For gamers in particular, Reddit is the go-to destination for games, new releases, speculation, and memes. Now Reddit wants to make changes and numerous moderators shut down their subreddits in protest.
What changes does Reddit want to make? In order to be able to enjoy Reddit on the smartphone without annoying ads, many users use third-party apps such as Infinity for Android or Apollo for iOS. Of course, these only exist because Reddit grants them access.
But that could be over now, because: A fee should be charged for access to the data. And it’s so high that it’s crowding out third-party apps (via Kotaku).
This pushes mobile app users to read directly on Reddit without resorting to other apps. This not only annoys users, but above all the moderators of the subreddits.
What is the community angry about? Users are disturbed by numerous advertisements while reading, which could be circumvented with the help of apps like Apollo. But not only that, because these apps also offer practical moderation tools (via Kotaku).
After the original announcement, Reddit moderators banded together and planned a protest.
What’s happening on Reddit? On June 12th, numerous subreddits will be put on private mode. This means that people who don’t follow the subreddits won’t have access to them. Over 4800 subreddits have now joined.
Which subreddits are affected? Numerous used by gamers. Here you can see a small list of subreddits that many of you are sure to use:
But other subreddits such as r/art, r/Cooking, r/DIY and r/sports are also affected. You can find a list of the subreddits on r/ModCoord.
Many other moderators join in the comments. One writes: “We will join in solidarity and temporarily go offline.”
Reddit is a place for all sorts of people – but they don’t just have good things in mind. Women in public in particular are often the target of weird subreddits:
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Moderators ask for help
When will the subreddits work again? The Steam subreddit speaks of a two-day protest, i.e. from June 12th to 14th. Others only name June 12 as the period. It remains to be seen whether the protest on most subreddits will last longer.
A moderator of the Steam subreddit writes as an explanation:
Some will return after 48 hours, while others will disappear permanently unless the issue is adequately addressed. Many moderators can no longer carry out their work due to the bad tools in the official app. We do not make this decision lightly. We do what we do because we love Reddit and we truly believe this change will make it impossible to do what we love.
The two-day shutdown is not the goal and it is not the end. If by the 14th there are no signs that Reddit intends to fix what they broke, we will use the community and awareness we’ve built up until then as a tool for further action.
u/Creekie_ on the Steam subreddit
It also addresses Reddit users with suggestions for action and motivates them to complain to Reddit or rate the Reddit app negatively. “Spread the word. Causes disruption on related subreddits. Make it a meme, make it “spicy,” she writes.
She also recommends staying away from Reddit on the affected days. She also urges users not to behave like an “ass” and, despite everything, to refrain from threats and insults, as these do not help anyone.
YouTube has also tightened its rules on ad blockers and the community reacted quite appalled.