hey everyone. if you want to post links or discuss the Reddit blackout, its aftermath, and what’s happening going forward, please localize it to this thread in order to keep things tidy! thanks! we’ll see if we need to cycle the thread again before the end of this week, but i don’t know that we’ll need to

  •  mizmoose   ( @mizmoose@beehaw.org ) English
    67•1 year ago

    Redditinc.com’s fact(oid)s about the API changes.

    Includes such BS as

    100,000+ active communities

    Technically true. But it’s estimated that between 1/3 and 1/2 are NSFW. That is, the subs they don’t want shown at their (mythical) IPO.

    Supporting these apps is not free for Reddit; they incur both infrastructure and significant opportunity costs.

    Technically true. But so does the official app, and web browsers. API calls are not some sort of special magic that causes extra wear on the systems. If the users never had the third party apps they’d be using something else, causing the same traffic and usage - or using nothing at all.

    Reddit needs to be a self-sustaining business and to do that, we can no longer subsidize commercial entities that require large-scale data use from our API.

    Again, third party apps are no more of a drain on data use than anything else. It’s been proven, but Spez keeps pushing this lie.

    Many other platforms have chosen to stop supporting apps like these altogether.

    Objection! Facts not in evidence.

    more than 98% of apps do not pay and will continue to access the Data API for free so long as apps are not monetized […].

    Emphasis mine. This is the real story.

    Our pricing is based on usage levels comparable to our own costs

    Either this is an outright lie or Spez is admitting that the official Reddit app is an inefficient, data monching, piece of garbage.

    We’re working to improve the mobile mod experience

    Spez has been promising rainbows for years but all we ever get is poop. Or just the smell of poop. That the mobile apps were released without proper moderator tools tells you what he thinks of moderators.

    We have a unique system of checks and balances, and we respect the communities right to protest.

    Clearly a lie, given that Spez is going to change the rules to force out moderators who choose to follow their sub’s wishes to protest.

    r/nottheonion is asking users to vote, including a fun option that encourages people to take Tuesdays off

    The “fun option” is an official means of joining the protest. Can he stop lying for 10 seconds?

    We conducted an accessibility audit with an external consultant and have been working on improving accessibility on the site and in our apps.

    Yes, much smarter than actually TALKING TO YOUR OWN USERS AND SEEING WHAT THEY WANT. Oh, they want what you refuse to do? Gee, what a surprise!

    Nothing says ableism more than telling people with disabilities that they have no agency in how or if they get accommodations. (Sadly, the ADA does not apply to Reddit as a website.)

    In summary, Spez needs to be fired. Preferably out of a cannon, into the sun. (Edit to add, because I am newbie here: This is hyperbole. I do not actually advocate violence against anyone.)