The site that was originally touted to be ‘the front page of the internet’ has recently been the subject of controversy surrounding its new API pricing policies. Now, even after days of solidarity and backlash from the community, Reddit doesn’t seem to be backing down.
In an interview with The Verge, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman said that the controversial pricing change is nothing more than a ‘business decision.’ He also stated that despite millions of subreddits engaging in multi-day protest blackouts, the company would not be going back on its decision.
To make matters worse, a post on r/ModSupport, a subreddit designed to ‘provide a point of contact for moderators to discuss issues with Reddit admins’ explained that moderators that ‘stop moderating’ will be removed.
A tweet from a r/apple moderator first revealed the threat which can be seen below.
Reddit is just digging the hole deeper and deeper.
They are essentially threatening moderators of subreddits that are blacking out indefinitely that they will be removed. https://t.co/IeU3inmyf4 pic.twitter.com/HF4t3EO1JS
— Aaron (@aaronp613) June 15, 2023
Huffman also spoke with NPR, where he described the protests as a small group of users that are upset with the changes. He would go on to say that everyday users affected by the subreddit blackouts are the real victims.
Although Reddit users have definitely been affected by the blackouts, especially those who use the site for archival and troubleshooting purposes, support for moderators and their decisions have also flooded the site since the API changes.
The lack of flexibility in enforcing the new API pricing change deadline has been one of the biggest points of turmoil among moderators, with changes slated to be made by July 1st, 2023. Huffman has recently gone on record to state that there is some flexibility to give moderators longer transition times, which is perhaps an early sign of reneging on the changes.
Despite this, third-party clients have already been pulling out of operations on the site, with Apollo developer Christian Selig estimating that the changes would cost $20 million USD (about $20 million CAD) per year.
Reddit recently shared a blog post during the recent chaos to inform users of some ‘key facts’ surrounding the API pricing changes.
The company has also stated that as of June 15th, 80 percent of the site’s top 5,000 subreddits are up and running as usual.
Image credit: Shutterstock
Source: The Verge Via: Android Police
MobileSyrup may earn a commission from purchases made via our links, which helps fund the journalism we provide free on our website. These links do not influence our editorial content. Support us here.
