Reddit Blackout
Reddit is witnessing a mass blackout as several popular communities have gone dark in protest against pricing policies – is r/tennis a part of it?
Several popular communities on Reddit have taken part in a mass blackout as a sign of protest against the platform’s ‘ludicrous’ pricing policies. Many gaming and sports communities like r/tennis and other pages dedicated to specific fandoms like Harry Potter and Taylor Swift have also decided to go offline. The initial plan was to remain dark for 48 hours but some pages still remain inaccessible as Reddit has officially announced that they won’t re-think their decision.
r/tennis is the most popular Tennis community on Reddit and it is also participating in this ‘Blackout’. Reddit has recently announced changes to their API which, if enacted, will shut down many third-party apps that a large number of Redditors use to access and enjoy their favourite communities.
The most noteworthy change is that it is moving from a ‘free model’ to a ‘paid model’ resulting in expenses that developers of most third-party apps will not be able to afford. They haven’t announced the exact pricing changes yet but estimates seem to imply that popular third party apps like Apollo might have to incur a cost of US$1.7 million per month to continue operating.
r/tennis is one of the oldest and most popular Tennis communities on Reddit. It has more than 9,87,000 members and fans absolutely love discussing the sport and sharing their insights on this sub-reddit besides some hilarious banter. It is one of the most active communities on this platform and the moderators decided that they would also join the blackout following the final match of the 2023 French Open.
The sub went into ‘Restricted mode’ at midnight on June 12 for 48 and was opened briefly after midnight on June 14. However, they are likely to extend their blackout period as Reddit hasn’t given in to their demands and it remains to be seen how long this protest continues.
The primary demand of r/tennis is very clear. “We understand that Reddit is a company that has to make money in order to offer us a place to be the community that we are – but killing beloved third party apps is not the way to do it. We are not asking Reddit to provide a paid service for free – we are asking for reasonable pricing for apps that people have come to love and depend on to participate in their communities” – their official statement reads. This is an awkward situation for all stakeholders involved including the fans who love to discuss Tennis on this platform but it is unlikely that this issue will be resolved any time soon.
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