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Original report is available on the verge[1], which contains the full message sent by reddit CEO. 1: https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/13/23759559/reddit-interna

Original report is available on the verge[1], which contains the full message sent by reddit CEO. 1: https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/13/23759559/reddit-internal-memo-api-pricing-changes-steve-huffman https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/13/23759559/reddit-internal-...

TX81Z 3y ago
[flagged]
sdmike1 3y ago
Damn, that's a hell of a message. it'll be interesting to see if it starts to go dark again, if slacktavism takes over and there is no follow through.
- bshipp 3y ago
  Even if subreddits don't go dark, the impact will be rapidly observable in August as moderation becomes extremely difficult and subreddit support bots that eliminate spam and maintain post quality stop working.
  - yanderekko 3y ago
    >the impact will be rapidly observable in August as moderation becomes extremely difficult Is there a market out there where I can bet all my money against this claim? The idea that this will lead to a spam wave destroying Reddit is wishful thinking on the part of aggrieved moderators who see themselves as forming a Thin Blue Line against a tide of chaos.
    - bshipp 3y ago
      I'm not an aggrieved moderator, but I am someone who has moderated in the past and used the third-party tools and bots that allowed a subreddit to remain focused on a specific topic. I don't think you recognize how much random spam and troll submissions are caught by filters and cleaned up automatically in even small subreddits. Having given up moderation ages ago, I have no dog in this fight. I'm sitting on the sidelines watching the drama with a bowl of popcorn, just like everyone else.
      - yanderekko 3y ago
        Well, there will still be some anti-spam tools, right? If there's a detailed argument saying that basic moderation (eg. obvious spam removal and not "I want to ban everyone who's ever said anything nice about Trump") will take say an order of magnitude more human effort without 3rd party tools I'd be curious to see it. If there's a persuasive claim along these lines I'd shift my beliefs, but I haven't seen it so far.
        bshipp 3y ago
        For sure, and I haven't moderated in a few years so perhaps the internal reddit tools have improved since I last used them. They used to be pretty basic and cruddy. The moderation team I was a part of relied pretty heavily on the moderator toolbox: https://github.com/toolbox-team/reddit-moderator-toolbox https://github.com/toolbox-team/reddit-moderator-toolbox I don't know if the proposed API changes will affect this specific tool, but I doubt moderators would be nearly as up in arms if their tools were going to keep working the way they had in the past.
    - EamonnMR 3y ago
      You can buy reddit stock when they IPO I suppose.
jsemrau 3y ago
"I am sorry to say this, but please be mindful of wearing Reddit gear in public. Some folks are really upset, and we don’t want you to be the object of their frustrations.” Overreaction much ? Are we really become that desensitized as a society? I find that hard to believe.
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- afavour 3y ago
  Feels like projection. I don’t know anyone that blames Reddit employees for what’s happening, just the CEO.
- swalling 3y ago
  There are a lot of unhinged people on any major Internet platform. In 2018, a YouTuber shot three people at HQ because she blamed the company for downranking her videos. It’s actually quite lucky this kind of thing hasn’t happened more.
  - OldManRyan 3y ago
    Is it lucky or was that situation an anomaly? Some people are unhinged but they are also keyboard warriors. I doubt even the unhinged redditors are going to go out and start assaulting people over this.
  - aesyondu 3y ago
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YouTube_headquarters_shooting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YouTube_headquarters_shooting FYR
- mesh 3y ago
  It feels like he trying to create the sense among Reddit employees that they are the victims, probably with the hope that it will temper internal criticism and create a sense that they are in this together (as opposed to its basically execs against everyone else).
- 3y ago
badtension 3y ago
Over 8k subreddits went dark, not just 1k. https://reddark.untone.uk/ https://reddark.untone.uk/
- JKCalhoun 3y ago
  Noticed r/indiegaming "gone". Good for them.
Terr_ 3y ago
"My executive decisions were perfect, and do not need to be questioned, because I am a vic--I mean, we are all victims of unfair treatment by our regular users who have collectively gone insane and dislike all of us for no reason, a problem we must overcome as a team, right?" /s

TX81Z 3y ago

[flagged]

sdmike1 3y ago

Damn, that's a hell of a message. it'll be interesting to see if it starts to go dark again, if slacktavism takes over and there is no follow through.

bshipp 3y ago
Even if subreddits don't go dark, the impact will be rapidly observable in August as moderation becomes extremely difficult and subreddit support bots that eliminate spam and maintain post quality stop working.
- yanderekko 3y ago
  >the impact will be rapidly observable in August as moderation becomes extremely difficult Is there a market out there where I can bet all my money against this claim? The idea that this will lead to a spam wave destroying Reddit is wishful thinking on the part of aggrieved moderators who see themselves as forming a Thin Blue Line against a tide of chaos.
  - bshipp 3y ago
    I'm not an aggrieved moderator, but I am someone who has moderated in the past and used the third-party tools and bots that allowed a subreddit to remain focused on a specific topic. I don't think you recognize how much random spam and troll submissions are caught by filters and cleaned up automatically in even small subreddits. Having given up moderation ages ago, I have no dog in this fight. I'm sitting on the sidelines watching the drama with a bowl of popcorn, just like everyone else.
    - yanderekko 3y ago
      Well, there will still be some anti-spam tools, right? If there's a detailed argument saying that basic moderation (eg. obvious spam removal and not "I want to ban everyone who's ever said anything nice about Trump") will take say an order of magnitude more human effort without 3rd party tools I'd be curious to see it. If there's a persuasive claim along these lines I'd shift my beliefs, but I haven't seen it so far.
      - bshipp 3y ago
        For sure, and I haven't moderated in a few years so perhaps the internal reddit tools have improved since I last used them. They used to be pretty basic and cruddy. The moderation team I was a part of relied pretty heavily on the moderator toolbox: https://github.com/toolbox-team/reddit-moderator-toolbox https://github.com/toolbox-team/reddit-moderator-toolbox I don't know if the proposed API changes will affect this specific tool, but I doubt moderators would be nearly as up in arms if their tools were going to keep working the way they had in the past.
  - EamonnMR 3y ago
    You can buy reddit stock when they IPO I suppose.

jsemrau 3y ago

"I am sorry to say this, but please be mindful of wearing Reddit gear in public. Some folks are really upset, and we don’t want you to be the object of their frustrations.” Overreaction much ? Are we really become that desensitized as a society? I find that hard to believe.

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
afavour 3y ago
Feels like projection. I don’t know anyone that blames Reddit employees for what’s happening, just the CEO.
swalling 3y ago
There are a lot of unhinged people on any major Internet platform. In 2018, a YouTuber shot three people at HQ because she blamed the company for downranking her videos. It’s actually quite lucky this kind of thing hasn’t happened more.
- OldManRyan 3y ago
  Is it lucky or was that situation an anomaly? Some people are unhinged but they are also keyboard warriors. I doubt even the unhinged redditors are going to go out and start assaulting people over this.
- aesyondu 3y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YouTube_headquarters_shooting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YouTube_headquarters_shooting FYR
mesh 3y ago
It feels like he trying to create the sense among Reddit employees that they are the victims, probably with the hope that it will temper internal criticism and create a sense that they are in this together (as opposed to its basically execs against everyone else).
3y ago

badtension 3y ago

Over 8k subreddits went dark, not just 1k. https://reddark.untone.uk/ https://reddark.untone.uk/

JKCalhoun 3y ago
Noticed r/indiegaming "gone". Good for them.

Terr_ 3y ago

"My executive decisions were perfect, and do not need to be questioned, because I am a vic--I mean, we are all victims of unfair treatment by our regular users who have collectively gone insane and dislike all of us for no reason, a problem we must overcome as a team, right?" /s