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He entered into a contract with users assuming that his API costs would be 0. He can't change that contract and start charging another fee on top, and is obligated to continue to provide the service no matter what Reddit now decides to charge him.
So the solution is easy for any laywer to provide - just shut down the business.
They buried the lede. The article suggests the shutdown was because of free API to paid API. Anyone uninformed who just click off at that point. Even when they ask about costs, it was just saying it’s “ But the issue is two fold. (1) all the devs support a paid API, but the rate is absurd according to basic math. It would charge devs over 20x what a user actually cost/were worth. Devs were willing to take on a higher…
Then overtime increase prices as you get a better sense of value and market dynamics.
Starting high, creating a lot of negative reactions and almost killing any real market for profitable apps on your platform seems to be the opposite of smart. It’s now some governments go with taxation before u-turning some years later when they’ve driven away or killed whatever it is they were hoping to tax.
I can't say I've missed Reddit too much after I stopped using it. Twitter was a bit harder, but Mastodon filled that niche quite nicely. However, I don't even feel like checking out Lemmy or Kbin as a Reddit replacement, making me question how useful Reddit is for me personally. I wonder if anyone else is feeling the same during the blackout.
I've also decided, screw it, I'm taking an Amazon break as well (because they enable the above behavior, the world is worse because Amazon retail exists, CMV) -- boy, shopping for a particular thing is hard without them. Like, I decided to just order more Eneloop batteries, which stores local to me carry them? Goooooood luck finding that out (and I'm in the bay area). I'd love to shift my Amazon spend locally, but ended up ordering from B&H.
What would a highly profitable Reddit look like? Why would it be bad for redditors?
user experience has always suffered on social media sites that go public and answer to profits they stop caring about the community. and only try selling us shit or sell the content we create. without us reddit wouldnt exist and they need a reminder of that.
Ad quality also doesn't help. Major network TV ads are generally higher quality both in terms of the product they're selling and the production quality, but I don't want to see the millionth ad for meal prep startup of the week or questionable unitasker dropshipped off Aliexpress.
I've gotta say, Christian comes across as really naive in this piece. > Well, it’s weird because prior to this, I almost always understood that Reddit as a company understood that they’re very community-focused, and they kind of didn’t do the bullshit corporate speak. And it was weird to kind of see this week, where they engaged in a lot more of that than I have historically ever seen them do. And it just went over……
He could say all the things we are thinking, but given the CEO has a history of editing posts on Reddit critical of him, it seems like a bad strategy to have any hope of negotiating with them.
I would like a breakdown of Reddit's actual costs vs their proposed fees. Why isn't Reddit profitable? Is there a way to make Reddit profitable without charging for API access?
The fact is, advertisements pay better than any amount their users or third-party developers would be willing to bear. This change appears to be more about maximizing that revenue stream (or making it more appealing to advertisers), rather creating a _new_ revenue stream in paid API access.
I can't say I've missed Reddit too much after I stopped using it. Twitter was a bit harder, but Mastodon filled that niche quite nicely. However, I don't even feel like checking out Lemmy or Kbin as a Reddit replacement, making me question how useful Reddit is for me personally. I wonder if anyone else is feeling the same during the blackout.
I've gotta say, Christian comes across as really naive in this piece. > Well, it’s weird because prior to this, I almost always understood that Reddit as a company understood that they’re very community-focused, and they kind of didn’t do the bullshit corporate speak. And it was weird to kind of see this week, where they engaged in a lot more of that than I have historically ever seen them do. And it just went over……
What would a highly profitable Reddit look like? Why would it be bad for redditors?
It absolutely amazes me how badly reddit has handled this whole situation. From the years of broken promises to moderators, the complete lack of accessibility in their own apps, and then on top of their for their CEO to not only get caught in a major lie but for him to then double down on it. As much as reddit wants to make these developers into the bad guys, every move they've made in this mess has hurt their reputa…
99% of reddit users are aware that moderators do some nice volunteer work but wouldn't cross the street to save them
its only Extremely Online people who care about this Insider Baseball stuff