Reddit's War On Its Own Community Crushes Popular Apps and Dissent
- Reddit is forcing moderators to reopen private subreddits or lose their status, despite ongoing protests over API policy changes that are costing third-party app developers millions.
- The policy changes have led multiple major Reddit apps like Apollo, RIF, and Narwhal to shut down or move to paid subscription models, angering their millions of users.
- Over 8,000 subreddits went dark to protest the API fees but have reopened under threat of moderator removal, though some found ways to continue protesting.
- Reddit made minor concessions but refused to reverse the core API policy change, leaving users and moderators feeling defeated and contemplating leaving Reddit.
- The loss of popular third-party apps and the crackdown on dissent has damaged Reddit's community and culture, calling into question its identity as an open platform.
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