On Reddit, thousands of subreddits have gone dark since Monday, June 12, 2023. The head of Reddit appears casual in a message to employees, seemingly wanting to ride out the situation. However, he does issue a warning to his staff.
Where does the information come from? The information comes from an internal memo that Steve Huffman, the CEO of Reddit, allegedly sent to employees on Monday afternoon. In it, he addresses the protests from Reddit users against restrictions on third-party apps. (via The Verge).
More than 8,000 subreddits have gone dark since Monday, June 12, 2023, most of which plan to reopen on Wednesday. However, some communities are planning to remain closed indefinitely until Reddit reverses the unpopular changes.
In his letter, Huffman maintains a cool demeanor: The blackout has no impact on revenue and everything is fine. However, he still gives his staff a warning.
The German gaming subreddit r/zocken is dark, but we still provide you with current information about new games, such as Starfield:
“Like every noise on Reddit, this too shall pass”
What does Huffman say? In the memo, the Reddit CEO refers to around 1,000 subreddits that are currently set to private. While that is a challenge, the blackout does not affect revenue, so everything is perfectly fine.
The boss thanks his team and encourages them to continue improving the product, i.e., Reddit. He also explains that they are still in talks with a few operators of third-party apps and intend to exempt apps that make Reddit more accessible from the cost increases.
However, some people are really angry, Huffman says. He advises his employees to be cautious about their clothing choices: They should probably not wear Reddit clothing in public for now to avoid becoming a target for user frustration.
You can find a translation of the full letter here:
Internal Memo from Steve Huffman
Hello Snoos,
Since last night, about a thousand subreddits are private. We expect many of them to return by Wednesday, as many have already announced this. We knew this was coming, but it remains a challenge, and we have a lot of work ahead of us. A number of Snoos have been working around the clock, adjusting to the infrastructure strains, engaging with the communities, and responding to the countless issues associated with this blackout. Thank you, team.
We have seen no significant impact on revenue so far and will continue to monitor it.
There is a lot of noise in this case. One of the loudest we have ever experienced. Please know that our teams are working on this, and like every noise on Reddit, this too shall pass. The most important thing we can do right now is to stay focused, adapt to challenges, and move forward. We must deliver what we promised. The only long-term solution is improving our product, and we have some important upcoming mod tools that need to be in place.
While the two largest third-party apps, Apollo and RIF, along with a few others, have announced they will be shutting down at the end of the month, we are still in talks with some others. And as I mentioned in my post last week, we will exempt applications focused on accessibility and have made agreements with RedReader and Dystopia so far.
I’m sorry to say this, but please be cautious when wearing Reddit clothing in public. Some people are really upset, and we don’t want you to become the object of their frustration.
Again, we will get through this. Thank you all for helping us with this.
Reddit is a so-called social news aggregator, essentially a discussion platform where users can share content and links. Some affectionately call it the “homepage of the internet.” For many users, the platform is important for informing and exchanging about their interests or simply sharing anecdotes.
Gamer reports on Reddit about “the match of his life” that cost him his job 20 years ago
