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Reddit Welcomes Michael Seibel to Board of Directors

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Re: Reddit Welcomes Michael Seibel to Board of Directors

#121

Post by toomim »

gonehome wrote: post #111
hazz99 wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 th…

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

This is so annoying that I have to use this chrome extension to force it back to old.reddit.com:

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/old-reddit-redirec...

Re: Reddit Welcomes Michael Seibel to Board of Directors

#122

Post by codq »

paulcole wrote: post #105
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.

If you’re using Reddit on iOS or iPadOS and you’re not using Apollo, you’re doing yourself a disservice. https://apolloapp.io/ As an added bonus if you subscribe to the subreddit, /r/ApolloApp it’s like /r/ChoosingBeggarsLite with the complaints and feature requests for a free app.

I find Narwhal for Reddit a superior experience on iOS, ESPECIALLY on iPadOS, FWIW.

http://getnarwhal.com/

Re: Reddit Welcomes Michael Seibel to Board of Directors

#123

Post by isoskeles »

nisuni wrote: post #13

I am sorry for him. I know as a fact that he’s brilliant and fully deserves the position, but given the circumstances (Ohanian resigning and calling for someone black to replace him) he will always have to live with people having the reasonable doubt that he didn’t arrive there for merit alone.

I can't tell if you're being sarcastic, but good joke if you are.

Re: Reddit Welcomes Michael Seibel to Board of Directors

#124

Post by screye »

gonehome wrote: post #111
hazz99 wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 th…

> new redesign on mobile web is so bad

The funniest part is plenty of 3rd party apps had been doing an amazing job already. All reedit had to do was acquire one of them on the cheap or steal design cues from the ones that were most popular.

Instead they created this monstrosity which till date lags behind many 3rd party apps in features and fluidity.

> old.reddit

RES is the only way to use reddit, and they can pry it from my cold dead hands.

Re: Reddit Welcomes Michael Seibel to Board of Directors

#125

Post by Digory »

wpietri wrote: post #77
Digory wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Reddit publicly committed to selecting a director based on race.[0] Hiring and firing in the US based on race is typically unlawful, even if the candidate is qualified. You can’t use race as a qualification. It’s a challenge to the laws, and I assume Reddit(or Conde Nast) wants to raise it. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&...

One, you can't use race, gender, etc unless it's relevant to the job, but here it could be seen as being relevant to the job. Two, a board director position is not a job, and so it's not covered by this law.

I’m sure they’ll argue whatever they can. AB5 makes it more difficult to not be an employee in California. And there are far more non-discrimination laws than “employee.”

Re: Reddit Welcomes Michael Seibel to Board of Directors

#126

Post by esperent »

godzillabrennus wrote: post #81
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.

Let me know when you figure out how to build a social network that can profit from social good. These days, profit and social good are rarely aligned.

It's not one or the other. They already have the entire rest of the board focused on profit. All we're asking for is one person focused on social good.

Re: Reddit Welcomes Michael Seibel to Board of Directors

#127

Post by meritoftheboard »

nisuni wrote: post #13

I am sorry for him. I know as a fact that he’s brilliant and fully deserves the position, but given the circumstances (Ohanian resigning and calling for someone black to replace him) he will always have to live with people having the reasonable doubt that he didn’t arrive there for merit alone.

The other board members are

- Sam Altman, lead investor in Reddit's Series B and former president of YCombinator, the company that gave Reddit its initial funding

- Bob Sauerberg, former CEO and president of Conde Nast, the company that acquired Reddit while YC was the only investor

Unless you think "gave Reddit a bunch of money" is merit, the other board members didn't get their positions through merit alone either. Board seats are almost always purchased as part of an investment or given for political reasons, there's nothing different happening here.

Re: Reddit Welcomes Michael Seibel to Board of Directors

#128

Post by zobzu »

Digory wrote: post #68
whymauri wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps I am naive, but I'm going to guess that whoever Reddit's counsel is was briefly cleared on this.

Absolutely. It’s a bet. Heads, it works. Tails, Condé Nast becomes known for litigation against the Trump DOJ, fighting against systemic racism. For the lawyers, it beats mopping up Bon Appetit’s editor in brownface.

So requiring to pay for a position only for a specific skin color is not actual systemic racism, as long as color is not white, because white people are racists and this fights against that, or am I completely missing the mark?

I'm sure people here are also well versed in silicon valley HR hiring practices regarding skin color based quotas.

Re: Reddit Welcomes Michael Seibel to Board of Directors

#129

Post by esperent »

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?

It's not that complicated. Start by working to deal with the platform being used to spread racism and hate speach and go from there.

Re: Reddit Welcomes Michael Seibel to Board of Directors

#130

Post by esperent »

rayiner wrote: post #83
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…

Presumably for the same reason you wouldn’t get a civil rights activist to replace the captain in a Navy boat. We need people fighting for civil rights, but we also need to create room for people from diverse backgrounds to do all of the rest of the work that needs doing.

They're not bringing in a new CEO. All people are asking for is _one_ outsider voice on the board.
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