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They have a $4/month product ALL ready that removes ads and gives you more features. Making that a requirement to use the API is by FAR the simplest and most pr

by a2tech 3y ago

They have a $4/month product ALL ready that removes ads and gives you more features. Making that a requirement to use the API is by FAR the simplest and most profitable option. Its also more profit then they're proposing to get from their API charges

bwat49 3y ago
Yeah I find it baffling that they didn't just do this
- dasil003 3y ago
  Most likely it's about control, not financials.
  - wing-_-nuts 3y ago
    I found it interesting that spez admitted in his call with the apollo dev that the actual hosting cost for the api calls were pennies compared to the 'opportunity cost' of not having users use the official app. He basically admitted that harvesting data via the app and selling it to advertisers was reddit's bread and butter now.
    - lenerdenator 3y ago
      People have to realize, from a standpoint of "how do I make all of the money?", this is the only way these sites can survive in a world of reasonably-high interest rates. There are only so many people who would be willing to pay $x for a Reddit subscription. Would the quality of content and discussion go up? Absolutely, but that's not what Huffman and his VC backers care about. They care about _scale_, and if you can collect the information of every person who goes so far as to even click on a Reddit post that's a result in a Google search, you can have near-infinite scale. At that point, the question isn't "how do I get Joe Schmoe to pay for a Reddit subscription?", it's "How many ads can I cram into every GET request made to Reddit and maximize the price advertisers are willing to pay to be in that GET request?"
    - voisin 3y ago
      Adtech business models are a blight on society. It’s a drug that ultimately, 100% of the time, leads to the downfall of the company due to the fundamental mismatch between company incentives and user desires.
    - revelio 3y ago
      Why is it interesting? Alternative apps aren't necessarily going to show ads, which is how Reddit makes money. Surely those statements are mundane.
      - deleted 3y ago
        [deleted]
UberFly 3y ago
I would be fine paying a monthly fee to be able to keep using RIF. Reddit throwing up an iron curtain and thinking it'll ultimately end up benefiting them is such a head-scratcher.
clutchdude 3y ago
It also weakens the 3rd party apps - all the freeloaders will drop off Apollo, etc. if they learn they have to pay monthly for it. It's win-win for everyone for the most part.
- Kye 3y ago
  Freeloader is an odd term for a subset of the people who provide what gives Reddit its value.
Spoom 3y ago
Yup, would subscribe to this in a heartbeat to keep using RIF.
refulgentis 3y ago
I don't understand the Apollo side of this --- that's literally what he's being offered, by his own math. $3/month/user. Fairs fair. He has enough users to make millions a year: their servers aren't his for free forever. People are tying themselves into knots turning Reddit into either near-bankrupt or evil. Or hyper-focusing on particular elements that are just disputable human interactions, like most (i.e. suggesting he could optimize API calls isn't some slap in the face & shitting on his app. really immature!) I have absolutely 0 dog in this fight, no huge reddit fan, I just don't like how many people I see bamboozled by him. Extremely manipulative behavior.
- a2tech 3y ago
  You’ve either done no reading on the subject or are trolling/arguing in bad faith.
  - refulgentis 3y ago
    No, you. More than happy to debate it with you.
- Prickle 3y ago
  This is an incredibly disingenuous take. First, no it is not 3$. Apple takes a 30% cut, and requires a yearly fee to keep the app on the store. There is also a separate server cost, and a cost associated with paying an engineer. The actual cost is 5 dollars. Second, there is only one single month to make all changes. Pricing was announced only 30 days prior. That means payment setup, subscription changes, app update and payment approval requests, etc all need to happen within 30days. This is literally impossible. Third, there are people who have paid a for a yearly subscription. (10$ total) Those funds either need to be refunded in it's entirety, or be allowed to run out first. Both will not occur within 30 days. That is literally impossible for apollo dev to do. That's just an issue of how refunding works and timelines. If it is the latter, the dev will be incurring ~50,000 usd in costs every month. This is impossible to sustain. Either way, there are app store rules that must be followed first. Reddit's timeline is incompatible with them. And finally, regardless of API costs! reddit has on multiple occasions, defamed Apollo dev. Why would he continue working with a company that makes false blackmail accusations, then doubles down after evidence is provided? https://old.reddit.com/r/apolloapp/comments/144f6xm/apollo_will_close_down_on_june_30th_reddits/ https://old.reddit.com/r/apolloapp/comments/144f6xm/apollo_w...
nunez 3y ago
I would have had no issue paying $10/mo for the Reddit API. Wouldn't have even thought about it. I'll go out on a limb and say that most Apollo/3P users would've done the same thing. Really sucks that they chose death instead.
- 8ytecoder 3y ago
  Yup, before all this nonsense I was voluntarily paying for Reddit premium to support Reddit. I had no interest in any of their premium features - Apollo already had no ads and that’s all I cared.
- johnnyanmac 3y ago
  TBH I would have and I think many others would hesitate as well. $10/month is enough to the point where I would consider simply sticking to the desktop site. for $10/month I'd expect more quality control in communities, and my experience from years of browsing doesn't make me optimistic that my money would improve that.

by a2tech 3y ago

bwat49 3y ago

Yeah I find it baffling that they didn't just do this

dasil003 3y ago
Most likely it's about control, not financials.
- wing-_-nuts 3y ago
  I found it interesting that spez admitted in his call with the apollo dev that the actual hosting cost for the api calls were pennies compared to the 'opportunity cost' of not having users use the official app. He basically admitted that harvesting data via the app and selling it to advertisers was reddit's bread and butter now.
  - lenerdenator 3y ago
    People have to realize, from a standpoint of "how do I make all of the money?", this is the only way these sites can survive in a world of reasonably-high interest rates. There are only so many people who would be willing to pay $x for a Reddit subscription. Would the quality of content and discussion go up? Absolutely, but that's not what Huffman and his VC backers care about. They care about _scale_, and if you can collect the information of every person who goes so far as to even click on a Reddit post that's a result in a Google search, you can have near-infinite scale. At that point, the question isn't "how do I get Joe Schmoe to pay for a Reddit subscription?", it's "How many ads can I cram into every GET request made to Reddit and maximize the price advertisers are willing to pay to be in that GET request?"
  - voisin 3y ago
    Adtech business models are a blight on society. It’s a drug that ultimately, 100% of the time, leads to the downfall of the company due to the fundamental mismatch between company incentives and user desires.
  - revelio 3y ago
    Why is it interesting? Alternative apps aren't necessarily going to show ads, which is how Reddit makes money. Surely those statements are mundane.
    - deleted 3y ago
      [deleted]

UberFly 3y ago

I would be fine paying a monthly fee to be able to keep using RIF. Reddit throwing up an iron curtain and thinking it'll ultimately end up benefiting them is such a head-scratcher.

clutchdude 3y ago

It also weakens the 3rd party apps - all the freeloaders will drop off Apollo, etc. if they learn they have to pay monthly for it. It's win-win for everyone for the most part.

Kye 3y ago
Freeloader is an odd term for a subset of the people who provide what gives Reddit its value.

Spoom 3y ago

Yup, would subscribe to this in a heartbeat to keep using RIF.

refulgentis 3y ago

I don't understand the Apollo side of this --- that's literally what he's being offered, by his own math. $3/month/user. Fairs fair. He has enough users to make millions a year: their servers aren't his for free forever. People are tying themselves into knots turning Reddit into either near-bankrupt or evil. Or hyper-focusing on particular elements that are just disputable human interactions, like most (i.e. suggesting he could optimize API calls isn't some slap in the face & shitting on his app. really immature!) I have absolutely 0 dog in this fight, no huge reddit fan, I just don't like how many people I see bamboozled by him. Extremely manipulative behavior.

a2tech 3y ago
You’ve either done no reading on the subject or are trolling/arguing in bad faith.
- refulgentis 3y ago
  No, you. More than happy to debate it with you.
Prickle 3y ago
This is an incredibly disingenuous take. First, no it is not 3$. Apple takes a 30% cut, and requires a yearly fee to keep the app on the store. There is also a separate server cost, and a cost associated with paying an engineer. The actual cost is 5 dollars. Second, there is only one single month to make all changes. Pricing was announced only 30 days prior. That means payment setup, subscription changes, app update and payment approval requests, etc all need to happen within 30days. This is literally impossible. Third, there are people who have paid a for a yearly subscription. (10$ total) Those funds either need to be refunded in it's entirety, or be allowed to run out first. Both will not occur within 30 days. That is literally impossible for apollo dev to do. That's just an issue of how refunding works and timelines. If it is the latter, the dev will be incurring ~50,000 usd in costs every month. This is impossible to sustain. Either way, there are app store rules that must be followed first. Reddit's timeline is incompatible with them. And finally, regardless of API costs! reddit has on multiple occasions, defamed Apollo dev. Why would he continue working with a company that makes false blackmail accusations, then doubles down after evidence is provided? https://old.reddit.com/r/apolloapp/comments/144f6xm/apollo_will_close_down_on_june_30th_reddits/ https://old.reddit.com/r/apolloapp/comments/144f6xm/apollo_w...

nunez 3y ago

I would have had no issue paying $10/mo for the Reddit API. Wouldn't have even thought about it. I'll go out on a limb and say that most Apollo/3P users would've done the same thing. Really sucks that they chose death instead.

8ytecoder 3y ago
Yup, before all this nonsense I was voluntarily paying for Reddit premium to support Reddit. I had no interest in any of their premium features - Apollo already had no ads and that’s all I cared.
johnnyanmac 3y ago
TBH I would have and I think many others would hesitate as well. $10/month is enough to the point where I would consider simply sticking to the desktop site. for $10/month I'd expect more quality control in communities, and my experience from years of browsing doesn't make me optimistic that my money would improve that.