FYI: Reddit subs going dark 6/12-6/14 in protest of Reddits new api fees to third party and "front end" apps

[Eggs_n_Ham]

Shouldn't affect posts or content. We shall see if it makes a difference...

 

[man0a]

I gotta say that I'm with Reddit on this one. One of the main purposes of these 3rd party apps is to strip out the ads that you get with the official Reddit user interface. Asking the app companies (or their customers) to pay some amount to recover Reddit's only revenue source seems fair to me. You don't see companies like Facebook or YouTube offering a no-charge ad-free user interface or public API.

 

[Eggs_n_Ham]

I gotta say that I'm with Reddit on this one. One of the main purposes of these 3rd party apps is to strip out the ads that you get with the official Reddit user interface. Asking the app companies (or their customers) to pay some amount to recover Reddit's only revenue source seems fair to me. You don't see companies like Facebook or YouTube offering an add-free user interface or public API.

I guess api fees will be millions of dollars for some apps. Looks like they're considering IPO and looking at a potential windfall.
Better get scraping!

 

[man0a]

I guess api fees will be millions of dollars for some apps. Looks like they're considering IPO and looking at a potential windfall.
Better get scraping!

Reddit is not a charity or startup. The original founders sold Reddit to Condé Nast (the magazine publishing house) in 2006. The company has a lot of investors, but since they are privately owned, profitability is unclear.

 

[Graham Greenbag]

The internet is seen by investors as a way to transfer your wealth into their bank accounts. Particularly the parts of the internet that offer no return on your investment of time and money.

I am sure many have seen the CEO or owner or whatever he is at Reddit parading around at the tennis, enjoying the luxury lifestyle reddit users are paying for. Maybe reddit users need to do more work to make him work harder for them if he wants their business?

Take advantage of the opportunity to work out how to get a return on the money and time you are spending on internet platforms. No return = turn it off. The return does not have to be financial, increasing your knowledge and being entertained are useful returns you can get. Just work out how much it is costing and make sure you are happy with the returns on what you are paying for.

I get the gist of the above but maybe not all of the detail. One thing that’s for sure is that if you don’t pay for something then there’s a catch, you’re usually the product. I typically don’t watch commercial television or listen to commercial radio but instead use BBC products that are paid for by a licensing fee. My decisions shouldn’t be focused by someone else’s mind control through advertisement, etc.

Here on UU there are advertisements and whilst I dislike the intrusion - and hope that it’s limited - operating costs have to be covered. The trade of limited access to me (via adverts) for the knowledge on this forum is acceptable and perhaps part of the balance that Bill talks about. Other platforms just don’t and won’t get my currency (access to influence), either their content is too poor or their price too high.

Are apps that cut out add’s fair? We’ll probably not and the content providers/hosts have costs to meet, etc. On the other hand wilfully manipulating viewers for maximin return isn’t a moral activity so such folk don’t get my sympathy, and when I can avoid them then I do.

 

[Wiggy]

In general, I'm able to ignore all that stuff down the right side of my screen. But when they become really offensive or popups continually cover the main part of the screen, that's where AdBlock does its work. Paywalls, however, are necessary for true subscription services.

Google Chrome has AdBlock Plus as an effective option at no cost. It still allows ads delivered by the site you're on, but blocks the intruding "barnacles" or "space invaders" that make using the browser impossible.

In the case of UU, if I turn off AdBlock I see some "music-related" and other banner ads across the top. Not at all intrusive or offensive... until they are. However, I do get non-related popups ads that obliterate viewing content. Not good, so AdBlock goes back on.

(I will withhold my general opinion of Reddit.)

 

[Eggs_n_Ham]

I gotta say that I'm with Reddit on this one. One of the main purposes of these 3rd party apps is to strip out the ads that you get with the official Reddit user interface. Asking the app companies (or their customers) to pay some amount to recover Reddit's only revenue source seems fair to me. You don't see companies like Facebook or YouTube offering an add-free user interface or public API.

Reddit is not a charity or startup. The original founders sold Reddit to Condé Nast (the magazine publishing house) in 2006. The company has a lot of investors, but since they are privately owned, profitability is unclear.

I'm a rare reddit user myself. Reddit has useful subs for data I'm looking for but it also has unbelievably offensive content as well. Nonetheless, from what I've read reddit has been planning on ipo status ($10 billion?) for the past couple years and now they claim AI has reduced it's value because google and microsoft scraped the beejisis out of the site for the unfettered human content reddit is so well known for, to help build AI (make it more "human"). Reddit wants financial return for it's treasure trove of human content.

 

[Pirate Jim]

Sounds like they're closing the barn door after the horse has bolted and the rest of the barn has burned down

 

[Wiggy]

Have "they" scraped UU for the AI?

How many books have been written and advertising campaigns designed, based on input from UU? When we could see what was happening a while ago, there were BOTs searching UU all the time. Now thats blocked, but it probably still happens.

People are only just waking up to the value of their accrued human experiences that they gave away for free. Or paid a subscription to contribute without advertising.

Check out the adage that says nothing is free, and that if you appear to be getting something for free, you are the product.

If Reddit gets money for the accrued human experience, should they be passing it on to the members?

Will we ever get social media where we are paid to contribute content? We can get a good return in the form of communications with our groups and Societies and family and friends, so we are getting some value. But do we over-contentise and give away too much free stuff the the Tach Giants? Should we be more discerning in how we use social media?

Well said, Bill1.

Accrued, "curated," and selling to the highest bidder via IPO.

Don't feed the varmint... mic drop.