Reddit is in for a rude awakening, just ask some of its most popular subreddits. To protest Reddit’s recent plan to charge for access to its API, some of the platform’s biggest communities will be going dark for at least two days.
In April, Reddit announced that it would be charging companies for access to its application programming interface (API), much the way Twitter opted to when Elon Musk realized he wasn’t making enough money. While Reddit said that the decision was to keep companies like Google and OpenAI from training their artificial intelligence models on Reddit content, charging for API dealt a blow to third-party apps, like Apollo.
“Crawling Reddit, generating value and not returning any of that value to our users is something we have a problem with,” Steve Huffman, founder and CEO of Reddit, told The New York Times. “It’s a good time for us to tighten things up.” He added: “We think that’s fair.”
Apollo is a third-party Reddit viewer that relies on the platform’s API to generate a certain browsing experience, similar to programs like Twitterific and Tweetbot. To avid Redditors, Apollo fixed a lot of the issues that Reddit seemingly overlooked, like an overall improved browsing experience, collapsed comments with inline previews, better media displays, and the ability to enable a screenreader. Apollo has built a hefty fanbase of users who much prefer it to the Reddit mobile app, and founder and developer Christian Selig took to Reddit (of all places) to announced that the platform was charging $12,000 per 50 million requests to access its API—an unsustainable figure for most programmers.
“Apollo made 7 billion requests last month, which would put it at about 1.7 million dollars per month, or 20 million US dollars per year. Even if I only kept subscription users, the average Apollo user uses 344 requests per day, which would cost $2.50 per month, which is over double what the subscription currently costs, so I’d be in the red every month.” Selig wrote on the official Apollo subreddit. “I’m deeply disappointed in this price. Reddit iterated that the price would be A) reasonable and based in reality, and B) they would not operate like Twitter.”
Selig was not the only one disappointed in Reddit’s decision to gatekeep its API. On one hand, it’s good that AI models from the likes of Google and OpenAI have less access to train. On the other hand, it’s a pity that so many programmers—who are constructing tools and features to enhance the reddit experience—are now unable to pursue their projects. In response to Reddit’s decision and Selig’s post, several subreddits have announced that they will be protesting by ceasing all interactions, posting, moderation, and commenting within their communities for at least two days.
“We understand that Reddit, like any company, must balance its financial obligations. However, we believe that the longevity and success of this platform rest on preserving the rich ecosystem that has developed around it.” Reddit moderators wrote in a collective letter posted to the Moderator Coordination subreddit. “We urge Reddit’s management to reconsider the recent API pricing change, finding a compromise that allows third-party app developers to continue contributing to this platform’s success.”
There are hundreds of subreddits participating in the shutdown protest, which begins on June 12 and will last for at least two days. Here are some of the biggest.
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r/Music is the catch-all subreddit for music news, releases, and discussion—it’s also a veteran subreddit, having been created in 2008. It’s also home to 32.3 million users.
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The gaming subreddit was created in 2007 and has a community of gamers 37.1 million strong.
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A place to share pictures and photos of all kinds with 30 million Redditors.
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The 31.7 million users in r/todayilearned share the most random facts they learned.
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The future starts now in r/Futurology, which catalogs some of the most sci-fi-esque advancements in science and technology.
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This subreddit is dedicated to putting you in a good mood. 6.9 million posters and lurkers share videos of people laughing that might just get you giggling too.
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Track the busts and booms in the crypto market with your fellow tech bros here.
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The video game popular with young teens is going dark.
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Antiwork is the home of user submissions that depict shitty bosses, mismanagement, unfair wages, or scammy job openings.
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According to the first rule of this subreddit, a blursed image is one that “makes you happy, but then at the same time, frustrates or disgusts you.” The 3.7 million Redditors won’t be posting any starting June 12, though.
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Where jokes go to rest in peace.
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Potterheads on Redditor congregate at r/HarryPotter, where users can roleplay, post news, and discuss the books and movie series.
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1.8 million houseplant lovers unite!
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The new-age trading platform’s subreddit will protest Reddit’s API change.
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The unhealthy, medeival-themed obsession of every teen in the late 2000's—an online game called Runescape—has a clan of Redditors 730,000 strong.
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533,000 Redditors call r/bayarea home, and its fitting subreddit to watch discussion over tech overreach as the Bay Area is also the home of Silicon Valley.
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r/hulu picks apart both the platform and its content.
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Reddit...imma let you finish...but this subreddit celebrating one of music’s most popular singer/songwriters is one of the most feral subreddits of all time.
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The subreddit corresponding to one of the largest metropolitan hubs in the world boasts an impressive 950,000 members.
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Fans of the popular (and sometimes animated) rock band will be protesting Reddit’s API move.
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The popular computer game RollerCoaster Tycoon has been revived in r/RCT, which is a group of fans still dedicated to the theme park simulator over two decades after its release.
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Source: Gizmodo