“Major Reddit moderators went dark last month in protest of the company’s announcement that it would be raising its API prices, saying it was necessary because…”
Bullshit bwana! They instituted OSFA pricing, when prior it was free.
Get the fucking facts straight before publishing, ya gits.
They instituted OSFA pricing, when prior it was free.
Even that, while technically true doesn't paint the full picture. Let me try:
They cut off the API to everyone: 3rd-party apps, disabled users, mods who use tools to moderate (that don't exist on Reddit). Then, they priced access to the that API so high that basically no 3rd-party could afford it.
This is cutting off the API to practically everyone (in practice, if not in action) ahead of their planned IPO. And because they want to charge for the LLM AI's that use Reddit content for training...
It wasn't just that, they followed with other changes that alienated mods and users. The API thing was just the beginning of a campaign. It's not even something new, this kind of downfall has happened before when social media sites prioritize profit above community. They had a good run and outlasted those that preceded them, but evidently the cycle is doomed to repeat.