I’ve had a lot of questions about Reddit’s planned AMA today and “What if they…”, so I added a section to the bottom of my post to answer that and thought I’d share it here too.
@christianselig I’ve just deleted all of my posts from my 8 years on Reddit. I hope others will be inspired to do the same. My account t will be deleted on June 30th.
@christianselig really sad to see Apollo go, it’s an example of excellence on the iOS platform while the official offering is an example of user-hostile, poorly accessible corporate greed. Thanks for everything and good luck with whatever you do going forward! Also obligatory #fuckreddit, see all of you over at Lemmy!
@christianselig I’m going to miss using Apollo. Not sure I’m going to miss Reddit as much. I’ve already told some of the subs I moderate that I’m leaving the platform. I’ve decided it’s Apollo or nothing! I look forward to your next app (I love Amplosion and Achoo)
No one should take any bait offered by Reddit. Any compromises they may offer will undoubtedly be erased within a few months and we'll be back to the current situation.
@christianselig I’m going to really miss using Apollo. It’s been by far my most used iOS app since you released it. I consider it to be the benchmark for what an iOS app should be. I don’t use Reddit outside of Apollo at all, so after over 10 years of use I’ll be redacting all my content and deleting all my accounts in solidarity with Apollo. I’ve used your app since your first thread launching on /r/apple. Thanks for everything.
@christianselig I really don’t see how this will go well for reddit, this more or less alienates a massive part of the old and it’s not like this is low key. If they don’t change anything they’ll have to gut most subreddits’ modteams effectively changing the culture of reddit for the worse (been going down anyways).
@christianselig I mean, if Reddit/Spez comes forward with “Hey guys, we apologise, come back.”, the best move will clearly be the middle finger. Reddit don’t deserve Apollo, its dev and its users.
Either way, the upcoming AMA might be some kind of damage control. But I would really be surprised that anything productive comes out of it.
You did the right thing Christian. It’s time to move on. Wherever you go next, we will follow you.
@christianselig sad stuff. Looking forward to follow you here on Mastadon after deleting Reddit, man. You’ve really made Reddit enjoyable, more than the default app or website could ever do.
@christianselig Very curious about how much effort it would take to make "Appolo for Lemmy."
I understand they're two different platforms so it would be a lot but I think most of the effort is on the backend as it seems like lemmy is functionally similar. I'm not an ios developer myself so I could be completely wrong but I'm just curious.
However lemmy is a lot less popular so it may not be worth it.
@christianselig@tchambers It's truly the end of the "Media Platform" era with this and Twitter - everyone who built their tools on someone else's platform will start to pull away, and the audiences will die away.
I've have people comment that federation won't work, but all the really popular reddits have to do is agree a path to create their own communities - there are plenty with over 100k users
@christianselig Sad to see Apollo go, but completely understand why. Amused that even till the end you won’t reveal Easter eggs inside the binary. At least would love to know some of the bits of the voice files, but I guess for something far far after this point. (And some files inside asset catalogue)
@christianselig I’m genuinely destroyed by the fact that my most used app will vanish this month. I know it’s nothing compared to your loss but man will I miss this experience. Fan since day 1.
@christianselig I’m watching a chromium extension delete my 12 years of comment and post history. After I got past the activity from 8 years ago it didn’t have much work to do. Thanks for making such a brilliant app and I look forward to seeing what, if anything, you’ll share in the future.
@christianselig they keep going on about being threatened but they hold all the cards. You can’t be threatened when you have all the power. Such ridiculous behaviour for a business as large as theirs.
@christianselig
It didn't have to be this way. Reddit could have made positive gestures with developers or even just rolled back their insane price increases. But no, Reddit wants to destroy all good will with their 3rd-party developers and their mods and their users.
Fuck them. I hope Reddit goes down in flames, like Digg did before it.
@christianselig Anyone still on Twitter? Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway were pretty insensitive about this on their Pivot podcast. I would love for someone to bring the facts to their attention.
@christianselig it’s seriously disgusting how he’s trying to paint you as an evil leech on their precious profits; you’re literally just trying to make improvements to help users
@christianselig I love Apollo! Apollo is always one of the first apps I install when setting up my phone. It’s so beautifully designed. I was one of the first users who purchased the lifetime Pro option and have been an avid beta tester for over 2 years now. To say I’m sad that this app won’t be a thing anymore is an understatement. I wish you luck in your future endeavors and I hope to be a customer for your next projects.
@christianselig
I will miss the communities and people I have met online since I started using Apollo and created a Reddit account.
Unfortunately, without Apollo, Reddit is completely unusable.
@christianselig so sorry to hear this - such a shame that they couldn’t work with you, and instead, chose to break one of the apps that made Reddit usable in the first place.
I hope the impact on your personal life is manageable, and can’t wait to see what you do next!
@christianselig
I categorize #apps by how important they are for me, from least (first below) to most:
🔹All other apps on the #AppStore
🔹Apps that I have bought but not installed
🔹Apps that I have installed but are in the app drawer
🔹Apps that are on one of my home screens (4 pages, hierarchical)
🔹Apps that are on my main home screen but in a folder
🔹Apps that are directly accessible on my main home screen
🔹Apps that reside in the #bluebanana zone on my main home screen <- #Apollo lives here
@christianselig As an iOS developer l can almost viscerally feel the pain you must be experiencing, though I won’t pretend to know how it feels since only you can.
But I want to say thank you for years of not just hard work and dedication to a stunning, beautiful app you obviously love, but for your commitment to excellence. Apollo is a model for what an app should be. It is the reason I started using Reddit.
I wish you the best of luck & I hope what’s next for you is even better for you.
@christianselig this will be lost in the chorus of love here but thank you for your hard work and being an excellent example of a good developer and steward of the software. After using Apollo for the last few years I’m not sure if I can go back to reddit not on it.
@christianselig very sad to hear it. Apollo (along with Tweetbot et al) was one of the first great apps in the early days of iOS, and it definitely helped inspire me to strive for a high UX bar in my work. Good luck on your upcoming Vision journey though, very exciting 😊
Reddit had a good run, but feels like it’s on the way out. Haven’t used it much for years so won’t be a great loss personally, but it also was (like Digg) one of the seminal social platforms of its kind. Sad to see it fall.
@christianselig Although Apollo never “clicked” for me, I have to say that this sucks big time! I very sorry that Reddit decided to pull a “Musk” on you and all other independent app developers!
@christianselig no hyperbole, but, Apollo is right there with the best app i've ever used. I don't recall it ever crashing! Looking forward to supporting whatever you work on next.
@christianselig Incredibly sad… Apollo was the only reason I used Reddit. I will keep the app around solely so that I can press that “do not refund” button, but after that, it’s adios to Reddit completely. Just like you, I cannot imagine supporting the people running the show given how they behave. Thanks for the wonderful run and I wish you the best of luck in the future!
@christianselig Just deleted my Reddit account today after I saw the way that Steve responded in his AMA. I had Reddit premium, 10+ yr account, etc. They're going to lose a ton of longtime users, as well as a ton of Reddit premium users, just judging from posts I saw on r/Lounge before I left.
@christianselig , I’m so sorry you have to close Apollo. I just wanted you to know the only reason I joined Reddit was because of the Apollo app I found on Apple. I have not been a member long but I so enjoyed it. Yours was my go to app. My favorite is the pixel pals. They keep me company throughout my day. 🐱. I do NOT want a refund on my account. I think you deserve every dime you get and received. I thank you for everything. You have no idea how your app has brought joy to myself and others.
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