Well, #Reddit, we've had some good times, but I cannot stand #SteveHuffman anymore. Maybe #Lemmy is ready for the big-time now. Either way, gonna give it a shot.
My sympathies to the mods and devs that have put in so many hours of hard work.
Steve Huffman: "Apollo threatened us, said they'll 'make it easy' if Reddit gave them $10 million. This guy behind the scenes is coercing us. He's threatening us."
Luckily, Apollo developer Christian Selig had proof that Huffman lied.
While the media coverage (and many written subreddit positions) focus on the API changes, it's the justified anger at Huffman's dishonesty that fuels many of the redditor protests.
While I disagree with u/spez's actions, I understand his perspective. Reddit's most valuable asset is its curated text data for training Large Language Models like ChatGPT. Closing down the API protects that asset. He's likely betting that subreddit moderation will be solved with LLMs so the mods that generated that data are of little concern going forward. There will be only one chance to monetize this data asset.
The reason I disagree with u/spez's actions is because I don't believe this asset belongs to him. I'm sure he's protected from a legal perspective but from a philosophical perspective, when a user writes an idea on an online forum, they don't forfeit ownership of that idea. People who contributed to Reddit even 12 months ago had no idea their thoughts will be monetized and consumed by LLMs. We need laws to protect people's data and to democratize data assets.
I also wish u/spez would just be honest about what he's doing. Telling possibly career ending lies about developers and disregarding the mods that made Reddit is inexcusable. It's clear that Reddit has succeeded despite u/spez's leadership.
Just my 2 cents but with #SteveHuffman and #Reddit threatening mods and forcing them to reopen the subreddits, every subreddit should follow the fabulous example of /r/Pics: become an exclusive haven of sexy pics of #JohnOliver 🤣
Reddit CEO Steve Huffman said in an interview that Elon Musk's cost-cutting at Twitter was inspiring and that the two have chatted "a handful of times."
So I guess if you're a billionaire who gets evicted for nonpayment of rent, it's "inspiring," but if you get evicted due to Wall Street devouring the housing market and decades of wage stagnation, you're a deadbeat.
I began using #Reddit 11 years ago and have been a frequent user ever since. I even moderated a sub at one point. It makes me genuinely sad to see what the CEO #spez has done to destroy the site and communities but I’m also really proud of all those who are taking a stand and walking away (temporarily or permanently). What #SteveHuffman did to @christianselig in particular was absolutely heinous. Glad to see the revolt. #rexxit#ApolloApp#Apollo
Reddit says it won’t overrule mods and force subreddits back open (www.theverge.com)
“We are not... unilaterally reopening communities.”...