In a show of solidarity, numerous sub-communities on Reddit – including popular crypto subreddits – unanimously decided to go private for 48 hours. This unexpected move protests new company policies that prevent the use of third-party applications. In April, Reddit announced plans to modify the way users interact with Reddit Data API, a seven-year-old application that enabled developers to create tools and utilities for moderation and other purposes.
Most subreddits see this move as Reddit’s intention to build native moderator tools which will directly impact the community’s ability to create and use third-party tools, predominantly for moderating content and interactions. As a result, communities went private or in read-only modes between June 12 – June 14. Major crypto communities such as r/Bitcoin, r/CryptoCurrency/, and r/cardano joined the protest, highlighting the potentially significant repercussions these changes will have on millions of investors worldwide who discuss various aspects of the ecosystem on Reddit.
On one hand, Reddit’s decision to prevent users from freely accessing APIs and tools disappoints its user base, especially those who rely on third-party tools to manage and interact with the platform. On the other hand, Reddit’s CEO, Steve Huffman, voiced his support for these changes, stating that the company needs to be “a self-sustaining business.” He expressed respect for community actions, including going private, that help to directly highlight user needs.
Furthermore, to deter the extensive use of third-party moderator tools, Reddit plans on launching mobile moderator tools for its iOS and Android apps in the upcoming months. Despite ongoing community retaliation, Reddit is poised to reach a new milestone in terms of collectible avatar holders on the platform. Reddit’s collectible avatar marketplace was launched on the Ethereum scaling network Polygon in July 2022, which allows independent artists and Redditors to design customizable NFT collections.
However, with approximately 3,500 subreddits becoming inaccessible and the possibility of more communities joining the revolt, it remains to be seen whether Reddit’s policy changes will ultimately benefit or hinder the platform and its users in the long run. The crypto community, in particular, will be keeping a close eye on how these changes affect their ability to discuss and engage with the rapidly-evolving cryptocurrency landscape.
Source: Cointelegraph
