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Geddit: Open-source, Reddit client for Android without using API

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Re: Geddit: Open-source, Reddit client for Android without using API

#101

Post by joshstrange »

ElCapitanMarkla wrote: post #53
joshstrange wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Totally agree. I was ready to pay for Reddit access in some shape or form but after my favorite client (Apollo) shutdown, understandably, and after I saw how Reddit treated the developer and the community I decided it was time to leave. It was/is incredibly hard to do so, it was a near-daily habit for well over a decade but there has to be a line somewhere and Reddit barreled right past it and never looked back.

I thought leaving was going to be a hard habit to break. Turns out it wasn’t. I started going down the road of checking out Lemmy but… I don’t actually miss pissing around on reddit.

There a couple of communities I miss (mostly small ones) like my city/state subs and a few games but yeah, I'm surprised at how quickly I flipped off that switch. I've played with Lemmy some but there just isn't much content there (that I care about). I followed the "memes" "subreddit" (literally no idea what they are called) to see more content and then very quickly remembered why I had purged my Reddit subs of stuff like that a long time ago.

Re: Geddit: Open-source, Reddit client for Android without using API

#102

Post by onlymonkeys »

acatton wrote: post #19
high_5 wrote: post #7

Call me cynical but building a client for a user hostile service is a sign of a Stockholm syndrome.

I totally agree. Also, this is a thankless task. The app will break every other week when they change webpage (if it's using web scraping) or when they change their internal API because the client was updated. (if it's using the reversed-engineered official app's API)

Old Reddit hasn't changed in years, probably quite the stable target.

Re: Geddit: Open-source, Reddit client for Android without using API

#103

Post by avgDev »

_sword wrote: post #70
joshstrange wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Totally agree. I was ready to pay for Reddit access in some shape or form but after my favorite client (Apollo) shutdown, understandably, and after I saw how Reddit treated the developer and the community I decided it was time to leave. It was/is incredibly hard to do so, it was a near-daily habit for well over a decade but there has to be a line somewhere and Reddit barreled right past it and never looked back.

Yup Apollo shutting down broke my Reddit habit finally. I’m not downloading another client. My screen time is down 25% already and I’m doing things with that time that I’d meant to do for a while.

Yes! The reddit fiasco has been amazing for me.

I exercise more, I spent more time engaged with my kid, I started reading books I have been putting off and just started to focus on my life again.

I know realize how much non-sense there was on reddit and that all the comments just kept me engaged without adding much value to my life(most of the time). Some comments and subreddits were extremely valuable.

Re: Geddit: Open-source, Reddit client for Android without using API

#104

Post by JeremyNT »

rkangel wrote: post #88
high_5 wrote: post #7

Call me cynical but building a client for a user hostile service is a sign of a Stockholm syndrome.

Surely it's just a sign of the network effect? Reddit is several things, but one of them is a set of communities that provide value to people. I'm an NFL fan, but I'm in the UK so my community of people to discuss NFL with is on Reddit. This network effect is what Reddit management is banking on with these changes (or at least, I assume so!). It definitely exists, but management seems to underestimate the long term e…

Indeed, you can't simply pretend that there's no value in these platforms for end users. As awful as reddit may be, it has many users and a lot of valuable information.

I don't think that things like this client (or e.g. nitter) are desirable end states, but they can be incredibly important for users who still need/want to work with the "old" platforms while more open/friendly replacements emerge.

Re: Geddit: Open-source, Reddit client for Android without using API

#105

Post by haswell »

hiatus wrote: post #81
haswell wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I imagine that over time they’ll update their 1st party clients to use authentication, and if they’re really motivated they could implement some kind of token binding. It would surprise me if this isn’t in their near term plans given the apparent urgency they have to shut down the APIs.

If reddit removed their web view and went app-only it would be dead in the water IMO.

But this isn’t just about the web view, is it?

My understanding is that they’re still hitting API endpoints.

What I’m getting at is that it’s theoretically possible to start locking down the APIs such that only Reddit’s own clients including the web view can continue to call those APIs.

Clients that are calling the unprotected endpoints would be forced to start circumventing the new API security, setting up an avenue for Reddit to go after such clients.

Getting rid of the web view isn’t necessary.

Re: Geddit: Open-source, Reddit client for Android without using API

#106

Post by msla »

denysvitali wrote: post #36

You can do the opposite: take the Reddit apps that aren't working anymore, do a one line change [1] (to use https://api.rings.social ) and you're now able to use a Reddit client to browse Rings [2][3] - a Reddit API compatible content-voting platform licensed as AGPLv3. [1]: https://github.com/rings-social/Infinity-For-Rings/commit/cd... [2]: https://rings.social [3]: https://github.com/rings-social

It doesn't look like Rings has any content. I tried to "Explore" and all I found were a few test posts.

Re: Geddit: Open-source, Reddit client for Android without using API

#107

Post by stainablesteel »

denysvitali wrote: post #93
RamblingCTO wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This uses a different social network, doesn't it? Why would you want that? The point of reddit is the existing community

Which migrated away because of all the API mess :D

where did they migrate to?

i'm still looking for a replacement to the r/python community that was [tyrannically] taken down by mods who hid a poll to do so under some vaguely named sticky post

that was the most useful place to find new python projects on the internet and i'm still peeved that the mods didn't propose any new place for the users to go

Re: Geddit: Open-source, Reddit client for Android without using API

#108

Post by mavamaarten »

joshstrange wrote: post #101
ElCapitanMarkla wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I thought leaving was going to be a hard habit to break. Turns out it wasn’t. I started going down the road of checking out Lemmy but… I don’t actually miss pissing around on reddit.

There a couple of communities I miss (mostly small ones) like my city/state subs and a few games but yeah, I'm surprised at how quickly I flipped off that switch. I've played with Lemmy some but there just isn't much content there (that I care about). I followed the "memes" "subreddit" (literally no idea what they are called) to see more content and then very quickly remembered why I had purged my Reddit subs of stuf…

Same experience here. I still find myself googling with site:reddit to find real answers to questions, but I did manage to break the mindless scrolling habit.

Uninstalling the Sync app and leaving an empty gap where the shortcut used to be on my home screen was eye opening. I tapped that empty void multiple times a day at first.

Re: Geddit: Open-source, Reddit client for Android without using API

#109

Post by flyinghamster »

avgDev wrote: post #103
_sword wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yup Apollo shutting down broke my Reddit habit finally. I’m not downloading another client. My screen time is down 25% already and I’m doing things with that time that I’d meant to do for a while.

Yes! The reddit fiasco has been amazing for me. I exercise more, I spent more time engaged with my kid, I started reading books I have been putting off and just started to focus on my life again. I know realize how much non-sense there was on reddit and that all the comments just kept me engaged without adding much value to my life(most of the time). Some comments and subreddits were extremely valuable.

That was the hidden value of Reddit: not the big firehose feeds, but specific communities. Want to discuss some geeky topic? If the subreddit wasn't there, you could create it just like that.

But, putting all your eggs in one basket doesn't work out well when the basket owner starts cutting holes in it.

The problem: discoverability. You need one starting point that everyone can find. We're already finding that search engines inevitably follow the same trajectory, so they aren't necessarily the answer. Maybe go back to curated indexes? Yahoo could become relevant again if they play their cards right, though I'm not holding my breath.

Hopefully, Mastodon, Lemmy, etc. can avoid turning into the next Tweddit.

Re: Geddit: Open-source, Reddit client for Android without using API

#110

Post by Tao3300 »

denysvitali wrote: post #93
RamblingCTO wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This uses a different social network, doesn't it? Why would you want that? The point of reddit is the existing community

Which migrated away because of all the API mess :D

All the subs I follow remain highly active. From my POV the "migration" was a vocal minority that is largely still there for want of a single viable alternative.
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