The dispute concerning Reddit’s API continues to escalate, with moderators resorting to a novel form of protest: devising a straightforward method to demonetize their subreddits, thereby preventing the company from earning revenue through them.
Recent events have seen moderators being dismissed, then abruptly reinstated, with the company refusing to disclose the reasoning behind this reversal.
A Recap of Events
The conflict initiated three weeks ago when it was disclosed that Reddit was planning to charge $20 million per year for access to the API utilized by Apollo, a popular third-party app. The developer announced that the app would have to shut down as a consequence. A protest, initially organized by a few dozen of the largest subreddits, quickly escalated, with over 8,000 subreddits going offline for at least 48 hours.
The situation worsened to the point that Huffman advised employees to avoid wearing the Reddit logo in public. He made it blatantly clear that he had no regard for the views of Reddit users and even threatened to replace the moderators. Interestingly, even the ‘villains’ sided with the users.
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Yesterday, it was reported that usage metrics have declined, and now moderators have devised another strategy to hit Reddit where it’s most vulnerable: their revenue stream.
Demonetization as a New Strategy in Reddit API Backlash
Many popular subreddits, previously banning adult content, have now declared themselves NSFW (not safe for work). Some have even gone as far as permitting “extreme” pornography, provided it is not illegal. This development has been reported by The Verge.
In protest of Reddit’s recent conduct toward the platform’s volunteer moderators, several subreddits have designated themselves as NSFW. Consequently, some non-porn communities have begun to see a surge in adult content.
Subreddits utilizing this tactic include r/HomeKit and r/HomePod.
The objective is clear-cut: to prevent Reddit from selling ads on these subreddits. Since 2019, Reddit has disallowed brands from advertising on any subreddit marked as NSFW. As a result, this move essentially demonetizes these subreddits.
Reddit’s Retaliation
Naturally, Reddit is discontented with this development, responding by removing the protesting moderators.
Reddit has begun to dismiss the moderator teams overseeing subreddits that altered their community labeling to Not Safe For Work (NSFW) in the ongoing protests against the site […]
“Moderators inaccurately labeling a community as NSFW is a breach of both our Content Policy and Moderator Code of Conduct,” Reddit spokesperson Tim Rathschmidt told The Verge in response to queries about the suspended moderators. He declined to comment on whether Reddit removed the moderators.
However, Some Reddit Admins are Reinstating Sanctions
The story does not end here: The Verge reports that some Reddit admins, who unlike moderators are company employees, are reinstating the dismissed moderators.
Shortly after we published this story, one of the r/MildlyInteresting moderators informed The Verge that the entire mod team has been reinstated — and by a different admin than the one who removed them. The moderator’s account had a 7-day suspension, which has been reversed, too, they said. A Verge commenter identifying as an r/MildlyInteresting mod also confirmed that the team has been reinstated and unsuspended.
Reddit declined to comment on these developments.
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