Third-party providers gone, moderators out: Reddit wins power struggle
The new prices for using Reddit interfaces have been in force since the beginning of July. Many third-party apps have gone offline since then. Reddit is taking ever more consistent action against the (weakening) protests. It seems that the joke is over.
There was great outrage when Reddit announced in June that it would be increasing the prices for using its interface. This is essential for third-party providers of Reddit apps. Some announced that they would take the apps completely offline due to the rising costs. Because the suppliers stepped into the breach at a time when Reddit itself did not yet offer a mobile solution, they received great solidarity from the Community. Numerous mods then decided to take their subreddits offline in protest.
A few weeks have now passed. Reddit has not deviated from its plan. Consequently, most third-party providers have made good on their threat and stopped operating their apps. For example, Christian Selig, developer of "Apollo", one of the most used Reddit apps on iOS.
Source: Reddit / Florian Bodoky
The protest action on Reddit is also slowly dwindling. Some mods have folded under threat of "disenfranchisement". Others have been removed from Reddit and replaced by a moderator account called "Code of Conduct". This procedure primarily affects subreddits that are particularly popular and frequently visited. These have a correspondingly large number of members.
For example, r/malefashionadvice, r/ShittyLifeProTips or r/AccidentalRenaissance. For other well-known subreddits, such as r/Pics or r/mildlyinteresting, the protests are still ongoing. However, this is only a matter of time, as Reddit has announced.
Yesterday, Thursday, Reddit took another step towards "normality". They relaunched the popular project r/Place. This is a drawing area in which all users can colour in one pixel at a time. The aim is to create a complete work of art.
Source: Reddit / Florian Bodoky
The creation of this can then be viewed in a time-lapse video. The first pass worked, but the image contains numerous angry insults against Reddit.
Cover photo: Florian Bodoky
I've been tinkering with digital networks ever since I found out how to activate both telephone channels on the ISDN card for greater bandwidth. As for the analogue variety, I've been doing that since I learned to talk. Though Winterthur is my adoptive home city, my heart still bleeds red and blue.