Our /r/getchannels Subreddit will be going dark from June 12-14 in protest against Reddit's API changes which kill 3rd party apps

Announcements
#1

What's going on?

A recent Reddit policy change threatens to kill many beloved third-party mobile apps, making a great many quality-of-life features not seen in the official mobile app permanently inaccessible to users.

On May 31, 2023, Reddit announced they were raising the price to make calls to their API from being free to a level that will kill every third party app on Reddit, from Apollo to Reddit is Fun to Narwhal to BaconReader.

Even if you're not a mobile user and don't use any of those apps, this is a step toward killing other ways of customizing Reddit, such as Reddit Enhancement Suite or the use of the old.reddit.com desktop interface .

This isn't only a problem on the user level: many subreddit moderators depend on tools only available outside the official app to keep their communities on-topic and spam-free.

What's the plan?

On June 12th, many subreddits will be going dark to protest this policy. Some will return after 48 hours: others will go away permanently unless the issue is adequately addressed, since many moderators aren't able to put in the work they do with the poor tools available through the official app. This isn't something any of us do lightly: we do what we do because we love Reddit, and we truly believe this change will make it impossible to keep doing what we love.

The two-day blackout isn't the goal, and it isn't the end. Should things reach the 14th with no sign of Reddit choosing to fix what they've broken, we'll use the community and buzz we've built between then and now as a tool for further action.

What can you do?

  1. Complain. Message the mods of /r/reddit.com, who are the admins of the site: message /u/reddit: submit a support request: comment in relevant threads on /r/reddit, such as this one, leave a negative review on their official iOS or Android app- and sign your username in support to this post.

  2. Spread the word. Rabble-rouse on related subreddits. Meme it up, make it spicy. Bitch about it to your cat. Suggest anyone you know who moderates a subreddit join us at our sister sub at /r/ModCoord - but please don't pester mods you don't know by simply spamming their modmail.

  3. Boycott and spread the word...to Reddit's competition! Stay off Reddit entirely on June 12th through the 13th- instead, take to your favorite non-Reddit platform of choice and make some noise in support!

  4. Don't be a jerk. As upsetting this may be, threats, profanity and vandalism will be worse than useless in getting people on our side. Please make every effort to be as restrained, polite, reasonable and law-abiding as possible. This includes not harassing moderators of subreddits who have chosen not to take part: no one likes a missionary, a used-car salesman, or a flame warrior.

3 Likes
#2
#3

I feel like business school classes in the future will reference this moment as a cautionary tale. Not just what Reddit changed, but how they handled the change. Especially with Apollo's developer, who is very talented and transparent. Reading this was heartbreaking:

https://www.reddit.com/r/apolloapp/comments/144f6xm/apollo_will_close_down_on_june_30th_reddits/

Apollo, its passionate customers and the volunteer mods who use it, have contributed so much to build Reddit into what it is today. Reddit's execs couldn't figure out how to keep a healthy ecosystem afloat, they had to just kill off the API by charging an absurd amount? At the very least, these app developers don't deserve this treatment. And it's sadly ironic, Apple has acknowledged Apollo as one of the best apps on iOS. It was featured prominently at the WWDC keynote and gets featured as "Editor's Choice" in the App Store frequently, as recently as this week. The PTB at Reddit clearly don't care. And their own mobile app is barely usable itself. A total mess.

The way the CEO’s handled it is kind of disgusting. All of this is a real shame. These developers and the Reddit users affected by this seismic change deserve better.

So yeah, thank you for your protest. I couldn't agree more.

2 Likes
#4

I'm out for good. Twitter and Reddit can do without me. These companies scoff at 2 day boycotts.

2 Likes
#5

So, the response is to kill your sub instead?

#6
#7

Glad to see Channels joining the protest. Read the AMA and was disappointed to say the least.

#8

When I was in business school, for a class called "Economics of Competitive Strategy", I was assigned a book that spent several chapters praising Enron up and down. It was right around when everything broke with Enron, so it made things quite awkward!

1 Like
#9

As part of a massive protest. It's well documented around the 'net so googling will get you some answers.

1 Like
#10

If you are old enough to remember usenet pre-binary posts days (yep shell), I'd personally prefer it to reddit.

1 Like
#11

I know we're not supposed to visit but I saw someone mention elsewhere, so I had to check, and yes, it's true, Reddit dot com is down, globally. This is what's been showing instead, for hours now, go figure:

youbrokeit1

and

youbrokeit3

No, u/spez broke Reddit.

What a joke. Not a good look for the IPO, either.

#12

Been fine from my POV (Desktop, Spectrum ISP, FF web browser). An hour or 2 ago it was also normal on Sync on my Android tablet.

Was hoping to see what you saw. Bummer.

#13

Some notes about the site-wide outages were here:

#14

Usenet was all there was as far as usability in the early 90's. I had a shell account and basically had to teach myself everything. Later that decade Agent Newsreader was very cool.

3 Likes
#15

https://twitter.com/rjonesy/status/1668705266433675265?s=46&t=VV91RXP6clxdnaq24SCxHw

#16

It's called the drug dealer business model. Give it away for free until users become addicted, then charge what ever price you want. The private investors and VC's want a huge ROI when Reddit goes public, thus the need to inflate their revenue in order to get premium.

1 Like
#17

Yeah but pissing off their army of volunteer moderators and their most engaged, passionate users, seems like a bad way to try accomplishing that. How about requiring the display of ads, especially over the API? Or charging a reasonable amount for use of the API? Introduce a subscription tier?

Because now, they've alienated and angered a bunch of people who helped build what Reddit is today, and users will just be getting their fix elsewhere.

Surely the big brains in Reddit's executive suite could have conceived of a better way to make money?

1 Like
#18

2 days? Not enough really. I don't get why people think a CEO is gonna have a come to Jesus moment in 2 days.

1 Like
#19