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The entire goal of these API changes is to intentionally price third-party app developers out of the market without imposing a strict blanket-policy ban. And t

The entire goal of these API changes is to intentionally price third-party app developers out of the market without imposing a strict blanket-policy ban. And the goal of this is to attempt to further monetize the platform on the backs of other people's content by forcing them to see as many ads and upsell opportunities as possible. And the goal of this is to appear more appealing to current and future investors in order to drive up the IPO price and build demand. And the goal of this is to make those with significant equity stake filthy rich. The issue is that the changes they're trying to make are inherently hostile to the community whose free content and moderation has made the platform what it is today. And if the community decides to leave the platform and not come back, then regardless of potential for extra ad revenue, the inherent value of the platform will disappear because ads will be shown to less and less users. This is assuming people leave and actually don't come back, which remains to be seen. The whole "front page of the internet" idea was pretty neat, and is a stark contrast to the days where each internet community had their own niche forum somewhere. Maybe we'll see some other platform overtake Reddit as the new front page of the internet, or maybe an old platform like Digg will make a resurgence. But that's a tall ask when Reddit is now so entrenched in that space. Edit: technology -> platform, in the last paragraph above.

bottlepalm 3y ago
This is kind of like the Twitter fiasco where in the eye of the storm a lot of loud people are pressuring more people to make this seem a lot bigger than it is. Unless you have some alternative that has Reddit functionality, but can somehow operate without revenue, I'm just going to assume there isn't and Reddit will continue operating as normal. Just doing the math $2.50 seems reasonable if you're going to redistribute the data to users while bypassing the ads.
- wpietri 3y ago
  If Reddit just cared about having the ads, they could have a free version of the API that includes the inline ads. Or otherwise work with API users to blend in the ads for user-facing clients. They could even kick back a share of that revenue to client makers. As far as I know they're not doing any of that. To me it looks like the goal is to wall off all the user-generated content in an attempt to extract maximum dollars from it while intentionally excluding third parties.
  - shagie 3y ago
    What guarantee is there that those inline ads would be rendered by the 3rd party client? What incentive is there for the API users to add in ads that reddit serves for the 3rd party client users? Can reddit be guaranteed get a share of the revenue for the IAP of "block all ads?" Is it worth it for reddit to do it when they can't control the price of said IAP ($0.49 for "block all of Reddit's ads")
    - pawptart 3y ago
      Right? That's what I've never understood. Putting ads in the API is irrelevant, since the 3rd party clients will just ignore them. The Reddit that the loud minority wants is never, ever coming back. These protests are just a blip -- if you don't like what Reddit has become, your only recourse is to leave.
    - lelanthran 3y ago
      > What guarantee is there that those inline ads would be rendered by the 3rd party client? Because if it isn't then reddit can simply revoke their access. How can reddit know if the ads are being stripped out or not? Simple - download the app, run it and see. The API license can always force things like: 1. Only for apps, whether mobile, desktop or web (i.e. forget about training your LLM on the data) 2. License revoked if content is modified in any way (i.e. no stripping out ads) It's not that difficult, honestly. I've signed more strict agreements with companies (NDAs, and so forth) to access their system, their data, etc.
      - UncleMeat 3y ago
        > Because if it isn't then reddit can simply revoke their access. And then we are right back at the complaints that reddit is killing 3P clients.
    - wpietri 3y ago
      Sorry, why do you think this is a hard question? They look around at the big clients, see anybody who has violated the API's TOS by removing ads without special permission, and kill their API keys.

bottlepalm 3y ago

This is kind of like the Twitter fiasco where in the eye of the storm a lot of loud people are pressuring more people to make this seem a lot bigger than it is. Unless you have some alternative that has Reddit functionality, but can somehow operate without revenue, I'm just going to assume there isn't and Reddit will continue operating as normal. Just doing the math $2.50 seems reasonable if you're going to redistribute the data to users while bypassing the ads.

wpietri 3y ago
If Reddit just cared about having the ads, they could have a free version of the API that includes the inline ads. Or otherwise work with API users to blend in the ads for user-facing clients. They could even kick back a share of that revenue to client makers. As far as I know they're not doing any of that. To me it looks like the goal is to wall off all the user-generated content in an attempt to extract maximum dollars from it while intentionally excluding third parties.
- shagie 3y ago
  What guarantee is there that those inline ads would be rendered by the 3rd party client? What incentive is there for the API users to add in ads that reddit serves for the 3rd party client users? Can reddit be guaranteed get a share of the revenue for the IAP of "block all ads?" Is it worth it for reddit to do it when they can't control the price of said IAP ($0.49 for "block all of Reddit's ads")
  - pawptart 3y ago
    Right? That's what I've never understood. Putting ads in the API is irrelevant, since the 3rd party clients will just ignore them. The Reddit that the loud minority wants is never, ever coming back. These protests are just a blip -- if you don't like what Reddit has become, your only recourse is to leave.
  - lelanthran 3y ago
    > What guarantee is there that those inline ads would be rendered by the 3rd party client? Because if it isn't then reddit can simply revoke their access. How can reddit know if the ads are being stripped out or not? Simple - download the app, run it and see. The API license can always force things like: 1. Only for apps, whether mobile, desktop or web (i.e. forget about training your LLM on the data) 2. License revoked if content is modified in any way (i.e. no stripping out ads) It's not that difficult, honestly. I've signed more strict agreements with companies (NDAs, and so forth) to access their system, their data, etc.
    - UncleMeat 3y ago
      > Because if it isn't then reddit can simply revoke their access. And then we are right back at the complaints that reddit is killing 3P clients.
  - wpietri 3y ago
    Sorry, why do you think this is a hard question? They look around at the big clients, see anybody who has violated the API's TOS by removing ads without special permission, and kill their API keys.