It’s disappointing to see some of the larger subreddits going public with a ‘what’s the point?’ tone. Most are staying private, but some aren’t. As if Reddit doesn’t exist solely because of its user generated content. If enough subs permanently shut down, they’ll be forced to reconsider their API position. Social media can’t run without social media.
I decided to write a message to subreddits I’ve been lurking for years via messaging the mods saying how vitally important it is for subreddits to protest right now, at this critical time, before it’s too late. I’ve politely implored them to continue the protest saying how these API changes with have a long-lasting, permanent impact on Reddit as a platform for the worse.
I’d suggest you guys come up with your own letter template and message the mods of those subreddits in polite form. It’d be great if we can convince these exceptions to go private again. I also understand some moderators may be afraid Reddit will just replace them with mods willing to reopen the sub, so I added a section saying it they’re treated like that, Reddit don’t deserve their time and maybe they should consider spending their time elsewhere if that happens. This is their prime chance to stand up for the right thing right now for the future of Reddit.
I used Reddark to determine which subreddits to contact. I’d say only contact hobbyist ones such as sports rather than more politically-inclined ones like Ukraine that have a fair reason to stay open. Also some subreddits have made poll posts asking their users if they should go private like Gaming and NotTheOnion, so please don’t message those ones.
I personally think you should message them if you think it will make you feel better, but I wouldn’t expect anything to come of it. I assume the mods are aware of the implications of their actions and are choosing to reopen with that impact in mind.
In my opinion, reddit was an interesting experiment 10-15 years ago that grew stagnant and somewhat boring. The people running it have chosen, with intention, to make the site as suitable as possible for their financial goals. I don’t like it, but it’s their right to do so. The issues which have recently boiled over were always present, and I just don’t think you can put the Shit Genie back in the bottle RandyBoBandy.
Reddit will lumber on, it will probably go right behind Facebook and many users will continue to use it. The more creative users will likely flock to platforms like this and create something new that will take a longer period of time to go through a similar cycle.
I may leave my account intact over there. Maybe I’ll occasionally pop over to see if it still works like I do on fark.
I think the fun part of reddit is over.
“I think the fun part of reddit is over.” Upvoted until I saw this, and had to comment to say you are absolutely right. Reddit will live on for now but the fun times feel over.