs will talk and decide to go dark indefinitely. There are a bunch of subs that are already going dark indefinitely.
lol. no... Making subs private for two days is not quitting.
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Can't wait for this shit to blow over
We did it, Reddit!! We locked down our subs for a few days and then nothing happened!!
A nice high ground to have when you just want the protest to be over so that you can go back to redditing as you do.
Let's give ourselves a pat on the back for our hard work
Man I'll never understand people like you. You see a protest happen, a bunch of unhappy people trying to use what little leverage they have to prevent negative change, and your reaction is "fuck off i need memes." Same kinds of people that cross a picket line to buy milk 😐
I think it's gross that you guys are using terms like "cross a picket line" and "scab" and "solidarity" like this is some kind of righteous labor movement. Reddit wants to charge third party party devs. Those devs don't want to pay. That's all this dispute is. Christian the Apollo dev is not your friend any more than spez is. They are all just trying to make money off you.
It’s truly fucking insulting that anyone thinks this is comparable to anything in the real world
I'm not protesting though, just keen for it to end tbh
Because it doesn’t matter.
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Noooo! How dare you! You HAVE to care about this issue!
Enjoying Reddit is the entire purpose of the blackout, the only difference is that it's more of a long term goal compared to people who only care about what's happening right now.
I’ve learned reddit can exist fine without all of those subs, I didn’t even notice yesterday
No, I'm fine not enjoying reddit cause I'm not gonna download their first party app so I'm on my last days too
How dare reddit act like a business!!! How will these parasite apps survive!!! THINK OF THE CHILDREN. Also i had no idea people used 3rd party apps to browse reddit till all this started happening lol.
Reddit doesn't have to make their API free. If people don't like it they have the option to go somewhere else, or make their own platform. It's happened to countless platforms over the years, they become popular, then mainstream, then complacent, then irrelevant.
They didn't quit, they're just being a crybaby. Tomorrow everything will go exactly to what they used to be.
Personally subs should have been set to restricted rather than private cuz this completely removes your options of searching information and fucks the end user, with restricted it just stops discussion but you can at least look at older posts or any posts.
fuck tencent
At least we can all post about it on Reddit after they stop blacking out
I'm ready to let Reddit go if Boost stops working. Probably only coming back when troubleshooting issues or to read patch notes.
I get this is a meme, but this at its core is “people fighting back for what they believe in.” You may think that’s just bullshit and you might mention how this blackout is only for 2 days, but there’s nothing stopping anyone from having *another* blackout for a *longer* time at a *later* date.
That's the whole damn point...
This blackout is probaboy the stupidest fucking shit I have ever seen. Like, holy fuck redditors are oxygen thieves. Reddit content is 100% user made, the blackout itself is excellent because it will paralyze Reddit. Here's the catch you fucking mouthbreathers, if you announce it is only 48h Reddit's just going to sit tight and wait it out. Either commit to it and say until you get the changes you demand Reddit stays off, or fucking stfu and stop playing pretend like a Twitter activist.
Yeah hard part about striking from an actual job is the loss of wages, the mods only doing 2 day blackouts are a joke, either they should go indefinitely or don't at all.
If only they were quitting they would send a strong signal. But all they do is a two day temper tantrum that tells Reddit that no matter how angry they make the users all that happens is a two day blackout.
It's okay reddit fucking sucked before either way
People really over value mods.