A lot of Reddit communities are going dark this week in protest at changes the site’s bosses plan to make. These changes will force developers of apps many Reddit users rely on to access the site to pay to use its API. This Week in Protest at Changes the Site’s Bosses Plan to Make.
Thousands of communities, called subreddits, have gone dark on Monday, and some plan to stay that way indefinitely. They’re urging Reddit to pause the planned change and reconsider.
Subreddits
Thousands of Reddit discussion forums are going dark in protest at the site’s decision to start charging third-party apps to access its data. Some of the most popular subreddits are taking their communities private for 48 hours to prevent users from accessing new content, and some are even threatening to shut down altogether.
Some of the communities taking part in the blackout include r/funny, r/music and r/todayilearned, which have each got millions of subscribers. Others, such as r/NintendoSwitch and r/Frugal, are restricting new posts but leaving history intact.
Reddit CEO Steve Huffman addressed the issue during a recent Ask Me Anything, saying that the platform needs to be self-sustaining and can no longer subsidize high-data usage by third-party apps. The developer behind Apollo, a popular third-party Reddit app, has already said that it will close after the price change goes into effect. Other developers say they will also have to close after June 30.
Reddit’s API changes
Thousands of Reddit communities are going dark as part of a protest against the site’s planned API changes. The community moderators are planning to keep their subreddits private or restricted until Reddit backs off the change. This is a significant loss of traffic for the site, which relies on its community moderation to help keep its content in line with the site’s guidelines.
The communities involved include popular ones such as r/music, r/art, and r/videos. Some of these subreddits will remain open, but they will not allow new posts. The protest is over Reddit’s decision to charge developers for access to its data.
Many disabled users rely on apps like Apollo to navigate Reddit, and the announcement has them worried about their ability to use the site.
Reddit’s blackout
The majority of Reddit communities have remained private as part of a protest against the site’s management. This is because of a decision by Reddit to charge developers for access to the company’s API, which allows other applications to utilize data on the website. The move sparked outrage from third-party developers, including the Apollo app and Reddit is Fun.
The move could also make it difficult for advertisers to reach their target audience, as they would no longer be able to target ads on specific subreddits.
Many of the community’s volunteer moderators, or “mods,” have vowed to continue their protest until Reddit backs down on the API changes. Some, like r/todayilearned, r/music and r/gaming, have even declared that they will remain private indefinitely.
Reddit’s response
Reddit CEO Huffman has responded to the blackout by calling on the community’s volunteer moderators to put down their “egos” and focus on serving users. He said moderators were acting like “landed gentry,” and that they were trying to wedge a wide gap between average Reddit users and the community’s administrators.
Reddit’s API changes mean that third-party apps used by millions of Redditors will need to pay to access the site’s data. If those apps can’t afford to keep running, they will shut down. The move has outraged many people, including the developers behind Apollo for Reddit and r/TodayIlearned.
Thousands of Reddit communities, some with tens of millions of subscribers, went dark in protest this week. Some have returned to public settings, but others say they will stay private indefinitely until Reddit makes a change. A counter on r/reddark keeps track of the number of communities still in a state of protest. It now lists more than 8,000 needs read more hear.
