Reddit Welcomes Michael Seibel to Board of Directors • Hacker News Board

Re: Reddit Welcomes Michael Seibel to Board of Directors

#111

Post by gonehome » Thu, Jun 11, 2020, 12:45 AM UTC

hazz99 wrote: post #93

jstgord wrote: post #87

Dear Reddit, for the love of Mike .. PLEASE treat reddit as a web-first platform. You are killing the golden goose by trying to force people toward the app - by gradually removing features and usability from the mobile web site and constantly reminding people they "should" use the app. I don't want reddit as an 'app', I want reddit to be readable/scrollable on mobile and web without any form of coercion.

I don't think they're killing it. Anecdotally, all my friends prefer the app and the redesign to the old web client. I suspect this anecdata is supported by Reddit's metrics, otherwise they wouldn't be pushing so hard for it (barring some other long term goal) Not that I like the changes. I much prefer the old version.

They're so hostile to their own users I'm not sure they get accurate results from their metrics.

- They change you back to the new design every few days.

- They constantly tell you to use the app (thankfully you can disable this at least).

- The old reddit design has a sidebar with helpful content, but this is not automatically present in the redesign. If you're a mod you have to manually copy that content over to the redesign and keep both updated separately. A lot of mods don't seem to know this so some communities just don't have their community information in the redesign.

- The new redesign on mobile web is so bad that those that don't know about how to get the old design will probably use the app to get something that works.

I'm glad old.reddit still exists, but I think if they just scrapped the entire new site it would be a better product. Probably worse for 'engagement' though because without infinite scroll, gifs loading everywhere, and other addictive hacks, people would just read what they wanted to and leave. The horror.

(Also r/hnblogs traffic has most people using the old design, but there's an obvious selection bias in that community.)

Re: Reddit Welcomes Michael Seibel to Board of Directors

#112

Post by dmix » Thu, Jun 11, 2020, 12:45 AM UTC

missosoup wrote: post #86

henryfjordan wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is exactly my point. They brought someone in who presumably is going to see Monthly Active Users as the metric to live or die by when what the world needs from Reddit/Twitter/FB is a more social-good focus. It might be worth it to shed a few users and lose a few ad dollars to make positive change on their platforms but with a Silicon Valley CEO on the board that is unlikely to happen.

What exactly is 'social good', in your mind?

Making purely symbolic corporate gestures in response to popular social issues and banning everything that doesn’t fit the mold.

Re: Reddit Welcomes Michael Seibel to Board of Directors

#113

Post by liamcardenas » Thu, Jun 11, 2020, 12:45 AM UTC

hazz99 wrote: post #93

jstgord wrote: post #87

Dear Reddit, for the love of Mike .. PLEASE treat reddit as a web-first platform. You are killing the golden goose by trying to force people toward the app - by gradually removing features and usability from the mobile web site and constantly reminding people they "should" use the app. I don't want reddit as an 'app', I want reddit to be readable/scrollable on mobile and web without any form of coercion.

I don't think they're killing it. Anecdotally, all my friends prefer the app and the redesign to the old web client. I suspect this anecdata is supported by Reddit's metrics, otherwise they wouldn't be pushing so hard for it (barring some other long term goal) Not that I like the changes. I much prefer the old version.

Yes, but that is likely due in part to Reddit’s desire to deprioritize making the web client good relative to mobile. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Re: Reddit Welcomes Michael Seibel to Board of Directors

#114

Post by gsich » Thu, Jun 11, 2020, 12:46 AM UTC

hazz99 wrote: post #93

jstgord wrote: post #87

Dear Reddit, for the love of Mike .. PLEASE treat reddit as a web-first platform. You are killing the golden goose by trying to force people toward the app - by gradually removing features and usability from the mobile web site and constantly reminding people they "should" use the app. I don't want reddit as an 'app', I want reddit to be readable/scrollable on mobile and web without any form of coercion.

I don't think they're killing it. Anecdotally, all my friends prefer the app and the redesign to the old web client. I suspect this anecdata is supported by Reddit's metrics, otherwise they wouldn't be pushing so hard for it (barring some other long term goal) Not that I like the changes. I much prefer the old version.

Metrics lie. Defaults matter.

Re: Reddit Welcomes Michael Seibel to Board of Directors

#115

Post by rubyron » Thu, Jun 11, 2020, 12:46 AM UTC

sushid wrote: post #92

jstgord wrote: post #87

Dear Reddit, for the love of Mike .. PLEASE treat reddit as a web-first platform. You are killing the golden goose by trying to force people toward the app - by gradually removing features and usability from the mobile web site and constantly reminding people they "should" use the app. I don't want reddit as an 'app', I want reddit to be readable/scrollable on mobile and web without any form of coercion.

Moreover, if I relent and click "View on app" while on mobile, it directs me to the App Store instead of opening the app to the thread I was attempting to read. At least handoff correctly if you're going to force me to use your stupid app.

Interesting. It opens on the deep link in my app every time with iPhone XS Max.

Re: Reddit Welcomes Michael Seibel to Board of Directors

#116

Post by gsich » Thu, Jun 11, 2020, 12:47 AM UTC

jstgord wrote: post #87

Dear Reddit, for the love of Mike .. PLEASE treat reddit as a web-first platform. You are killing the golden goose by trying to force people toward the app - by gradually removing features and usability from the mobile web site and constantly reminding people they "should" use the app. I don't want reddit as an 'app', I want reddit to be readable/scrollable on mobile and web without any form of coercion.

It's asshole behaviour, plain and simple.

Re: Reddit Welcomes Michael Seibel to Board of Directors

#117

Post by rubyron » Thu, Jun 11, 2020, 12:47 AM UTC

brownkonas wrote: post #91

ori_b wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That goose already got killed with the new UI. It's only usable via old.reddit.com now.

Maybe in the minority , but I think the UX of the mobile app is fantastic: * attractive card view * good actions from the list * good actions from the comments view * great performance

Agree. Love the iOS app.

Re: Reddit Welcomes Michael Seibel to Board of Directors

#118

Post by gerdesj » Thu, Jun 11, 2020, 12:48 AM UTC

mindfulplay wrote: post #17

A dumb but serious question: what powers does a board of directors have? In terms of day to day operations, engineering, product, marketing and so on?

Bear in mind that not all companies are quite as big as this lot. I don't know the actual stats for any country but I think that small companies are quite important in terms of additive scale. In general your small company has a nasty habit of hiring people, abiding by the rules and paying taxes.

So, I happen to be a Managing Director of a small company (UK) - we have 20 odd employees and a t/o of ~£1.5M. We are a private company, not public (more later.) We as a board have simple duties, largely decided by ourselves. We also have responsibilities that are dictated by the country: we have to file accounts on time to a proscribed format, pay corporation tax regularly, pay VAT returns on a regular basis etc. We also have to have a certain structure (two directors minimum) and hold regular meetings such as the AGM. There's a few other requirements but in general you do it how you like.

We also have shareholders who are not directors. These are employees who have served long enough (>four or so years is the general rule.) These are Class B shareholders (Me and the other directors are Class A). The difference is Class A stakeholders can vote on stuff - ie run the company and Class B can benefit from company profits but don't get to run my company.

Just to be clear: me and my partners (2) run the company but quite a few people get to benefit via shareholdings. If the shit hits the fan, me and my partners get to be kicked in the bollocks, shareholders only get tickled.

Oooh, SARS-CoV-2: We'll be fine for a while longer.

Re: Reddit Welcomes Michael Seibel to Board of Directors

#119

Post by lukifer » Thu, Jun 11, 2020, 12:48 AM UTC

bzb3 wrote: post #97

henryfjordan wrote: post #53

Why stick to the insular Silicon Valley club and not get someone who's devoted their life to civil rights? There are a ton of community activists who could actually bring a fresh perspective. EDIT: I do not mean to question his particular qualifications or his commitment to change, only to comment on the fact that it could have been someone from a different walk of life. Tech leadership in Silicon Valley does not app…

What the fuck do "civil rights" have to do with being a director at Reddit? Sorry but is this a bait message?

Context: the new board seat was recently opened after co-founder Alexis Ohanian stepped down, while recommending the board nominate a black replacement.

https://alexisohanian.com/home/2020/6/5/what-did-you-do

Re: Reddit Welcomes Michael Seibel to Board of Directors

#120

Post by julianeon » Thu, Jun 11, 2020, 12:49 AM UTC

casefields wrote: post #39

digitaltrees wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anyone that remotely thinks that is an idiot. Michael is a fucking force of nature and one of the most impressive people you will ever meet. Seriously, if that thought ever comes up in your presence attack it head on because the person expressing it needs a big fucking gut check. Honestly, even you saying this is BS.

99% of the world, and 99.999% of reddit, has no clue who he is. Nor do they know anyone that has first hand knowledge of working with him. All they'll know is the the way the previous guy stepped down, and what he requested. I understand it's a terrible position to be put in.

People are acting like Seibel's about to assume the role of President of the Universe.

It's just the reddit board. If it's so awesome, can you name the other people who are on it, as of today?

Guaranteed that 95% of the people reading this did not know that this august institution also includes, and would not have known were it not for this comment:

Sam Altman (famous, not surprising) Robert Sauerberg (probably less famous than Seibel before being named to this) Porter Gale (ditto)

I'm sure these are good people, doing important work. But there's 4 of them in all, Seibel's just one, and the net effect may be less consequential than people here imagine.