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Some things I find interesting: 1. They're not backing down at all, and even explicitly mention that Apollo/RIF/Sync will be going down because of this. 2. It

by jjcm 3y ago

Some things I find interesting: 1. They're not backing down at all, and even explicitly mention that Apollo/RIF/Sync will be going down because of this. 2. It looks like they are backtracking a bit on the moderation tools that use the API. This makes sense as otherwise Reddit would have been a cesspool, but a lot of moderators do use tools like Apollo, so it will be interesting to see what happens to the quality bar over time. 3. Removing NSFW content from the API is interesting - I wonder if the main app will still have access to this?

sosodev 3y ago
They have said the main app will still have access to NSFW content. He just claimed in a comment that it's being removed from the API due to regulatory concerns. Which seems like total BS to me.
- paddw 3y ago
  Maybe. Probably are a partial truth. Regulatory pressures to crack down on NSFW content of any kind are very real.
  - ryandrake 3y ago
    It would be nice if whenever someone blamed their actions on vague "regulatory concerns" they actually listed the specific law/code that they were concerned with. For example, in this case, what specific law makes API access to this content risky but not regular web-based access to the content.
  - Mindwipe 3y ago
    > Maybe. Probably are a partial truth. Regulatory pressures to crack down on NSFW content of any kind are very real. Regulatory pressure to perform age verification is real. But Reddit already requires users to be logged in and their account to have gone to the website and clicked on an explicit toggle in order to access NSFW content. When (and sadly inevitably if) Reddit requires age verification to access adult content, then it will be on a per account basis - and hence the toggle would not be enabled without it. So at that point the status quo still fulfils the regulatory requirement the account has checked age. It is not clear at all to anyone who thinks about it for a second why third party clients would change anything here.
notaustinpowers 3y ago
1. I think they don't want to get caught eating their own words when they're about to go public with an IPO. Backtracking because of third-party apps isn't going to go over well with potential investors. 2. I think it'll go down regardless. Mod tools is one thing, but I would really like to know the percentage of mods who use third-party Reddit apps like Apollo, RIF, etc. I wonder how many will leave the platform. If so we can expect more power-hungry mods, or Reddit having to pay for their own moderation. 3. Reddit says NSFW content is staying within the main app, but I can see it going away soon. A popular Reddit image hoster banned and deleted all NSFW content which already broke a lot of the posts in NSFW subreddits. And with Reddit now having investors and needing to attract more expensive advertisers, I can see them scrubbing NSFW content in full to become a more attractive ad platform. Especially since that's really going to be the way they make the bulk of their money.
- LeeroyWasHere 3y ago
  That worked so well for tumblr. Reddit pulling a TwitterTumblr combo at once, let's see if they can survive this. 20-30% traffic drop?
  - chx 3y ago
    The absolute traffic numbers immediately might not drop that big but the power function of participation - number of users is brutal for Reddit. There's a tiny, tiny fraction of users who were to leave the entire structure would fracture. The house doesn't collapse immediately but it's unsound so people begin to leave. First those in the know, then those who follow those in the know, and so on larger and larger waves until only a few people roam the ruins. It might just go on and on -- digg.com is still up. Even Slashdot is still there. Heck, I use lycos.com to force the login screen when logging in on public Internet. This is the problem here: these people already started to delete their content and will withdraw their tools in three weeks. Time is up and the CEO doesn't even acknowledge the massive problems this change causes for moderation tools. His post should've been an about face but no. So, no it won't be 20-30% immediately, might be so small it doesn't even register beyond normal day to day variance. But it will be 90%+ in a year.

by jjcm 3y ago

sosodev 3y ago

They have said the main app will still have access to NSFW content. He just claimed in a comment that it's being removed from the API due to regulatory concerns. Which seems like total BS to me.

paddw 3y ago
Maybe. Probably are a partial truth. Regulatory pressures to crack down on NSFW content of any kind are very real.
- ryandrake 3y ago
  It would be nice if whenever someone blamed their actions on vague "regulatory concerns" they actually listed the specific law/code that they were concerned with. For example, in this case, what specific law makes API access to this content risky but not regular web-based access to the content.
- Mindwipe 3y ago
  > Maybe. Probably are a partial truth. Regulatory pressures to crack down on NSFW content of any kind are very real. Regulatory pressure to perform age verification is real. But Reddit already requires users to be logged in and their account to have gone to the website and clicked on an explicit toggle in order to access NSFW content. When (and sadly inevitably if) Reddit requires age verification to access adult content, then it will be on a per account basis - and hence the toggle would not be enabled without it. So at that point the status quo still fulfils the regulatory requirement the account has checked age. It is not clear at all to anyone who thinks about it for a second why third party clients would change anything here.

notaustinpowers 3y ago

1. I think they don't want to get caught eating their own words when they're about to go public with an IPO. Backtracking because of third-party apps isn't going to go over well with potential investors. 2. I think it'll go down regardless. Mod tools is one thing, but I would really like to know the percentage of mods who use third-party Reddit apps like Apollo, RIF, etc. I wonder how many will leave the platform. If so we can expect more power-hungry mods, or Reddit having to pay for their own moderation. 3. Reddit says NSFW content is staying within the main app, but I can see it going away soon. A popular Reddit image hoster banned and deleted all NSFW content which already broke a lot of the posts in NSFW subreddits. And with Reddit now having investors and needing to attract more expensive advertisers, I can see them scrubbing NSFW content in full to become a more attractive ad platform. Especially since that's really going to be the way they make the bulk of their money.

LeeroyWasHere 3y ago
That worked so well for tumblr. Reddit pulling a TwitterTumblr combo at once, let's see if they can survive this. 20-30% traffic drop?
- chx 3y ago
  The absolute traffic numbers immediately might not drop that big but the power function of participation - number of users is brutal for Reddit. There's a tiny, tiny fraction of users who were to leave the entire structure would fracture. The house doesn't collapse immediately but it's unsound so people begin to leave. First those in the know, then those who follow those in the know, and so on larger and larger waves until only a few people roam the ruins. It might just go on and on -- digg.com is still up. Even Slashdot is still there. Heck, I use lycos.com to force the login screen when logging in on public Internet. This is the problem here: these people already started to delete their content and will withdraw their tools in three weeks. Time is up and the CEO doesn't even acknowledge the massive problems this change causes for moderation tools. His post should've been an about face but no. So, no it won't be 20-30% immediately, might be so small it doesn't even register beyond normal day to day variance. But it will be 90%+ in a year.