Reddit: Difference between revisions
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===Blocking expansions (''2022'')=== | ===Blocking expansions (''2022'')=== | ||
Since January 2022, users can block each other from commenting on their posts | Since January 2022, users can block each other from commenting on their posts and comments. Before, blocking would only hide a blocked user's content from oneself and prevent a blocked user from appearing in one's notifications. Since this change, users can prevent others from commenting valid criticism and refuting arguments that would have added value to a discussion. This makes discussions less meritocratic, meaning the final word rests with the person who blocked the other participant(s) first, not the person with the most merited arguments.<ref>{{Cite web |author=enthusiastic-potato |title=Announcing Blocking Updates |url=https://old.reddit.com/r/blog/comments/s71g03/announcing_blocking_updates/ht701m9/ |website=Reddit |date=18 Jan 2022 |access-date=11 Mar 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20220216023601/https://old.reddit.com/r/blog/comments/s71g03/announcing_blocking_updates/ht701m9/ |archive-date=16 Feb 2022}}</ref> | ||
Shortly after this change, reports piled up of the new blocking feature being used to prevent others from counter-arguing in discussions. It was also noted that preventing unwanted participants is already the purpose of communities' moderation teams, not individual users, meaning the new blocking feature gives normal users almost moderator-like powers within their own submissions. To these concerns, a Reddit administrator (employee) responded with "we're working to make sure people feel safe using our site without unduly preventing others from participating".<ref>{{Cite web |author=Love_In_My_Heart |title=We need to talk about people weaponizing the block feature. |url=https://old.reddit.com/r/ModSupport/comments/sd7zsa/we_need_to_talk_about_people_weaponizing_the/ |website=Reddit |date=26 Jan 2022 |access-date=11 Mar 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220203062331/https://old.reddit.com/r/ModSupport/comments/sd7zsa/we_need_to_talk_about_people_weaponizing_the/ |archive-date=3 Feb 2022}}</ref> | Shortly after this change, reports piled up of the new blocking feature being used to prevent others from counter-arguing in discussions. It was also noted that preventing unwanted participants is already the purpose of communities' moderation teams, not individual users, meaning the new blocking feature gives normal users almost moderator-like powers within their own submissions. To these concerns, a Reddit administrator (employee) responded with "we're working to make sure people feel safe using our site without unduly preventing others from participating".<ref>{{Cite web |author=Love_In_My_Heart |title=We need to talk about people weaponizing the block feature. |url=https://old.reddit.com/r/ModSupport/comments/sd7zsa/we_need_to_talk_about_people_weaponizing_the/ |website=Reddit |date=26 Jan 2022 |access-date=11 Mar 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220203062331/https://old.reddit.com/r/ModSupport/comments/sd7zsa/we_need_to_talk_about_people_weaponizing_the/ |archive-date=3 Feb 2022}}</ref> | ||
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In April 2023, Reddit announced that they would be locking API features and functionality previously accessible to its users behind a paywall, citing concerns about user-generated content being trained on AI. This resulted in a backlash in the community, as alternative apps utilizing Reddit's API such as Apollo would be rendered completely useless as a result of this decision. While some users held out hope that app developers could pay this fee to keep their user base, Apollo developer Christian Selig crushed any hope of this idea, explaining that the cost of this API fee was too high and that he would be ceasing development for the foreseeable future. | In April 2023, Reddit announced that they would be locking API features and functionality previously accessible to its users behind a paywall, citing concerns about user-generated content being trained on AI. This resulted in a backlash in the community, as alternative apps utilizing Reddit's API such as Apollo would be rendered completely useless as a result of this decision. While some users held out hope that app developers could pay this fee to keep their user base, Apollo developer Christian Selig crushed any hope of this idea, explaining that the cost of this API fee was too high and that he would be ceasing development for the foreseeable future. | ||
Users expressed concerns that this wasn't because of AI, but rather | Users expressed concerns that this wasn't because of AI, but rather due to greed and an attempt to monopolize information, as Reddit is often cited as many people's go-to resource for almost any topic. This sentiment resulted in one of the largest internet protests known as the Reddit Blackout. The Reddit Blackout was an event in which sub-reddits were closed, marked as NSFW to prevent advertisements from being displayed on them, or flooded with posts shaming Reddit's CEO, Steve Huffman. Users also edited their posts, deleted them, or deleted their Reddit accounts to shame Huffman in an attempt to reduce the value of the information.<ref>{{Wplink|2023 Reddit API controversy}} - '''Wikipedia''' ([http://web.archive.org/web/20260115133058/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Reddit_API_controversy Archived 15/01/2026])</ref> <!-- To be expanded with better citations --><!-- Intentionally making this "citation" stand out due to being a Wikipedia link. Needs to be replaced. -Sojourna --> | ||
===VPN blockage (''December 2023'')=== | ===VPN blockage (''December 2023'')=== | ||