The Reddit Blackout: Continuation of the Protest
The ongoing protest led by gaming moderators on Reddit continues to gain momentum. Recently, the social media platform promoted three threads that featured news and promotional content. The protest is in response to Reddit's recent API pricing changes, aimed at offsetting budget costs. Despite Reddit CEO Mike Huffman's reassurances that the blackout will pass with time, a screenshot from a Reddit moderator on Twitter claims that the website is doubling down and may take actions against participating moderators.
This Reddit blackout is one of the largest in the site's history, affecting numerous subreddits and drawing negative attention to Reddit itself. While Reddit stated that nothing significant was amiss, many respected community leaders and moderators confirmed that the outages were due to a licensing change in the Reddit API driven by parent company Advance Publications. These changes also had adverse effects on the current active moderators of subreddits, including restrictions on mod accounts.
According to a Reddit moderator, who claims to be part of a large-scale gaming community, Reddit is aware of the consequences and plans to enforce additional restrictions until the blackout impacts 100% of the affected subreddits.
In response to the ModSupport post, Reddit is reiterating the charges against subreddits during the blackout, citing violations of the website's policies during periods of inactivity. Reddit warns that they will intensify the identification and removal processes, urging moderators to resume their duties to avoid immediate account removal.
On Twitter, supporters of Reddit users are divided over the recent controversy. Some who agree with Reddit's statements provide solutions on how to delete accounts. Others share lists of pro-whistleblower and pro-privacy VPN services, suggesting that the solution is to play in risk-free environments.
While this is not the first time Reddit moderators have participated in a protest blackout, it is undeniably one of the largest in the history of the site. Some subreddits have reverted to normal operations, but at this point, the blackout is expected to continue. Reddit has faced significant backlash for its response to the blackout, and this latest statement is likely to exacerbate the situation.
