Reddit’s attempt to move forward with its community of users and moderators after announcing pricing for its third-party API access has not gone as expected. The company’s pricing was deemed unreasonable, leading to the demise of many third-party clients and angering the user base.
The situation escalated when Reddit falsely accused the developer of Apollo, a leading third-party client, and other developers of negative experiences with the company. In protest, many of Reddit’s communities decided to go private. While Reddit initially claimed it would respect these decisions, it became increasingly hostile, even replacing moderators who refused to reopen their communities. The CEO, Steve Huffman, added fuel to the fire with disparaging remarks directed at Reddit users.
A major underlying problem is that many moderators relied on third-party clients to effectively perform their duties due to the lack of essential tools in Reddit’s official client. Despite the company’s promises to provide such features, they had not been delivered, placing Reddit in a unique position among social media platforms that depend on volunteer moderators.
As a result, Reddit has lost a significant amount of trust and goodwill from its moderators. To address the situation, Reddit’s VP of Community, Go_Jason Waterfalls, made a post in r/modnew outlining initiatives aimed at improving communication with moderators. However, the moderators were not receptive to these efforts.
A typical response, like that of RhynoD, expressed disappointment in the way the company treated moderators and accused the CEO of disregarding their concerns. The moderators had previously polled users and followed their preferences, but this led to their forced removal from communities by the CEO. The trust in Reddit’s intentions was already shaky, and the recent actions of the company’s leadership only worsened the situation.
Reddit’s attempt to mend relationships and address issues is seen as insufficient, as they have been neglecting moderators’ needs for years. Many moderators feel that Reddit has failed to listen and take action on their concerns, relying instead on third-party apps and tools to compensate for the platform’s shortcomings.
In conclusion, Reddit still has a long way to go in resolving its internal issues and restoring trust among its moderators and user base. The lack of a functional app, excessive ads, and basic functions are among the ongoing concerns that need to be addressed for a positive way forward.