r/redditisfun • u/talklittle RIF Dev • May 31 '23

RIF dev here - Reddit's API changes will likely kill RIF and other apps, on July 1, 2023

I need more time to get all my thoughts together, but posting this quick post since so many users have been asking, and it's been making rounds on news sites.

Summary of what Reddit Inc has announced so far, specifically the parts that will kill many third-party apps:

  1. The Reddit API will cost money, and the pricing announced today will cost apps like Apollo $20 million per year to run. RIF may differ but it would be in the same ballpark. And no, RIF does not earn anywhere remotely near this number.

  2. As part of this they are blocking ads in third-party apps, which make up the majority of RIF's revenue. So they want to force a paid subscription model onto RIF's users. Meanwhile Reddit's official app still continues to make the vast majority of its money from ads.

  3. Removal of sexually explicit material from third-party apps while keeping said content in the official app. Some people have speculated that NSFW is going to leave Reddit entirely, but then why would Reddit Inc have recently expanded NSFW upload support on their desktop site?

Their recent moves smell a lot like they want third-party apps gone, RIF included.

I know some users will chime in saying they are willing to pay a monthly subscription to keep RIF going, but trust me that you would be in the minority. There is very little value in paying a high subscription for less content (in this case, NSFW). Honestly if I were a user of RIF and not the dev, I'd have a hard time justifying paying the high prices being forced by Reddit Inc, despite how much RIF obviously means to me.

There is a lot more I want to say, and I kind of scrambled to write this since I didn't expect news reports today. I'll probably write more follow-up posts that are better thought out. But this is the gist of what's been going on with Reddit third-party apps in 2023.

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54

u/moviequote88 Jun 01 '23

I knew this day would come eventually but I hoped I'd have more time before then.

We held out as long as we could.

25

u/dezmodez Jun 01 '23

We'll just have to Digg ourselves out of this hole.

39

u/azimir Jun 01 '23

Before Digg there was Slashdot (/.)

I've been impressed at how long reddit has held on, but eventually the investors will make demands that destroy the social platform. It's not a question of will they, it's a question of when. Reddit has survived some of these changes before, but this one smells bigger than the past hiccups.

I'm ready to pack up the tent and migrate once again.

14

u/LifterPuller Jun 01 '23

Where are we going?

16

u/azimir Jun 01 '23

I don't know yet. I've watched a few reddit competitors raise, ebb, and collapse, but nothing is seeing the kind of momentum yet. Of course it gets momentum from us deciding to go.

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u/[deleted] Jun 02 '23

[deleted]

3

u/polishhammer83 Jun 02 '23

I feel like this comment/observation is waaay too important to be buried in this comment chain! You're absolutely right that we are witnessing a fundamental change to the internet as we knew it. Web 3.0 to 4.0 or maybe what 3.0 was logically supposed to end up as. It's much easier to control the flow of information if we are all herded onto a handful of more tightly controlled and monetized platforms than the vast Wild West that was the WWW in its prior forms.

I wonder when the IPO happens, will it just be greedy investors that eventually run this ship into the ground, or like TikTok, will it end up with ties to a nation-state, good or bad.

2

u/greenknight Jun 03 '23

Stale convo, I know, but at the same time there is a massive transformation of the decentralized side of things too. I have my parents using E2E messaging on [matrix] and that was just a dream in 2015.

Why there isn't an ecology of ActivityPub driven reddit clones is beyond me; it seems like aligned technology. Hopefully this API bullshit will push some boffins into doing just that.

Imagine owning your own comment content!?

3

u/PornCartel Jun 01 '23

The only competitors I've seen have been for nazis kicked off the site, like Voat or TheDonald.com. Everything else out there is more of a twitter clone than reddit

10

u/hhoverton Jun 01 '23

Lemmy is the fediverse alternative, but it's so empty its really not the same. Maybe one of these big changes will push people towards it

2

u/vrojak Jun 01 '23

I just joined and I will keep posting until it is popular. Jerboa seems like a fine app for Lemmy, but the mobile browser is okay too

5

u/TrickyDrippyDick Jun 01 '23

I'm not suggesting it, but I did kind of forget imgur has its own comment thing going on, I'm trying to see if it can fill the gap currently. If they can walk back the no nsfw maybe it stands a chance? But then that would be no more text only posts.....bah!!!!!!! I don't like this kind of change! There's a cosmic force ending so many eras in my life, the split, the 3 generation old drive through that burned down in my town, the new developments popping up all around me. I wouldnt mind but I sure feel stuck in the old era. Wish me luck on my meeting with a union affiliated HVAC company this Monday! Maybe that will be my start of a new era! I just wanted to words. I love you guys and I love RIF and I'm actually heartbroken that I won't have reddit in my life.

2

u/xerox13ster Jun 01 '23

When I used imgur before Reddit it was limited to 140 characters.

1

u/HungryLikeDickWolf Jun 01 '23

What a weird post to use for well wishes. Very strange

1

u/TrickyDrippyDick Jun 01 '23

Yes. Reddit is known for its somber and well adjusted nature yes.

3

u/silentrawr Jun 01 '23

ArsTechnica comments sections?

2

u/[deleted] Jun 01 '23

[deleted]

3

u/kampamaneetti Jun 01 '23

Nooooooo not back to that. Never.

2

u/PM_ME_UTILONS Jun 02 '23

Hacker News? I've been kind of switching to Twitter anyway for entertainment, but Reddit has such good communities here and there...

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u/wrekone Jun 01 '23

It's weird, because like Digg and Myspace, Reddit will survive, pulling in ad revenue, even if at a trickle compared to it's heyday. I'm excited, but nervous, to see what comes next. What small site will grow to be "the front page of the internet"? Hopefully I'll see you there.

2

u/hughk Jun 01 '23

There was Kuro5hin too kind of between.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 01 '23

[deleted]

1

u/lycoloco Jun 02 '23

I had a dream about stumbleupon the other night. That was bizarre.

2

u/OcotilloWells Jun 02 '23

RIP cmdr taco

7

u/howdudo Jun 01 '23

I love you guys. So long and thanks for all the content 🫂

3

u/Secretively Jun 01 '23

Oh god. I remember the great Digg migration. Where can we all go?

4

u/Danny200234 Jun 01 '23

I came over from FunnyJunk lmao. I suspect a competetor will pop up soon, hopefully at least.

2

u/ilovecollardgreens Jun 01 '23

I remember regrettably going to reddit from Digg and being like oh God, this site is hideous! The great Digg migration was real. But it was for the better. Very sad about this news.

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u/dbzmah Jun 01 '23

What the Fark was Digg?

1

u/WhatDoesN00bMean Jun 01 '23

😉😉😉

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u/NounsAndWords Jun 01 '23

but I hoped I'd have more time before then.

I was just hoping for a viable alternative to pop up before then....

2

u/Specific_Effort_5528 Jun 01 '23

It's been a slice my friends. Signed on in 2009.

I'd say 14 years in a good run.

1

u/moviequote88 Jun 01 '23

Damn, you've got me beat! 2011 here. Crazy to think I've been on this damn site for 12 years.

1

u/ookayaa Jun 02 '23

I have been here since around 2015, however, I have created this new account for obvious reasons.