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
Rumors, happenings, and innovations in the technology sphere. If it’s technological news or discussion of technology, it probably belongs here.
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BlackCat claims they hacked Reddit and will leak the data
Reddit Moderators Do Over $3.4 Million in Free Labor Every Year - by Clive Thompson
Welp.
Looks like a lot of mods are caving.
The excuse: “if the mods didn’t open the sub, they’ll replace them with shills”. 'Kay. And now that we know these mods will do what the admins ask when their precious power is threatened?
Well, I guess sabotage is valid approach, so I give the mods who are doing that at least a bit of credit.
/r/pics is making a stand in its own weird way.
/r/Steam just caved without much of a fight, if their sticky is anything to go by. While the mods aren’t doing anything, it does seem like there’s a bit of a user revolt where a few people are just posting pictures of literal water vapor (ie. “steam”).
/r/piracy mods seemed to give them enough of an issue that the admins de-modded the top mod and forced the sub open, but the mods seems to be taking the approach of “only sticking around to give you the coordinates to our new island”.
Honestly, though, it’s kind of hilarious that reddit considers /r/piracy of all subs to be integral to the site. How many times have they tried to shut it down now?
Everyone on that sub should just spam Nintendo stuff. Like, nothing else. Watching reddit piss off Nintendo and getting C&Ds from them would be oddly cathartic.
One of two things happens if people do that: A) the mods trying to “save” it have to actually keep it restricted to prevent getting DMCAs (lol, the irony), or B) admins just nuke the sub. Either are a win, IMO. Seems like they’re giving their users enough time to migrate and they’re probably going to jump ship soon.
Guardian article on the reddit drama: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jun/17/there-is-no-moral-high-ground-for-reddit-as-it-seeks-to-capitalise-on-user-data?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other
Huffman / spez is trying to follow the same outrage farming playbook that countless other rich guys like Trump and Musk have followed.
The question is whether spez will get to step 5. He’s already gotten to step 4.
https://www.platformer.news/p/reddit-doubles-down
According to Casey Newton, “It seems also notable that Reddit is moving to centralize control of its ecosystem at the precise time that the rest of industry has begun to explore more federated models. When even Meta is preparing to launch a decentralized social network, it’s fair to ask whether Reddit has misread the moment.”
My take: Reddit’s API/IPO debacle puts them on the wrong side of history, as they double down on an outdated and unpopular social media model. Times are changing. What do you think?
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/reddit-blackout-protest-private-ceo-elon-musk-huffman-rcna89700
Cool cool cool cool cool
I can only imagine that 5his wasn’t a recent interview, but I know it’s not the case. He’s completely lost it. Very out of touch with what made Reddit Reddit.
I continue to be mystified at this. I couldn’t make this many wrong decisions if I tried.
German it magazine iX has an interview with the mods of r/de. I don’t know if this was mentioned here before…
Interview (German)
Short summary: the mods of the large German communities see a huge issue with reddit not recognizing content creators and mods work and there seems to be growing support for an ongoing blackout or so they say.
https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/16/23763661/reddit-rif-is-fun-developer-ceo-steve-huffman
RIF developer pushing back on Huffman’s claims that RIF didn’t want to work with Reddit by releasing emails.
inb4 spez rants about him releasing private email conversations.
Techdirt: Reddit CEO Triples Down, Insults Protesters, Whines About Not Making Enough Money From Reddit Users
Woah. I mean, that article nails his whole attitude. It’s so depressing to see what was such a great site come crashing down because of one tech-bro’s hubris.
https://9to5mac.com/2023/06/15/reddit-blackout-third-party-apps/
Loving the Reddit dumpster fire thumbnail image they included. Mostly covering TheVerge’s Huffman interview and pointing out how dumb he sounds as CEO.
That article sums up my view pretty well. Huffman has alienated his users, advertisers and potential employees. Reddit is changing the symbiotic relationship between itself and the third party ecosystem that made Reddit was it is today, and has gone full parasite.
But agreed, the Reddit dumpster fire pic is awesome.
https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/16/23763538/reddit-blackout-api-protest-mod-replacement-threat
https://mastodon.social/@robotdeathsquad/110543755195398954
I thought I had cringe resistance.
What.The.Fuck.
Sorry. I am at a loss for words.
This article is absolutely scathing, great read.
https://www.inc.com/jason-aten/reddit-ceo-steve-huffmans-third-party-api-debacle-is-making-elon-musk-look-like-a-strategic-genius.html
Anyone willing to copy it here for those with privacy browsers?
Here ya go…
Edit: formatting
Thank you so much!
Maybe Reddit won’t die but I think it will die for who read this article.