Reddit’s changes are causing displeasure among users.
A number of communities on Reddit have had enough: next week they want to get serious and strike against the platform. The subreddits, as the Reddit communities are called, should not offer any new content for three days.
This is due to changes Reddit has planned for its API. In the future, it should only be possible to use it for a fee. For many third party apps like Apollo
or Reddit is Fun
the required amount would probably not be manageable.
Why the Reddit changes are a problem
The fact that the communities on Reddit are outraged stems from changes to Reddit’s API (Application Programming Interface). This is a set of commands that provide an interface between third-party apps and Reddit itself. External apps can thus communicate with Reddit and retrieve certain data from the platform.
Previously, Reddit made this API available for free. A whole ecosystem of other apps has therefore developed around the platform.
Alternative user interfaces such as Reddit is Fun
or Narwhal
. But also extensions for the classic interface like the Reddit Enhancement Suite
or the older old.reddit
interface are thus possible.
However, in May Reddit announced that there will be a cost associated with using the API going forward. Although the changes should only affect third-party providers, that require additional functionality, higher usage limits, and broader usage rights
but many users fear the worst.
For example, Christian Selig, the developer behind the third-party app Apollo, spoke in an article. He had a conversation with Reddit and now sees costs of up to 20 million US dollars a year. There would probably not be an opportunity to negotiate lower prices.
These subreddits are participating in the strike
A number of subreddits now want to protest against the changes. They have therefore become a common Strike
merged. From June 12th to June 14th no new content will appear in the communities.
Subreddits across all fields of interest are included. Gaming (r/wow, r/DeepRockGalactic), tech topics (r/futurology, r/firefox), K-Pop (r/LOONA) and music (r/Metalcore) are just a few examples.
Link to Reddit content
The moderators of the subreddits also announce that they want to take further measures if Reddit does not give in by June 14th. Some are even willing to take their communities off the platform altogether if the API changes are enforced.
What do you all mean? Is the Reddit communities’ strike against the API changes justified? Wouldn’t the platform just not be the same without the third-party apps? Or should the subreddits not hype the change so much? Write it to us in the comments!