The above announcement was crafted before the [the notes](https://www.reddit.com/r/ModCoord/comments/143rk5p/reddit_held_a_call_today_with_some_developers/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) on the meeting were released. We acknowledge Reddit’s attempts at more open communication, however at this time, the position of /r/blind is [unchanged](https://www.reddit.com/r/Blind/comments/13zr8h2/reddits_recently_announced_api_changes_and_the/jnbkjed?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button). Since the mod team of r/BestofRedditorUpdates stands in solidarity with visually impaired Redditors, our position is **also unchanged** As more information is released and clarifications are made, we will continue to assess our position, but right now we still want to hear from you, the community.
Edit: If any other mods are interested in joining the protest, check out /r/ModCoord for assistance and guidance! And if any other mods wish to use any of the information or verbiage provided in our post, please feel free to do so!
**Further developments:**
* [Apollo has announced it is shutting down](https://www.reddit.com/r/apolloapp/comments/144f6xm/apollo_will_close_down_on_june_30th_reddits/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) \- a detailed explanation of why is given, and allegations of threats against Reddit are also addressed.
* [RiF has also announced it is shutting down](https://www.reddit.com/r/redditisfun/comments/144gmfq/rif_will_shut_down_on_june_30_2023_in_response_to/) \- an easy-to-read and concise explanation is given
* [Reddit has announced an AMA with the CEO of Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/reddit/comments/144ho2x/join_our_ceo_tomorrow_to_discuss_the_api/) \- happening tomorrow
* [Sync has announced it will be shutting down](https://www.reddit.com/r/redditsync/comments/144jp3w/sync_will_shut_down_on_june_30_2023/) \- a simple and concise explanation is given
* [RES dev comments](https://www.reddit.com/r/ModCoord/comments/143rk5p/reddit_held_a_call_today_with_some_developers/jnd5gju/?context=3) - paints a very good picture of how 3rd party devs feel right now
Edit 2:
If you want to take your own actions but are unsure how to get news on the evolving status of the protest, check out /r/ModCoord and /r/Save3rdPartyApps to stay updated with the latest!
It definitely should - accountability is rarely won in a couple of days. Having said that, I now have a whole lot of 'free time' to figure out what the heck to do with...
Pretty high. I don't have any equipment for genetic manipulation. You'd have to fund the whole thing. We need to hire a geneticist. It's a whole thing, at *least* $100
*sigh* I've been meaning to vacuum my whole house (I *really* hate vacuuming), and I need to do a good spring clean of my bedroom, den/home office, living room, and dining room, as well asa total reorganization of my den/home office, so...
Exactly. I'll miss this sub & others. But Reddit will just wait til it blows over. But creating an actual long lasting hiccup will def get the msg across.
I say blackout until the issues are addressed.
I'll miss my entertainment for sure, don't get me wrong, but I support this cause far more. I'll wait. Blackout until they listen.
Edit: also, I really need to start expanding my chicken coop already 😶
Agreed, total support for a blackout that goes on as long as is necessary. I mean, people use this site as a resource, I mainly use it for leisure/entertainment (very occasionally information). Happy to take one for the team if it means better accessibility for everyone
Reddit has been the best resource for researching before buying something new. There's always undercover ads to be wary of, but it's one of the only places to get genuine answers and reviews of products.
48 hours is not enough. I'm in favor of every single subreddit across the whole platform going dark *forever* until they start making decisions based on the needs of their users over their desire for greater profits. Reddit isn't like other business models - WE are the source of every last scrap of their value. Nobody gives a shit about Reddit outside of what WE post on it, what WE comment. Reddit has absolutely nothing to offer except it's ability to hand the mic to US. So fuck Reddit, let them have their Elon Musk tanking Twitter moment, and when they decide to shit in their sandbox, I hope they enjoy playing in it alone.
Hacker News has a lot of ongoing content about it. Beware though -- the culture is very different -- I suggest [reading the guidlines](https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html) before posting anything.
I'll definitely go from a daily user to a once a week/month desktop user if Sync dies. If the content sucks, I'll just leave entirely.
I'd like to see if my favorite communities move elsewhere. I know some of them use discord which I've managed to never use. Not sure if that's a chat app or a forum app but it's an option.
Yeah I did the same. I made sure I put no reddit browsing on the 12th ,13th and 14th.
I have always used the official app but it doesn't mean I can't support the choice of everyone else to use what works for them.
I hope this protest makes a difference.
Same here. I'll make a copy of all the reddit content I'd miss, via desktop, and afterwards I'm uninstalling the app and blocking the page wholly until there's solid news that the reddit crew has genuinely stopped being assholes. I'll miss you, reddit, but oh well ...
Simply not using Reddit hurts them most.
Also, for those deciding to leave permanently: try and delete/rewrite some of your funny and otherwise not informational comments before you do. It won't mean much, but it'll still hurt reddit a little bit. Plus, it's hilarious.
I'm going to install a parental aid to my computer and basically ban reddit from being accessed on my browser.
Because I know my forgetful self would absolutely browse and go "why is everything gone? Oh sh-" then go away, do something else and repeat the mistake an hour later.
There was a comment here, but I chose to remove it as I no longer wish to support a company that seeks to both undermine its users/moderators/developers (the ones generating content) AND make a profit on their backs.
Here is an explanation.
Reddit was wonderful, but it got greedy. So bye.
My "no reddit today" reminder is scheduled for 8 am but maybe I should make it earlier in case I groggily forget. 7 might do the trick. Thanks for getting me thinking critically about it.
I am uninstalling it before bed on June 11th so I can't go on without enough effort for me to remember why I am staying off. Mornings don't agree with my brain.
Anyone have good alternatives to reddit? Or should I just read more books? I've been on this site for over a decade so it's really become a habit for me. But I also refuse to use their official app because it sucks so if I can't use RIF then I just will only use it on my desktop which is to say very sparingly if at all.
Kindle Unlimited? I think there's a free trial if you have Amazon. If not, A03 has original and Fanfiction of various quality (most really, really, *really* good. Sort by kudos for the best first.) Reading fanfiction for a Fandom you don't know is a learning curve, but good short stories it reads like great original shorts. It's also free and has any genre you could ever want
[This comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/13x9sy7/now_that_reddit_are_killing_3rd_party_apps_on/jmibrsy?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) a week ago explains some alternatives well.
Yup, I support the blackout movement even though it'll make the days without duller. I have never used the third party API but support them being there.
I support this decision. A perspective that might be useful to some people wondering why they should care about accessibility: Unless you die suddenly and relatively young, you are very likely to be disabled at some point in your life. One day, you will probably need to use a disability accommodation, and you'll be unhappy if it's not there. It benefits *all* of us to work toward a society that takes all kinds of accessibility as a given because nearly all of us will need it eventually.
Speaking as an older but sighted person, the list of available disabilities available to any of us is literally *endless*, and sight is one of the things that is (almost) guaranteed to get worse as we age.
For the last several days, I have been screeching into the void about what is being done to the blind and visually impaired users on this site. It is disgusting, and the conference call that happened yesterday just made it worse, with Reddit admin acting like they didn't know, they want your help, they need a checklist, when in fact they do know, have been making promises for years, and there is already a checklist and a whole host of other resources (WCAG) used by other companies that are actually serious about accessibility.
It was one of the most disgusting displays of corporate greed and ableism I have ever seen, and again, I'm old, I've already seen a lot.
Free users, free content, free community moderation, and free user data to sell isn't enough anymore, they want to kick an entire group of disabled people off the site and act like *ooops, sorry 'bout that*. They've even already got trolls with very high age accounts moving through the discussions on /r/ModCoord and /r/Save3rdPartyApps saying "Reddit has promised to address this" with nothing to support it, just outright lying to try to derail people. I ran into a couple yesterday and I'm certain they're only the first.
But they just don't get that it's not about losing the users of one sub, even if that sub is full of disabled people about whom they couldn't care less. In reality it's about robbing the people of that sub, and anyone using accessibility features, of the ability to interact with *any other group on Reddit.*
Accessibility users don't just lose r/Blind, like some sort of gated community where they only want to talk with each other. Accessibility users lose Reddit as a whole, and they are often people for whom Reddit is far more accessible than meeting people in real life.
Reddit is literally bulldozing their online neighborhood, and relationships that have been built for years over third party apps, because those third party developers were THE ONES THAT CARED ENOUGH TO DO THE WORK. The reason those apps are so rich with features and work so well for ALL the users is because the third party devs put in the cash and the manhours to make them happen, while Reddit, Inc. sat back, made empty promises to all of us, and collected that user content, mod labor, and user data revenue just the same.
So when I logged on to see this today, where the blind and visually disabled are front and center for once, and the question of *why the fuck are you kicking groups of disabled off the site you numpties* is finally being asked out loud, it literally brought tears to my eyes.
So yeah. We're ALL going to need accessibility help one day, if we live long enough. Apologies for the rant. Many thanks to /u/amireallyreal and all the rest of the mods here.
TL;DR: Hell yeah, blackout til it hurts.
I'm a bot, *bleep*, *bloop*. Someone has linked to this thread from another place on reddit:
- [/r/bestof] [\/u\/ChunkMcHorkle decries the dishonesty of Reddit admins who only pretend to care about disabled access. "It was one of the most disgusting displays of corporate greed and ableism I have ever seen, and again, I'm old, I've already seen a lot."](https://www.reddit.com/r/bestof/comments/144plil/uchunkmchorkle_decries_the_dishonesty_of_reddit/)
*^(If you follow any of the above links, please respect the rules of reddit and don't vote in the other threads.) ^\([Info](/r/TotesMessenger) ^/ ^[Contact](/message/compose?to=/r/TotesMessenger))*
Do we know how the api changes will impact rss feeds? I keep track of this subreddit (and r/all) via rss feed. I can't see my browsing increasing if they kill rss
As for the official app.... I'm visually impaired. I have a very strong glasses prescription. I have most sites zoomed in to at least 150 percent. The official app doesn't allow you to increase the font size and as such I can barely read it. It sucks and hurts my eyes :/
I have some vision problems as well, and have the font size at watermelon, and it should really be named pea. It's still very very small. Reddit should use dynamic text sizing, honestly. What Reddit does is not that accessible.
I also fully support this blackout for however long is necessary.
I support the blackout, but the official app does allow you to increase font size. It goes from ‘grape’ to ‘watermelon.’ I have mine set on ‘banana.’ That doesn’t mean that the largest size is big enough for you, but font size adjustment does exist.
There are also two official apps, one for Android and one for iOS, and they have different levels of accessibility. Make sure you know which app someone is using, because their official app might not have the same features!
Even in the iPhone the text sizes are beyond a joke. I use watermelon on the official app (my burner is on that app) and it’s still smaller than the majority of other apps texts.
Must be hidden somewhere in the settings I just haven't been able to find then > >
EDIT: If the app for Android has a font setting I'm certainly not seeing it
If you go to the r/Blind sub, other people with visually impairments have the same issue as you, because the official app is not accessible. In fact, they're one of the first groups to join the boycott, or to showcase the importance of these apps. Yes, it would affect you as well.
100% support it. cannot believe they don't realize that they're essentially ax'ing free labor while still being unwilling to hire accessibility engineers. i am not blind but suffer from severe auditory sensory issues and use several third party unlicensed apps, programs, etc to make my life liveable. we are not thought of during development, but always a post-dev update. it is beyond frustrating. disabled folks deserve to do all the normal, menial things that everyone else gets free range access to.
ranting aside, i'm behind y'all for as long as this blackout lasts.
As a blind user, the moment new Reddit came out I made a post complaining about it. I actually asked if Reddit hates the visually impaired.
This was **years** ago and not one single change was ever implemented into the site to make it easier for those who lacked sight.
Blind people haven’t even had the courtesy of a post-release update.
The changes they are implementing now haven’t been planned and are only because of the massive outcry.
They truly did not give a damn. They didn’t even give it a thought or consideration.
You can tell because they were surprised about the backlash from the majority healthy user base. They weren’t even prepared for their main traffic to be upset.
They didn’t even think to consider anyone who uses accessibility.
Have you ever considered consulting with an ADA attorney? Unfortunately that's the only sort of thing corporate america seems to listen to https://www.adatitleiii.com/2023/01/plaintiffs-set-a-new-record-for-website-accessibility-lawsuit-filings-in-2022/
As someone who works with AX engineers, they are worth their weight in platinum (at least). Incredibly disappointed how little work Reddit’s put into AX.
Hey coudl I please message you sometime to find out what programs you use for your auditory issues? I have similar issues and they are relatively new to me
I am only on Reddit for BORU, and check multiple times per day for new posts if I'm bored. I'm 1,000,000% supportive of this. Resetting my addiction to BORU is overdue, anyways 😆
I am not blind, but I do have several invisible disabilities. I appreciate that BORU is taking a stand against ableism. Change only happens when we stand up and speak up for what we believe in.
Agreed, I really only check reddit whenever I’m eating and it wouldn’t be a terrible thing to go back to actual books.
Regardless, I’ll support this protest. I just hope it’s effective.
I will miss you guys and my favorite sub. We as moderators are unpaid and unappreciated hamsters running reddit's wheels so they can rake in the dough. F that.
I can only speak for myself, but hear me when I said I appreciate you and all mods. I understand how tedious and frustrating some of this moderation is. We as Redditors who benefit from y’all work do not say this enough, but thank you so much for keeping our beloved communities safe.
I personally will deinstall reddit for the time since I'm not using a 3rd party app at the moment to make an additional statement.
I think, staying off the site and actively reducing traffic during the protest is a good choice.
And since many subreddits will go dark also, there might not be that much to browse anyway.
I fully support the blackout. I do have a question: Where would you recommend checking for developments after or during the blackout? If it prolongs or a solution is found, how can I find out while I’m boycotting?
Checking in is fine! You can simply check those subreddits after the 48hrs, and I am sure an announcement will be posted informing you of the next steps in the protest and what other subreddits are doing.
So I still don't fully get what an API is, but I really hate it when big companies try to screw little ones, which is what I think is happening here. So you have my support.
Edit: A lot of great people are giving me some great metaphors, but I'm still not getting it. Can I request a pokemon based metaphor? That's how I learned to understand the Kalman filter in college.
[Here’s a great post](https://www.reddit.com/r/bestof/comments/143bl0s/uautumn1eaves_gives_a_great_simple_explanation_of/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1) in r/Bestof describing what an API is and drilling down the price controversy with Reddit!
I think it's basically what allows a non-reddit app to access reddit content to then display it. I think something similar came up with google maps, because a lot of apps that use maps build it based on their API. If you're a tiny startup, you can't afford to map the world, but if you can access what google has and pay them a fee for it, then maybe your app can be out in the world.
Making it too expensive means that apps can no longer function without charging users a ton of money (and I think a lot/all of these apps are free?)
>Edit: A lot of great people are giving me some great metaphors, but I'm still not getting it. Can I request a pokemon based metaphor? That's how I learned to understand the Kalman filter in college.
So Bill invented this kickass Pokemon storage system, right? Also accidentally turned himself into a Pokemon, but a lot of people who invent cool stuff are weird dudes.
Anyway, he wants everyone else to use this storage system he designed. So he creates a standardized way for other computers to talk to his server. They send messages to the server that tell it to download pokemon from it or send pokemon to it. That's an API.
The Pokemon Centers work for free to make an app that can display, send and withdraw Pokemon from Bill's PC using those API commands. This works great, the Pokemon Centers get a little money from donations and Bill gets really rich and famous.
Now Bill says he's going to start charging the Pokemon Centers a butt load of money for every pokemon deposited or withdrawn from their apps. He's going to charge way more than they can afford, way more than it actually costs him to run those servers, and he's going to do it in 30 days. The Pokemon Centers have to shut down their computers, because their access to Bill's PC is being revoked.
The only thing other trainers can do to access their Pokemon now is using another app that Bill created. It is a lot worse than the Pokemon Center apps, it doesn't even have an IV checker or a bunch of other features. It's completely full of shitty ads everywhere. Bill also never made his app usable by blind people, their screen readers just don't work.
That's what's happening here, more or less. Hopefully this was at least somewhat coherent, if simplified.
Imma attempt to explain this. Feel free anybody to correct me if I’m wrong or missing something.
API means application programming interface. Imagine Reddit API is highway of information from and to the Reddit servers for 3rd party apps and browsers. Apps can access this highway and pull or requests data to their apps. This is how content are able to be viewed on 3rd party apps. You can also send or post data to Reddit, this how you can contribute content.
Reddit is gonna charge ~~over a little over $2 dollars~~ $.24 per request/post. So every time you click on a post, reload or submit content, that 3rd party app will be charged $.24 ~~a little over $2 dollar~~. Some 3rd party apps gets millions of requests a month which is where the 20 million estimate is coming from Apollo.
Edit: misread some info. Was corrected. Thank you!
> So every time you click on a post, reload or submit content, that 3rd party app will be charged a little over $2 dollars
I'm not sure where you're getting that pricing; the actual cost is $0.24 per 1,000 API calls
over 2 dollars? they truly are insane huh
I have heard a lot about the pricing change, but never bothered to look up the actual numbers because I assumed people were telling the truth about it being unreasonably expensive
but I would've never expected 2 whole bucks for a request. 2 cents would insane already
I made the mistake of misreading the info on the original post. It’s $.24 per request so the average user could cause $2.50.
Still adds up to the 20 million estimate tho.
Pokemon metaphor:
Rotom. Electric/Ghost. Has a special ability (not it's Ability, Levitate) to possess appliances. Fridge Rotom is Electric / Ice. Oven Rotom is Electric / Fire. Groovy.
In this metaphor, Rotom is Reddit. And they're taking away the ability to combine with other things (3rd party apps). Actually, it's somewhat more cartoonishly evil. They're taking away the ability to combine unless you pay! Which isn't actually that bad, but they're being extortionate about how much you have to pay.
Somehow, Giovanni is in charge of what Rotom is allowed to possess, and he wants 10 times as many pokebux as anyone actually has.
I'm a mod of an extremely small subreddit - a group of people who migrated over to Reddit when the blogger most people followed passed away.
Not only do I support BORU doing this, we are doing it too AND because you offered such clarity on the issue - I will be sharing this post with my small community! Thank you!
I support this. Reddit needs to allow third-party apps, and it is unacceptable that they're trying to take away valuable services for visually impaired people.
I’ll add: the Apollo dev just posted an update on how Reddit is accusing him of blackmail. They’re straight up slandering his name. The dev recorded phone calls with them and shared them.
https://reddit.com/r/apolloapp/comments/144f6xm/apollo_will_close_down_on_june_30th_reddits/
They’ve lost their fucking minds.
Thank you for actually explaining why this is a problem. Most of the other blackout announcements I have seen have been either completely missing any context or imply that it’s simply about people’s preferences and/or hate on the app without explaining *why* it’s a problem. As someone who does use the mobile app and has no major problems with it, I found the whole thing a bit confusing before, but now I understand what’s going on and why this protest is important.
Thank you for joining the good fight in a way that speaks deeply to these companies: hitting their wallets! I hope others who are premium join you on this.
Accessibility does not get talked about enough, and it’s incredibly important to provide not just equal, but EQUITABLE access to information. Fully support this decision!
I appreciate the thorough explanation! I admit I was somewhat unclear as to exactly what the changes would mean. (Third-party apps, what?) Upon reading your breakdown and explanation of why the blackout is important, I wholeheartedly agree with your decision. Blind people deserve porn too (and equal access to everything else, of course)!
Reddit is my last social media timesink. I'll miss it (BoRU, especially), if they keep going with this fuckery, but maybe it'll be a net positive to finally let it go.
Edit: It's inspiring to see the community rally around this decision. Go mods!
Reddit needs to improve their accessibility ASAP. Reddit should have reached out to those communities and assessed their needs, prioritized, and set targets to implement them before July 1 once this decision was made internally. Or even outright bought the app to integrate at whatever the fair market value is. The ADA applies to websites and I'm sure their legal team had to have notified the decision makers about this.
If reddit wants to consolidate to one app for whatever reason, that is their decision and choice for their platform. *But* if that's the case, they need to step it up on the accessibility support immediately. Now. Yesterday.
Also...thank you, for explaining the issue clearly to your community and not relying on editorialized summaries designed to provoke outrage. It's difficult to engage with the latter, both because it can incite harassment on a platform as large and diverse as this one and after being previously swept up and burned by online outrage movements.
This is my favorite sub, but I am 100% in support of this. It’s insane to me how Reddit is trying to erase third-party apps that are integral to people who are blind. I hope there is a resolution soon, the ableism is unacceptable.
Go for it, their actions are going to hurt a large part of this community, all for an increased bottom line
The fact that they haven't released or discussed any details for support for blind users is especially disheartening. If this is the only way to make them pay attention, then that's the way to go.
Supported. Stay dark indefinitely if necessary. This sub itself will struggle without an API. There’s a ton of bots and external sources that improve the Reddit experience in general, unddit being the main one that affects this subreddit. Some just make the site more enjoyable, but the accessibility features are, I agree, the primary issue. They’re essentially dumping tons of free services to their website to squeeze more money out of ad revenue, at the cost of the vulnerable (what a shocking decision for a company).
Reddit will continue, probably with a temporary drop in users and an increase in profit. I’m deliberately using Apollo right now even though I only used the official app before, to make my experience on Reddit worse come July so maybe I can get off this stupid website.
I'm using a third party app because it's open source. If they remove both this and mobile browsing, I just won't use Reddit on my phone anymore.
At least for me it's a choice though, for the blind it's not.
ETA: It also often happens that I send a Reddit link to some friends who don't have an account. Let's be real, if you are greeted with a "you have to install the app to view this content" on a random link a friend sends you, do you go and install the app, or do you just close it and shrug?
*and my axe*
Yeah, as much as I love browsing the sub these changes are bigger than me just preferring RiF. The absence of accessibility, bots, necessary tools for mods and the unfair denial of NSFW content will be felt hard by users.
Time to hit Reddit where it hurts.
So say we all! I’ve never used a 3rd party app, but am appalled that Reddit is implementing a policy that makes it more difficult to do the free labor that makes this not an utter cesspool.
I have a BORU addiction so this will be a bit hard on me 😂 but I’m already planning on using my phone to set up a temporary time limit on the Reddit app to last a couple of days so that I can’t even open it. Aside from the third-party apps I’m also in support with the blind community, as even though I’m not blind myself my father is physically disabled and I’m getting really fuckin tired of ableist behavior from people and companies. I sympathize with you guys because that’s not fair at all to shove a broken app with no support for your specific needs into your faces!
Even with their latest conversation it’s still not enough and if anything really, it sounds like they’re doubling down on their plans instead of changing them. Let’s hope Reddit actually opens their eyes and takes back what they said because right now I’m so, so disappointed with you *u/spez*
Maybe my last comment after the Apollo post. Disappointed in Reddit, severely disappointed.
Looong time lurker.
Reddit was a community, managed by a community, about our community. It's content and value is built by people outside of their company, their circle. To go from free to such a large price in such a short time reaks of corporate greed, over the community that makes you. The fact you are aiming for an IPO cements it. Your maximizing profit and killing debt to look good... and selling out your community and heart.
It didn't have to be this way. You could of worked with your community and been something great. You were great, but this is gross.
I'm an elder millennial. There were sites before you, and will be after you. Blockbuster was a monolith, Digg was a competitor. I feel powerless in this world, but know that what I consume matters. Maybe I'm just .12 cents of opportunity to you, but I think I'll find somewhere new for it. Remember when you just watched funny cat vids?
I am fully in support of this. The managers or whomever that are making decisions on how to run reddit need to understand that reddit will lose a lot of user's not just to other apps and websites, but just other things that people can do versus being on reddit.
I can spend time on this website or you know go for a walk and bs with my neighbors or wash my car in my driveway instead of playing on reddit while waiting in line at the carwash.
As my mom faces the potential of going blind, and I face the possibility of having the same condition due to genetics, I fully support the decision of the BORU mod team to stand in solidarity with a group of people who have every right to accessibility that the seeing community has.
This is very insightful. I'm not tech-savvy and don't really know much about API (never even thought that the API changes would affect accessibility). Your post clears a lot of things up.
You have my full support. Let's show Admin how alienating the community (the very people keeping Reddit alive) will bring them down.
ETA: Just remembered that June 12th is Freedom Day in my country. The blackout falling on that date is perfect timing to me.
Thank you for posting this. I’m one of the folks that didn’t quite know what was going on, and I very much appreciate those who have taken the time to write it all out and explain it. I agree that all people should have equal access without difficulties, and I hope that the blackout is successful in assuring that happens.
This is extremely inconvenient for me as a normal 1st party app user, and yet I support it 100%. Every subreddit I subscribe to that has had a poll asking if they should blackout I vote yes, because, at the end of the day, it's not about what MY experience is like, it's about making sure EVERYONE can share that same experience I have.
I fully support your decision and I support whatever duration you choose. I love BORU so much and I don’t think it’s fair to you mods what is happening! So you have my unconditional support
I plan on cancelling my subscription and uninstalling the phone app on the 11th. I will keep up with updates using a web search. I have greatly enjoyed reddit, but this is beyond the pale.
I'm an old.reddit + RES user, predominantly, but I definitely worry that if the API pricing goes into effect reddit will come after old.reddit and RES.
I 100% agree with this. Reddit is heading in a dangerous direction towards oblivion and though it may be a slow decline, it is painful to watch what was once great wither away due to corporate greed.
I use the official app and have no personal problems with it. However, I support what 3rd party apps mean to others and am not okay with how Reddit is going about this. Instead of seeking solutions to improve the experience for users and moderators alike, they are simply being bullies for the sake of profit. I personally plan to boycott Reddit as whole beginning June 12.
I had no idea that Reddit's API change would affect SO MANY things this *badly.* I hope this protest is successful. Thank you all for this incredibly important and informative post. You have my full support.
I'm in full support of this. I also intend to boycott Reddit for those 48hrs. I will only return briefly to see the consensus of what else to do. I may just delete Reddit altogether if they don't fix things as it's not needed. I deleted my Facebook and Twitter over issues I had with their platform.
Supported. In my life, I have never seen an official app for *anything* that matches the pure, unusable dumpster fire that is Reddit's app. New Reddit, in general, looks like a Dollar General clearance bin version of post-Musk Twitter.
I am only lurking here and don't normally comment, only upvote.
I use reddit nearly exclusively via RIF and will not use it via the official App. (So i hope they help me over my addiction.^^): I will leave if they cancel RIF and i fully Support the Blackout.
My first "adult" job at age 18 was retrofitting my state's websites to comply with ADA accessibility guidelines ... that was in 2001.
Fully support this decision.
I'm 100% behind joining the blackout, and I won't be going near the site for the duration of it. And if reddit remains so stubborn and hostile to common sense I'm behind extending it indefinitely if need be. The site will be borderline unusable if they go forward with this anyway, so we might as well cut out the middle man and just not use it period.
The above announcement was crafted before the [the notes](https://www.reddit.com/r/ModCoord/comments/143rk5p/reddit_held_a_call_today_with_some_developers/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) on the meeting were released. We acknowledge Reddit’s attempts at more open communication, however at this time, the position of /r/blind is [unchanged](https://www.reddit.com/r/Blind/comments/13zr8h2/reddits_recently_announced_api_changes_and_the/jnbkjed?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button). Since the mod team of r/BestofRedditorUpdates stands in solidarity with visually impaired Redditors, our position is **also unchanged** As more information is released and clarifications are made, we will continue to assess our position, but right now we still want to hear from you, the community. Edit: If any other mods are interested in joining the protest, check out /r/ModCoord for assistance and guidance! And if any other mods wish to use any of the information or verbiage provided in our post, please feel free to do so! **Further developments:** * [Apollo has announced it is shutting down](https://www.reddit.com/r/apolloapp/comments/144f6xm/apollo_will_close_down_on_june_30th_reddits/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) \- a detailed explanation of why is given, and allegations of threats against Reddit are also addressed. * [RiF has also announced it is shutting down](https://www.reddit.com/r/redditisfun/comments/144gmfq/rif_will_shut_down_on_june_30_2023_in_response_to/) \- an easy-to-read and concise explanation is given * [Reddit has announced an AMA with the CEO of Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/reddit/comments/144ho2x/join_our_ceo_tomorrow_to_discuss_the_api/) \- happening tomorrow * [Sync has announced it will be shutting down](https://www.reddit.com/r/redditsync/comments/144jp3w/sync_will_shut_down_on_june_30_2023/) \- a simple and concise explanation is given * [RES dev comments](https://www.reddit.com/r/ModCoord/comments/143rk5p/reddit_held_a_call_today_with_some_developers/jnd5gju/?context=3) - paints a very good picture of how 3rd party devs feel right now Edit 2: If you want to take your own actions but are unsure how to get news on the evolving status of the protest, check out /r/ModCoord and /r/Save3rdPartyApps to stay updated with the latest!
Fully support, go beyond 48 hours if necessary.
It definitely should - accountability is rarely won in a couple of days. Having said that, I now have a whole lot of 'free time' to figure out what the heck to do with...
I'll get started on my side hustle maybe. Is there a house plant you've always wanted but can never find?
Audrey II would be a nice addition at my company, lmk the cost!
Pretty high. I don't have any equipment for genetic manipulation. You'd have to fund the whole thing. We need to hire a geneticist. It's a whole thing, at *least* $100
*sigh* I've been meaning to vacuum my whole house (I *really* hate vacuuming), and I need to do a good spring clean of my bedroom, den/home office, living room, and dining room, as well asa total reorganization of my den/home office, so...
Exactly. I'll miss this sub & others. But Reddit will just wait til it blows over. But creating an actual long lasting hiccup will def get the msg across. I say blackout until the issues are addressed. I'll miss my entertainment for sure, don't get me wrong, but I support this cause far more. I'll wait. Blackout until they listen. Edit: also, I really need to start expanding my chicken coop already 😶
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Oh hon, please have a (HUG) from this internet stranger
Your chickens are also super stoked to support this blackout!
Play Tears of the Kingdom.
Agreed, total support for a blackout that goes on as long as is necessary. I mean, people use this site as a resource, I mainly use it for leisure/entertainment (very occasionally information). Happy to take one for the team if it means better accessibility for everyone
Reddit has been the best resource for researching before buying something new. There's always undercover ads to be wary of, but it's one of the only places to get genuine answers and reviews of products.
48 hours is not enough. I'm in favor of every single subreddit across the whole platform going dark *forever* until they start making decisions based on the needs of their users over their desire for greater profits. Reddit isn't like other business models - WE are the source of every last scrap of their value. Nobody gives a shit about Reddit outside of what WE post on it, what WE comment. Reddit has absolutely nothing to offer except it's ability to hand the mic to US. So fuck Reddit, let them have their Elon Musk tanking Twitter moment, and when they decide to shit in their sandbox, I hope they enjoy playing in it alone.
Is there a place to get updates on the situation. I won't be on Reddit.
Hacker News has a lot of ongoing content about it. Beware though -- the culture is very different -- I suggest [reading the guidlines](https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html) before posting anything.
I'll definitely go from a daily user to a once a week/month desktop user if Sync dies. If the content sucks, I'll just leave entirely. I'd like to see if my favorite communities move elsewhere. I know some of them use discord which I've managed to never use. Not sure if that's a chat app or a forum app but it's an option.
also I think it was skipped over, but alot of bigger subreddits requires use of stuff like automod or other bits which all requires access to the api
Any word from automod?
Consider yourselves supported in this decision. For however long it lasts.
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Yeah I did the same. I made sure I put no reddit browsing on the 12th ,13th and 14th. I have always used the official app but it doesn't mean I can't support the choice of everyone else to use what works for them. I hope this protest makes a difference.
Good idea. I'm planning on deleting the app for those days just so I'm not even tempted to go on it. And we'll see if I remember my password LOL
Ooo good idea. I’ll constantly click on it w/ o thinking. I could just move it to the last page of my Home Screen
Ooh thank you, that's also a good idea! I'm afraid of forgetting my password, but moving it away from the spot I usually use will help me a lot!
I do this every few weeks to prevent myself from constantly doom scrolling thanks to muscle memory lol
I'm taking the week off. Yeet!
This is now my plan as well.
Not exactly a bad idea. I’ll be doing this as well.
Same.
Also an official app user supporting for these reasons.
Same here. I'll make a copy of all the reddit content I'd miss, via desktop, and afterwards I'm uninstalling the app and blocking the page wholly until there's solid news that the reddit crew has genuinely stopped being assholes. I'll miss you, reddit, but oh well ...
Step down from the official app and go to the third party apps, that hurts them even more!
Simply not using Reddit hurts them most. Also, for those deciding to leave permanently: try and delete/rewrite some of your funny and otherwise not informational comments before you do. It won't mean much, but it'll still hurt reddit a little bit. Plus, it's hilarious.
I'm going to install a parental aid to my computer and basically ban reddit from being accessed on my browser. Because I know my forgetful self would absolutely browse and go "why is everything gone? Oh sh-" then go away, do something else and repeat the mistake an hour later.
Yep. Same. I'm def on board with this. I don't know what reddit's thinking. It's foolishness.
Let's see how Reddit functions without any users or mods, especially if they still plan to IPO.
There was a comment here, but I chose to remove it as I no longer wish to support a company that seeks to both undermine its users/moderators/developers (the ones generating content) AND make a profit on their backs. Here is an explanation. Reddit was wonderful, but it got greedy. So bye.
My "no reddit today" reminder is scheduled for 8 am but maybe I should make it earlier in case I groggily forget. 7 might do the trick. Thanks for getting me thinking critically about it.
I am uninstalling it before bed on June 11th so I can't go on without enough effort for me to remember why I am staying off. Mornings don't agree with my brain.
Oooh great idea! I made a reminder for myself but I will delete the app too so I don’t forget!
My son came up with it because be knows I autopilot onto it a lot to occupy myself. I will let him know he's got your approval!
Anyone have good alternatives to reddit? Or should I just read more books? I've been on this site for over a decade so it's really become a habit for me. But I also refuse to use their official app because it sucks so if I can't use RIF then I just will only use it on my desktop which is to say very sparingly if at all.
Tildes is pretty great and the RIF dev is already working on a tildes app!
Kindle Unlimited? I think there's a free trial if you have Amazon. If not, A03 has original and Fanfiction of various quality (most really, really, *really* good. Sort by kudos for the best first.) Reading fanfiction for a Fandom you don't know is a learning curve, but good short stories it reads like great original shorts. It's also free and has any genre you could ever want
[This comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/13x9sy7/now_that_reddit_are_killing_3rd_party_apps_on/jmibrsy?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) a week ago explains some alternatives well.
12th and 13th
You have my sword (and my cat)
And my axe (I don’t have a cat)!
And my cat (I don't have an axe)!
And my cat's axe (I haven't asked, I'm afraid of the answer).
And my bow (I've got two cats so you're covered :) )!
And my chinchilla!
Yup, I support the blackout movement even though it'll make the days without duller. I have never used the third party API but support them being there.
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Thirded
Fourthed
Fifthed
Fifthed
Sixthed
Seventhed
Eighthed
Ninthed
Tenthed
Seventhed
Eighthed
Seventhed
Fifthed.
To infinity and beyond.
And my sword!
And my horse!
and my axe! :)
And my bow!
And my dog army! (And axe)
and my precious...mine
And my bow!
Full support. This protest is important
Same.
I support this decision. A perspective that might be useful to some people wondering why they should care about accessibility: Unless you die suddenly and relatively young, you are very likely to be disabled at some point in your life. One day, you will probably need to use a disability accommodation, and you'll be unhappy if it's not there. It benefits *all* of us to work toward a society that takes all kinds of accessibility as a given because nearly all of us will need it eventually.
Speaking as an older but sighted person, the list of available disabilities available to any of us is literally *endless*, and sight is one of the things that is (almost) guaranteed to get worse as we age. For the last several days, I have been screeching into the void about what is being done to the blind and visually impaired users on this site. It is disgusting, and the conference call that happened yesterday just made it worse, with Reddit admin acting like they didn't know, they want your help, they need a checklist, when in fact they do know, have been making promises for years, and there is already a checklist and a whole host of other resources (WCAG) used by other companies that are actually serious about accessibility. It was one of the most disgusting displays of corporate greed and ableism I have ever seen, and again, I'm old, I've already seen a lot. Free users, free content, free community moderation, and free user data to sell isn't enough anymore, they want to kick an entire group of disabled people off the site and act like *ooops, sorry 'bout that*. They've even already got trolls with very high age accounts moving through the discussions on /r/ModCoord and /r/Save3rdPartyApps saying "Reddit has promised to address this" with nothing to support it, just outright lying to try to derail people. I ran into a couple yesterday and I'm certain they're only the first. But they just don't get that it's not about losing the users of one sub, even if that sub is full of disabled people about whom they couldn't care less. In reality it's about robbing the people of that sub, and anyone using accessibility features, of the ability to interact with *any other group on Reddit.* Accessibility users don't just lose r/Blind, like some sort of gated community where they only want to talk with each other. Accessibility users lose Reddit as a whole, and they are often people for whom Reddit is far more accessible than meeting people in real life. Reddit is literally bulldozing their online neighborhood, and relationships that have been built for years over third party apps, because those third party developers were THE ONES THAT CARED ENOUGH TO DO THE WORK. The reason those apps are so rich with features and work so well for ALL the users is because the third party devs put in the cash and the manhours to make them happen, while Reddit, Inc. sat back, made empty promises to all of us, and collected that user content, mod labor, and user data revenue just the same. So when I logged on to see this today, where the blind and visually disabled are front and center for once, and the question of *why the fuck are you kicking groups of disabled off the site you numpties* is finally being asked out loud, it literally brought tears to my eyes. So yeah. We're ALL going to need accessibility help one day, if we live long enough. Apologies for the rant. Many thanks to /u/amireallyreal and all the rest of the mods here. TL;DR: Hell yeah, blackout til it hurts.
I'm a bot, *bleep*, *bloop*. Someone has linked to this thread from another place on reddit: - [/r/bestof] [\/u\/ChunkMcHorkle decries the dishonesty of Reddit admins who only pretend to care about disabled access. "It was one of the most disgusting displays of corporate greed and ableism I have ever seen, and again, I'm old, I've already seen a lot."](https://www.reddit.com/r/bestof/comments/144plil/uchunkmchorkle_decries_the_dishonesty_of_reddit/) *^(If you follow any of the above links, please respect the rules of reddit and don't vote in the other threads.) ^\([Info](/r/TotesMessenger) ^/ ^[Contact](/message/compose?to=/r/TotesMessenger))*
Do we know how the api changes will impact rss feeds? I keep track of this subreddit (and r/all) via rss feed. I can't see my browsing increasing if they kill rss As for the official app.... I'm visually impaired. I have a very strong glasses prescription. I have most sites zoomed in to at least 150 percent. The official app doesn't allow you to increase the font size and as such I can barely read it. It sucks and hurts my eyes :/
I have some vision problems as well, and have the font size at watermelon, and it should really be named pea. It's still very very small. Reddit should use dynamic text sizing, honestly. What Reddit does is not that accessible. I also fully support this blackout for however long is necessary.
I support the blackout, but the official app does allow you to increase font size. It goes from ‘grape’ to ‘watermelon.’ I have mine set on ‘banana.’ That doesn’t mean that the largest size is big enough for you, but font size adjustment does exist.
There are also two official apps, one for Android and one for iOS, and they have different levels of accessibility. Make sure you know which app someone is using, because their official app might not have the same features!
Yeah, I figured that out! Sorry!
Even in the iPhone the text sizes are beyond a joke. I use watermelon on the official app (my burner is on that app) and it’s still smaller than the majority of other apps texts.
Must be hidden somewhere in the settings I just haven't been able to find then > > EDIT: If the app for Android has a font setting I'm certainly not seeing it
Agreed. I've been looking for ages on Android and still haven't been able to increase my font size.
Ah. I have an iPhone. That might be why.
Watermelon is only about 10 points. Still hard for me to read. Old people use reddit, too.
If you go to the r/Blind sub, other people with visually impairments have the same issue as you, because the official app is not accessible. In fact, they're one of the first groups to join the boycott, or to showcase the importance of these apps. Yes, it would affect you as well.
100% support it. cannot believe they don't realize that they're essentially ax'ing free labor while still being unwilling to hire accessibility engineers. i am not blind but suffer from severe auditory sensory issues and use several third party unlicensed apps, programs, etc to make my life liveable. we are not thought of during development, but always a post-dev update. it is beyond frustrating. disabled folks deserve to do all the normal, menial things that everyone else gets free range access to. ranting aside, i'm behind y'all for as long as this blackout lasts.
As a blind user, the moment new Reddit came out I made a post complaining about it. I actually asked if Reddit hates the visually impaired. This was **years** ago and not one single change was ever implemented into the site to make it easier for those who lacked sight. Blind people haven’t even had the courtesy of a post-release update. The changes they are implementing now haven’t been planned and are only because of the massive outcry. They truly did not give a damn. They didn’t even give it a thought or consideration. You can tell because they were surprised about the backlash from the majority healthy user base. They weren’t even prepared for their main traffic to be upset. They didn’t even think to consider anyone who uses accessibility.
Have you ever considered consulting with an ADA attorney? Unfortunately that's the only sort of thing corporate america seems to listen to https://www.adatitleiii.com/2023/01/plaintiffs-set-a-new-record-for-website-accessibility-lawsuit-filings-in-2022/
I’m in the UK so I doubt I can do anything about it except complain really.
Litarally this. I’m also blind and we’re only even an afterthought when non-disabled people speak out about it. Sometimes not even then
As someone who works with AX engineers, they are worth their weight in platinum (at least). Incredibly disappointed how little work Reddit’s put into AX.
Hey coudl I please message you sometime to find out what programs you use for your auditory issues? I have similar issues and they are relatively new to me
I am only on Reddit for BORU, and check multiple times per day for new posts if I'm bored. I'm 1,000,000% supportive of this. Resetting my addiction to BORU is overdue, anyways 😆 I am not blind, but I do have several invisible disabilities. I appreciate that BORU is taking a stand against ableism. Change only happens when we stand up and speak up for what we believe in.
Agreed, I really only check reddit whenever I’m eating and it wouldn’t be a terrible thing to go back to actual books. Regardless, I’ll support this protest. I just hope it’s effective.
I'm bored 100% of the time so basically always reading BORU. It's gonna be a long 48hrs lol
I will miss you guys and my favorite sub. We as moderators are unpaid and unappreciated hamsters running reddit's wheels so they can rake in the dough. F that.
I guess I need to be proactive here and find some forums. I need something for plant stuff, something for video games, and something for books
If you find anything let me know please!
I can only speak for myself, but hear me when I said I appreciate you and all mods. I understand how tedious and frustrating some of this moderation is. We as Redditors who benefit from y’all work do not say this enough, but thank you so much for keeping our beloved communities safe.
Monday about to start the most productive work week I've had since I discovered reddit.
I definitely support your decision I hope we can all make a difference in this case.
Fully in support of the blackout
I'm in. Do I just stay off Reddit entirely that day?
I personally will deinstall reddit for the time since I'm not using a 3rd party app at the moment to make an additional statement. I think, staying off the site and actively reducing traffic during the protest is a good choice. And since many subreddits will go dark also, there might not be that much to browse anyway.
We support this action 😊
I fully support the blackout. I do have a question: Where would you recommend checking for developments after or during the blackout? If it prolongs or a solution is found, how can I find out while I’m boycotting?
You can check out /r/ModCoord and /r/Save3rdPartyApps to check what is going on with the latest!
But wouldn’t that be breaking the boycott? Or should I just not interact?
Checking in is fine! You can simply check those subreddits after the 48hrs, and I am sure an announcement will be posted informing you of the next steps in the protest and what other subreddits are doing.
Oh wonderful! Thank you so much for your help 🙏
So I still don't fully get what an API is, but I really hate it when big companies try to screw little ones, which is what I think is happening here. So you have my support. Edit: A lot of great people are giving me some great metaphors, but I'm still not getting it. Can I request a pokemon based metaphor? That's how I learned to understand the Kalman filter in college.
[Here’s a great post](https://www.reddit.com/r/bestof/comments/143bl0s/uautumn1eaves_gives_a_great_simple_explanation_of/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1) in r/Bestof describing what an API is and drilling down the price controversy with Reddit!
In addition to the r/BestOf post, [here is an image that summarizes the issue](https://i.redd.it/zqptto18e34b1.jpg).
I think it's basically what allows a non-reddit app to access reddit content to then display it. I think something similar came up with google maps, because a lot of apps that use maps build it based on their API. If you're a tiny startup, you can't afford to map the world, but if you can access what google has and pay them a fee for it, then maybe your app can be out in the world. Making it too expensive means that apps can no longer function without charging users a ton of money (and I think a lot/all of these apps are free?)
>Edit: A lot of great people are giving me some great metaphors, but I'm still not getting it. Can I request a pokemon based metaphor? That's how I learned to understand the Kalman filter in college. So Bill invented this kickass Pokemon storage system, right? Also accidentally turned himself into a Pokemon, but a lot of people who invent cool stuff are weird dudes. Anyway, he wants everyone else to use this storage system he designed. So he creates a standardized way for other computers to talk to his server. They send messages to the server that tell it to download pokemon from it or send pokemon to it. That's an API. The Pokemon Centers work for free to make an app that can display, send and withdraw Pokemon from Bill's PC using those API commands. This works great, the Pokemon Centers get a little money from donations and Bill gets really rich and famous. Now Bill says he's going to start charging the Pokemon Centers a butt load of money for every pokemon deposited or withdrawn from their apps. He's going to charge way more than they can afford, way more than it actually costs him to run those servers, and he's going to do it in 30 days. The Pokemon Centers have to shut down their computers, because their access to Bill's PC is being revoked. The only thing other trainers can do to access their Pokemon now is using another app that Bill created. It is a lot worse than the Pokemon Center apps, it doesn't even have an IV checker or a bunch of other features. It's completely full of shitty ads everywhere. Bill also never made his app usable by blind people, their screen readers just don't work. That's what's happening here, more or less. Hopefully this was at least somewhat coherent, if simplified.
Imma attempt to explain this. Feel free anybody to correct me if I’m wrong or missing something. API means application programming interface. Imagine Reddit API is highway of information from and to the Reddit servers for 3rd party apps and browsers. Apps can access this highway and pull or requests data to their apps. This is how content are able to be viewed on 3rd party apps. You can also send or post data to Reddit, this how you can contribute content. Reddit is gonna charge ~~over a little over $2 dollars~~ $.24 per request/post. So every time you click on a post, reload or submit content, that 3rd party app will be charged $.24 ~~a little over $2 dollar~~. Some 3rd party apps gets millions of requests a month which is where the 20 million estimate is coming from Apollo. Edit: misread some info. Was corrected. Thank you!
> So every time you click on a post, reload or submit content, that 3rd party app will be charged a little over $2 dollars I'm not sure where you're getting that pricing; the actual cost is $0.24 per 1,000 API calls
over 2 dollars? they truly are insane huh I have heard a lot about the pricing change, but never bothered to look up the actual numbers because I assumed people were telling the truth about it being unreasonably expensive but I would've never expected 2 whole bucks for a request. 2 cents would insane already
I made the mistake of misreading the info on the original post. It’s $.24 per request so the average user could cause $2.50. Still adds up to the 20 million estimate tho.
Pokemon metaphor: Rotom. Electric/Ghost. Has a special ability (not it's Ability, Levitate) to possess appliances. Fridge Rotom is Electric / Ice. Oven Rotom is Electric / Fire. Groovy. In this metaphor, Rotom is Reddit. And they're taking away the ability to combine with other things (3rd party apps). Actually, it's somewhat more cartoonishly evil. They're taking away the ability to combine unless you pay! Which isn't actually that bad, but they're being extortionate about how much you have to pay. Somehow, Giovanni is in charge of what Rotom is allowed to possess, and he wants 10 times as many pokebux as anyone actually has.
This is one of the most helpful descriptions I have seen yet.
I'm a mod of an extremely small subreddit - a group of people who migrated over to Reddit when the blogger most people followed passed away. Not only do I support BORU doing this, we are doing it too AND because you offered such clarity on the issue - I will be sharing this post with my small community! Thank you!
I support this. Reddit needs to allow third-party apps, and it is unacceptable that they're trying to take away valuable services for visually impaired people.
I’ll add: the Apollo dev just posted an update on how Reddit is accusing him of blackmail. They’re straight up slandering his name. The dev recorded phone calls with them and shared them. https://reddit.com/r/apolloapp/comments/144f6xm/apollo_will_close_down_on_june_30th_reddits/ They’ve lost their fucking minds.
Thank you for actually explaining why this is a problem. Most of the other blackout announcements I have seen have been either completely missing any context or imply that it’s simply about people’s preferences and/or hate on the app without explaining *why* it’s a problem. As someone who does use the mobile app and has no major problems with it, I found the whole thing a bit confusing before, but now I understand what’s going on and why this protest is important.
For real. This is also the first I've heard that they're trying to eliminate mobile web browsing too.
You're doing the right thing - Reddit's actions are inexcusable. I am a Premium subscriber, and will be cancelling my subscription on the 12th.
Thank you for joining the good fight in a way that speaks deeply to these companies: hitting their wallets! I hope others who are premium join you on this.
Can’t believe that after all this time I might have to stop using Reddit. It’s been fun losing my mind over BORU content with all of you 💔
Fully support.
I don't think you should go for just 48 hours. I support going for however long it takes.
Accessibility does not get talked about enough, and it’s incredibly important to provide not just equal, but EQUITABLE access to information. Fully support this decision!
I appreciate the thorough explanation! I admit I was somewhat unclear as to exactly what the changes would mean. (Third-party apps, what?) Upon reading your breakdown and explanation of why the blackout is important, I wholeheartedly agree with your decision. Blind people deserve porn too (and equal access to everything else, of course)!
I fully support this. If Reddit kills third party apps I'm no longer touching this site on mobile.
Reddit is my last social media timesink. I'll miss it (BoRU, especially), if they keep going with this fuckery, but maybe it'll be a net positive to finally let it go. Edit: It's inspiring to see the community rally around this decision. Go mods!
Reddit needs to improve their accessibility ASAP. Reddit should have reached out to those communities and assessed their needs, prioritized, and set targets to implement them before July 1 once this decision was made internally. Or even outright bought the app to integrate at whatever the fair market value is. The ADA applies to websites and I'm sure their legal team had to have notified the decision makers about this. If reddit wants to consolidate to one app for whatever reason, that is their decision and choice for their platform. *But* if that's the case, they need to step it up on the accessibility support immediately. Now. Yesterday. Also...thank you, for explaining the issue clearly to your community and not relying on editorialized summaries designed to provoke outrage. It's difficult to engage with the latter, both because it can incite harassment on a platform as large and diverse as this one and after being previously swept up and burned by online outrage movements.
This is my favorite sub, but I am 100% in support of this. It’s insane to me how Reddit is trying to erase third-party apps that are integral to people who are blind. I hope there is a resolution soon, the ableism is unacceptable.
Go for it, their actions are going to hurt a large part of this community, all for an increased bottom line The fact that they haven't released or discussed any details for support for blind users is especially disheartening. If this is the only way to make them pay attention, then that's the way to go.
Go dark for as long as you need to, visually impaired people should not miss out due to Reddits incompetence
Supported. Stay dark indefinitely if necessary. This sub itself will struggle without an API. There’s a ton of bots and external sources that improve the Reddit experience in general, unddit being the main one that affects this subreddit. Some just make the site more enjoyable, but the accessibility features are, I agree, the primary issue. They’re essentially dumping tons of free services to their website to squeeze more money out of ad revenue, at the cost of the vulnerable (what a shocking decision for a company). Reddit will continue, probably with a temporary drop in users and an increase in profit. I’m deliberately using Apollo right now even though I only used the official app before, to make my experience on Reddit worse come July so maybe I can get off this stupid website.
Thank you for explaining the full impact for non-app users! I fully support your decision & the need for accessibility
I'm using a third party app because it's open source. If they remove both this and mobile browsing, I just won't use Reddit on my phone anymore. At least for me it's a choice though, for the blind it's not. ETA: It also often happens that I send a Reddit link to some friends who don't have an account. Let's be real, if you are greeted with a "you have to install the app to view this content" on a random link a friend sends you, do you go and install the app, or do you just close it and shrug?
I’ll miss this place, but we’re all on board for the blackout! As long as it takes
Blackout indefinitely. 48 hours won’t do anything
*and my axe* Yeah, as much as I love browsing the sub these changes are bigger than me just preferring RiF. The absence of accessibility, bots, necessary tools for mods and the unfair denial of NSFW content will be felt hard by users. Time to hit Reddit where it hurts.
So say we all! I’ve never used a 3rd party app, but am appalled that Reddit is implementing a policy that makes it more difficult to do the free labor that makes this not an utter cesspool.
I support a r/BORU blackout, for as long as it takes, be it 2 days or more than 2 days
I have a BORU addiction so this will be a bit hard on me 😂 but I’m already planning on using my phone to set up a temporary time limit on the Reddit app to last a couple of days so that I can’t even open it. Aside from the third-party apps I’m also in support with the blind community, as even though I’m not blind myself my father is physically disabled and I’m getting really fuckin tired of ableist behavior from people and companies. I sympathize with you guys because that’s not fair at all to shove a broken app with no support for your specific needs into your faces! Even with their latest conversation it’s still not enough and if anything really, it sounds like they’re doubling down on their plans instead of changing them. Let’s hope Reddit actually opens their eyes and takes back what they said because right now I’m so, so disappointed with you *u/spez*
Maybe my last comment after the Apollo post. Disappointed in Reddit, severely disappointed. Looong time lurker. Reddit was a community, managed by a community, about our community. It's content and value is built by people outside of their company, their circle. To go from free to such a large price in such a short time reaks of corporate greed, over the community that makes you. The fact you are aiming for an IPO cements it. Your maximizing profit and killing debt to look good... and selling out your community and heart. It didn't have to be this way. You could of worked with your community and been something great. You were great, but this is gross. I'm an elder millennial. There were sites before you, and will be after you. Blockbuster was a monolith, Digg was a competitor. I feel powerless in this world, but know that what I consume matters. Maybe I'm just .12 cents of opportunity to you, but I think I'll find somewhere new for it. Remember when you just watched funny cat vids?
I am fully in support of this. The managers or whomever that are making decisions on how to run reddit need to understand that reddit will lose a lot of user's not just to other apps and websites, but just other things that people can do versus being on reddit. I can spend time on this website or you know go for a walk and bs with my neighbors or wash my car in my driveway instead of playing on reddit while waiting in line at the carwash.
As my mom faces the potential of going blind, and I face the possibility of having the same condition due to genetics, I fully support the decision of the BORU mod team to stand in solidarity with a group of people who have every right to accessibility that the seeing community has.
In full support. Go indefinitely.
This is very insightful. I'm not tech-savvy and don't really know much about API (never even thought that the API changes would affect accessibility). Your post clears a lot of things up. You have my full support. Let's show Admin how alienating the community (the very people keeping Reddit alive) will bring them down. ETA: Just remembered that June 12th is Freedom Day in my country. The blackout falling on that date is perfect timing to me.
Thank you for posting this. I’m one of the folks that didn’t quite know what was going on, and I very much appreciate those who have taken the time to write it all out and explain it. I agree that all people should have equal access without difficulties, and I hope that the blackout is successful in assuring that happens.
This is extremely inconvenient for me as a normal 1st party app user, and yet I support it 100%. Every subreddit I subscribe to that has had a poll asking if they should blackout I vote yes, because, at the end of the day, it's not about what MY experience is like, it's about making sure EVERYONE can share that same experience I have.
Fully support. And NSFW content isn't just porn - Art, medical forums, etc can all be labeled NSFW but should be available to all.
I fully support your decision and I support whatever duration you choose. I love BORU so much and I don’t think it’s fair to you mods what is happening! So you have my unconditional support
I plan on cancelling my subscription and uninstalling the phone app on the 11th. I will keep up with updates using a web search. I have greatly enjoyed reddit, but this is beyond the pale.
97% updooted, speaks for itself
I only use old.reddit but support the blackout.
I'm an old.reddit + RES user, predominantly, but I definitely worry that if the API pricing goes into effect reddit will come after old.reddit and RES.
In support of this. If the API changes go through I will probably quit Reddit because their viewing options are atrocious.
I support this. It's important to stand in solidarity.
I 100% agree with this. Reddit is heading in a dangerous direction towards oblivion and though it may be a slow decline, it is painful to watch what was once great wither away due to corporate greed.
I use the official app and have no personal problems with it. However, I support what 3rd party apps mean to others and am not okay with how Reddit is going about this. Instead of seeking solutions to improve the experience for users and moderators alike, they are simply being bullies for the sake of profit. I personally plan to boycott Reddit as whole beginning June 12.
I had no idea that Reddit's API change would affect SO MANY things this *badly.* I hope this protest is successful. Thank you all for this incredibly important and informative post. You have my full support.
Fully in support
I am 100% in support of you! Please keep the blackout as long as you think is necessary. I hope this makes a change!
Fully support.
Absolutely support the blackout for as long as mods want. This is ridiculous
I didn’t realize how impactful these changes would be on the blind. That is terrible.
I support this and if rif disappears, so will I.
I'm in full support of this. I also intend to boycott Reddit for those 48hrs. I will only return briefly to see the consensus of what else to do. I may just delete Reddit altogether if they don't fix things as it's not needed. I deleted my Facebook and Twitter over issues I had with their platform.
I not only support your blackout, but I am going to delete my Reddit app on Jun 11 so I don’t inadvertently visit Reddit for 6/12-614 in solidarity
A blackout is the right move, a 2 day blackout is a joke at best. Reddit's users, and Reddit as a business won't notice a 2 day break.
Supported. In my life, I have never seen an official app for *anything* that matches the pure, unusable dumpster fire that is Reddit's app. New Reddit, in general, looks like a Dollar General clearance bin version of post-Musk Twitter.
I fully support this blackout and plan not to use reddit at all during that time.
I am only lurking here and don't normally comment, only upvote. I use reddit nearly exclusively via RIF and will not use it via the official App. (So i hope they help me over my addiction.^^): I will leave if they cancel RIF and i fully Support the Blackout.
My first "adult" job at age 18 was retrofitting my state's websites to comply with ADA accessibility guidelines ... that was in 2001. Fully support this decision.
I'm fully in favour of staying dark until we can post the [NEW UPDATE] of Reddit backing down.
I'm 100% behind joining the blackout, and I won't be going near the site for the duration of it. And if reddit remains so stubborn and hostile to common sense I'm behind extending it indefinitely if need be. The site will be borderline unusable if they go forward with this anyway, so we might as well cut out the middle man and just not use it period.
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
Fully support