Technology @beehaw.org alyaza [they/she] @beehaw.org 1 yr. ago

a megathread for developments on Reddit and with third-party Reddit apps

just so this doesn't overwhelm our front page too much, i think now's a good time to start consolidating discussions. existing threads will be kept up, but unless a big update comes let's try to keep what's happening in this thread instead of across 10.

developments to this point:

The Verge is on it as usual, also--here's their latest coverage (h/t @dirtmayor@beehaw.org):

It’s not just Apollo: other Reddit apps are shutting down, too

other media coverage:

Reddit CEO doubles down on attack on Apollo developer in drama-filled AMA

18 comments

Looks like the Chinese "investor" is the Communist Party. The actions Reddit is taking are pretty much how they take down all the companies and citizens they target.
- I swear tankies and liberals are basically the same. Tankies blame the CIA for every single bad thing that has ever happened while liberals blame the CCP and the Russian government. SOMETIMES BUSINESS PEOPLE ARE JUST GREEDY AND SOMETIMES AMERICANS ARE JUST SHITTY, there doesn't need to be a secret cabal behind everything
  
  SOMETIMES BUSINESS PEOPLE ARE JUST GREEDY AND SOMETIMES AMERICANS ARE JUST SHITTY, there doesn’t need to be a secret cabal behind everything
  
  while i'll wait for the source i asked for and gladly correct this if i'm presuming incorrectly, i'd bet the odds are high that "CCP" is just being used as a shorthand/stand-in for a company like TenCent, because that happens a lot in discussions about China and it's really goofy.
- Looks like the Chinese “investor” is the Communist Party.
  
  can we get a citation on this--preferably before asserting it as fact, please? i'd like it if, on this site, we didn't just say things (especially if they sound in line with our priors) but actually substantiate them.
  
  Not fact. It's my opinion based on the actions I see, and the fact things started to go down hill after the investors gave money. One of the big ones was Chinese.
  
  We've seen how things go down when China is involved - loans to poor nations, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the disputed islands with Japan, Tibet, the Urghurs.
  
  We've seen the various iterations of the "oops how did that key logger get in there?" discoveries (Lenovo, i'm looking at you), corporate espionage, Huawei telecommunications infrastructure being used to tap communicatons, etc..
  
  Strict control of pretty much everything is the pattern, in which disinformation is easily dispensed and difficult to identify.
Man that whole situation really sucks. Reddit was by far my most visited site before they decided to light the house on fire. On mobile I always used Boost because the official app is terrible and (at least the last time I looked at it) would drain my battery like it was nothing even when the app was closed. RIP. At least we've got Lemmy. I just wish these 3rd party apps would take their users to the fediverse instead of shutting down entirely. As a developer it really sucks when you have to shut down a project you've put so much work into.
what blew my mind, and the minds of many other people on reddit is that they (reddit) have 2,000 employees and yet still can't piece together a good and accessible experience for their users...
- No matter how many developers you get, you're never going to have a good product if the guy calling the shots won't allow it. I'm confident that the developers working on Reddit probably know damn well that their product is trash and there's nothing they can do about it because their job isn't "make a good site" its "do what your boss tells you to do"
  
  I've been a developer for awhile and you would be surprised how many companies can't get out of their own way to improve their products.
I just don't get how a site based on freely produced content thst employs volunteer mods can actually monetise.

That part just gets me. The site has nothing without the users and the users have nothing without the mods.
- The thing is, they have operating costs. I'm sure it's a boatload of money as well, given the size and scope of Reddit. Almost all startups run at a loss. And then continue to do so long past when they're a "startup". The money they "make" is from rounds of investors who believe they will find a way to make money in the future. Eventually investors get restless and demand that they find a way to monetize so they can recoup. Without those investors money, the site will come crashing as soon as they miss some critical payments for stuff that keep the site up. I'm absolutely sure that's what we're seeing. I think either way, its time has come.
  
  Pinch the users to try to keep it alive for a little bit more. Don't pinch the users and it dies in a grinding halt when they miss some key payments.
  
  So realistically, what would a sustainable business model be for something like Reddit?
  
  Something like lemmy or a fediverse platform is going to rely on donations and community support. In the case of mastodon, for example, it’s been shown to work well enough for sustainable operations. For those willing to work on something worthwhile for lower salary, it is potentially a great gig. In a commercial context though, it’s basically a subscription based business model.
  
  If we’re to recover from this ad driven data tracking economy, subscriptions seem like a healthy thing for businesses to adopt.
  
  Reddit may have already signed their deals with the devil. But generally, the point of the fediverse is to escape this corporate manipulation of our basic communications in the internet, and it’s still interesting to ask what profitable but sustainable operations can look like.

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