Reddit is in for a rude waking up , just ask some of its most popular subreddits . To protestReddit ’s recent plan to charge for access to its API , some of the platform ’s magnanimous biotic community will be get going dark for at least two solar day .
In April , Reddit announced that it would be charge company for access to its covering programing user interface ( API ) , much the wayTwitter prefer to when Elon Musk realized he was n’t making enough money . While Reddit order that the decision was to keep fellowship like Google and OpenAI from training their stilted intelligence models on Reddit content , charging for API dealt a bump to third - party apps , like Apollo .
“ Crawling Reddit , generating value and not returning any of that economic value to our user is something we have a problem with , ” Steve Huffman , founding father and CEO of Reddit , toldThe New York Times . “ It ’s a good prison term for us to constrain thing up . ” He added : “ We think that ’s fair . ”
Image: AFM Visuals (Shutterstock) / Image: Klanarong Chitmung (Shutterstock) / Image: Kevin Winter (Getty Images) / Screenshot: Gizmodo
“ Apollo made 7 billion requests last month , which would put it at about 1.7 million dollars per month , or 20 million US clam per twelvemonth . Even if I only kept subscription users , the average Apollo user employ 344 asking per day , which would be $ 2.50 per calendar month , which is over double what the subscription currently cost , so I ’d be in the red every calendar month . ” Selig wrote on the official Apollosubreddit . “ I ’m profoundly disappointed in this price . Reddit iterated that the price would be A ) sane and based in world , and group B ) they would not run like Twitter . ”
Selig was not the only one disappointed in Reddit ’s decision to gatekeep its API . On one deal , it ’s skillful that AI models from the the likes of of Google and OpenAI have less access to caravan . On the other hand , it ’s a shame that so many programmers — who are constructing tools and features to enhance the reddit experience — are now unable to pursue their undertaking . In response to Reddit ’s determination and Selig ’s post , several subreddits have announced that they will be protesting by stop all interactions , poster , relief , and comment within their communities for at least two days .
“ We see that Reddit , like any company , must equilibrise its fiscal obligation . However , we consider that the seniority and achiever of this platform respite on carry on the plenteous ecosystem that has develop around it . ” Reddit moderator wrote in a collective letterpostedto the Moderator Coordination subreddit . “ We urge Reddit ’s direction to reconsider the late API pricing alteration , find a compromise that allows third - party app developers to preserve contributing to this political program ’s success . ”
Unfortunately , Selig announced the untimely death of Apollo on June 8 in a tweet . Apollo will formally shut down on June 30 .
Apollo will close down on June 30th . Reddit ’s recent decisions and actions have regrettably made it unsufferable for Apollo to continue . give thanks you so , so much for all the support over the years . ❤ ️https://t.co / HOJaLMW8fx
— Christian Selig ( @ChristianSelig)June 8 , 2023
There are hundreds of subreddits enter in the closure dissent , which start on June 12 and will last for at least two days . Here are some of the big .
Elon MuskGoogleOpenAIRedditSteve HuffmanX ( Twitter )
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