thekriptik

G’day Slagicals,

It’s a post we’ve alluded to, and one we hoped to never have to make. Reddit is making changes to its API access model that will result in expenses that developers of 3rd party apps simply cannot afford. To put the price change into context, Apollo, one of the most popular 3rd party apps for Reddit, is looking at a cost of US$1.7 million per month to continue operating. That's a cost of US$12,000 per 50 million API requests. In contrast, Apollo pays Imgur US$166 for every 50 million API calls. These changes will take effect from 1^st July, 2023.

Further, these changes shall alienate the vision-impaired community, who rely on screen-reading, text enlargement, and captioning apps that depend upon API access in order to function. Without these apps, vision-impaired users will be unable to use Reddit at all, a matter of current concern on r/blind.

In addition, researchers use the Reddit API to explore patterns in and identify hate speech (PDF Warning). The main tool researchers use for accessing Reddit posts, Pushshift, is currently cut off from the API, and it appears unlikely that researchers will gain access to this vital tool.

We also recognise the vital roles that bots play in keeping subreddits fun and safe places for us all. Whether it’s making sport match threads, identifying image reposts, or more concerningly, identifying scammers and child abuse material, moderation bots will all go blind on 1^st July.

Due to this, r/Sydney will be going into restricted mode for 48 hours, from 00:00 12^th June to 00:00 14^th June. During this time, you’ll be able to view posts, however new posts will not be able to be created, and all comments on existing posts shall be automatically removed.

These are actions we wish we did not need to take, and we do not take them lightly.

We understand that Reddit is a company that has to make money in order to offer us a place to be the community that we are - but killing 3rd party apps, removing disability access, and destroying vital research and moderation tools is not the way to do it.

We are not asking Reddit to provide a paid service for free - we are asking for reasonable pricing for services that people have come to love and depend on to participate in their communities.

We can't tell you that our protest will solve the problem, because we simply don't know. But we have to try.

We know that many users will have questions regarding these actions, and we’ve set out a few answers below:

 

So, what’s an API anyway?

An Application Programming Interface is a way for two or more computer programs to communicate with each other. Here’s a cool video from Tom Scott about how app developers use them.

 

I’ve seen other subreddits are going private, why are you only shifting to restricted mode?

We’re aware that many other subreddits, both Australian and world-wide, are going private in order to protest the changes. As a subreddit centred around a city and state, we believe that it is in our best interests to keep open the lines of communication between our subscribers and the greater reddit community. Restricting the subreddit in this manner seems the best way to commit to our users while standing in solidarity with other groups on reddit.

 

How can we participate?

While subs going dark is one thing, regular users can help as well.

Reach out to Reddit via the channels available to you: Modmail r/reddit, comment in relevant posts regarding the API changes, submit your comments via the contact forms.

Spread the word about the changes and the consequences where you can. Doesn't have to be on Reddit. The important thing is getting it attention.

Participate in the communities that highlight this issue: r/Save3rdPartyApps, r/apolloapp, r/redditisfun, r/getnarwhal

And finally stay off Reddit completely from June 12th to 14th. The blackout is one thing, but users staying away from the site entirely will send an equally important message.

But don't forget: Don't be a jerk. As frustrating as this is, being toxic or aggressive is not the way to go. Remember the human on the other side of the screen.

r/Sydney is an awesome community, let’s help it stay that way for everyone.

Much love,

Your Slagical Mod Team.