Reddit Has Made Up Their Mind About API Pricing, It’s Time To Move On
So The Verge did an Interview with Steve Huffman here:
And I didn’t think too much about it. Until I saw a reaction post on 9to5Mac which was overwhelmingly negative. And I was like, “That didn’t sound like too bad of an interview. Let’s look at it again.”
So I look at the comments and… they’re just so negative. And I just don’t understand why. It’s just an API. So they hike up the price so you can’t use a third-party app anymore. So? Just use the first-party app. And the Reddit RSS feeds still work, you can still use my RSS reader.
Now there is one group of people who I do feel bad for and that is the moderators. Apparently the third party Reddit apps had some features that helped out moderators a lot and now that they’ve gone it’s going to make things difficult. It’s the reason the mods of /r/flutterdev cited for going dark permanently. It’s unfortunate, but I suspect it’s temporary, there will be solutions that eventually pop up. I think Reddit is actually developing its own. And I never hear anything about the moderators, only some random ad hominem attacks. Or something about bootlicking. Or some section taken out of context where the commenter assumes the worst. And it’s pretty easy to do because Huffman appears to have zero media training.
The API Changes
A few days ago I posted this
and I reached the conclusion that Reddit was probably running on some very inefficient code that made it simply not possible to provide an API at a reasonable price. And I stand by that assertion. I mean, it could be wrong, but it appears to be consistent with everything I’ve heard. Well, except for one comment from the Apollo dev.
In one of his posts he said how some random Reddit employee told him that the cost was much higher than it needed to be. It was a pretty short comment, I think it was just like a “That’s right” from the Reddit dev. I went searching for exactly where he said it but I couldn’t find it. So this is all I have to go on. And if this is the exchange it’s very likely that it was misinterpreted. But even if it wasn’t I have very little reason to trust the Apollo dev. He seems to be incredibly unprofessional. There was this whole blackmail thing where Reddit was accusing Apollo of blackmail and then Apollo said he didn’t but then it was revealed he did but it was a ‘joke’. Not a very funny joke. And then he leaked all the phone calls which you can do legally, doesn’t mean you should. I don’t understand why people trust this guy so much, especially when he’s making nonsense analogies with cars.
Well, whatever the case it looks like Reddit has made up its mind. In the interview Huffman says how there isn’t as much support for the protest as there used to be. Now I haven’t really been paying much attention to this but looking around it looks like he’s right. And it makes sense. At this point it is very unlikely that Reddit will change its mind about the API changes. It’s like that famous quote, “Before seeking revenge make sure to dig two graves: one for your enemy and one for yourself. “
And It’s Time To Move On
I’m reminded of that viral story where that CEO fired a bunch of people on Zoom. It’s really unfortunate because the alternative is you just get told by some HR person, or worse, fired by email. Having the CEO give you the news on Zoom is not the worst thing that could happen. But because this went viral guess what? Now everyone knows that you shouldn’t do that unless you want a bunch of negative PR.
The same thing is going to happen here. Reddit could have just said, “We have new API pricing.” and then went radio silent. But they didn’t. They chose to talk with the community and some good has come out of that. And also some developer has chosen to make a scene and leak confidential phone calls.
The point is, do you think the next time something like this happens Reddit is going to consult with the community again? I don’t think so. I think they’re just going to make their announcement and have zero public interaction. Except maybe some of those PR, “We’re listening to feedback” answers.
At this point the comments against Steve Huffman and Reddit are just embarrassing. Like, you’re only hurting yourself at this point. Reddit has made up its mind, it’s time to move on.
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