Reddit takes control of popular subreddit that protested API changes<p><a data-i13n="cpos:1;pos:1" href="
https://www.engadget.com/the-reddit-blackout-is-already-forcing-unexpected-changes-103521266.html">
As it promised[/url], Reddit has been taking over control of subreddits that shut down to protest changes to the platform's API. The admin account u/ModCodeofConduct has taken sole charge of r/malefashionadvice, a community with more than 5.4 million subscribers.</p><p>The subreddit <a data-i13n="cpos:2;pos:1" href="
https://www.engadget.com/reddit-sees-more-than-6000-communities-go-dark-in-protest-over-api-changes-095311637.html">
joined thousands of others[/url] in closing shop in mid-June to show opposition to <a data-i13n="cpos:3;pos:1" href="
https://www.engadget.com/reddit-ceo-steve-huffman-defends-api-changes-in-ama-202924631.html">
the new API rules[/url]. Other subreddits started allowing users to <a data-i13n="cpos:4;pos:1" href="
https://www.engadget.com/popular-subreddits-welcomed-porn-content-to-protest-reddits-api-changes-061033337.html">
post porn[/url] in protest.</p><span id="end-legacy-contents"></span><p>Third-party developers used the API to build thousands of apps that hook into Reddit. Many of their apps helped with moderation or <a data-i13n="cpos:5;pos:1" href="
https://www.engadget.com/reddit-says-some-accessibility-apps-wont-have-to-pay-for-its-api-213401412.html">accessibility[/url]. However, Reddit decided to start charging for the formerly free API, forcing the developers of many popular apps to <a data-i13n="cpos:6;pos:1" href="
https://www.engadget.com/apollo-and-other-popular-third-party-reddit-apps-have-shut-down-123149140.html">
abandon their projects[/url]. A transcription community also closed <a data-i13n="cpos:7;pos:1" href="
https://www.engadget.com/a-reddit-transcription-community-will-shut-down-over-a-lack-of-trust-in-the-platform-191008889.html">
over a "lack of trust"[/url] in the platform.</p><p>Reddit <a data-i13n="cpos:8;pos:1" href="
https://www.engadget.com/reddits-average-daily-traffic-fell-during-blackout-according-to-third-party-data-194721801.html">
saw a sizable drop[/url] in traffic after the protest started, according to third-party data. The company warned moderators that kept their subreddits private or in read-only mode that it would replace them.</p><p>One of the former r/malefashionadvice mods told <a data-i13n="cpos:9;pos:1" href="
https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/20/23802370/reddit-over-reopens-subreddit-protest-male-fashion-advice">
The Verge[/url] that Reddit removed their privileges on Thursday, something they'd been expecting to happen. <a data-i13n="cpos:10;pos:1" href="
https://www.reddit.com/r/malefashionadvice/comments/155ny6y/new_moderators_needed_comment_on_this_post_to/">
In a pinned post[/url], u/ModCodeofConduct sought volunteers to take over the subreddit. The admin account has posted similar messages on other subreddits for which it's the only current moderator, including <a data-i13n="cpos:11;pos:1" href="
https://www.reddit.com/r/AccidentalRenaissance/comments/155nyrd/new_moderators_needed_comment_on_this_post_to/">
r/AccidentalRenaissance[/url] (which has more than 925,000 subscribers) and <a data-i13n="cpos:12;pos:1" href="
https://www.reddit.com/r/ShittyLifeProTips/comments/154qs2x/new_moderators_needed_comment_on_this_post_to/">
r/ShittyLifeProTips[/url] (1.7 million subscribers). </p><p>"We are, and have been, enforcing the moderator Code of Conduct. This is not new because of the protests," a Reddit spokesperson told Engadget. Under its guidelines, Reddit considers a public community that has indefinitely been made private to be "abandoned," and it seeks "new mods who want to reinvigorate it." The spokesperson added that "we have a practice of reactivating private, high-subscriber communities that are being 'camped' on." </p><p>Meanwhile, Reddit this week revived <a data-i13n="cpos:13;pos:1" href="
https://www.reddit.com/r/place">r/place[/url], a communal art project that allows each user to place a single pixel onto a large mosaic once every few minutes. Unsurprisingly, redditors are <a data-i13n="cpos:14;pos:1" href="
https://kotaku.com/reddit-spez-rplace-digital-pixel-art-protest-1850661319">
using it[/url] to call out the company and CEO Steve Huffman (aka u/spez). "Never forget what was stolen from you," reads a message on the mosaic that directs viewers to the <a data-i13n="cpos:15;pos:1" href="
https://www.reddit.com/r/Save3rdPartyApps/">
r/Save3rdPartyApps[/url] community.</p><div id="9e70046380a44813832cbcc30cfec75e"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">the new reddit r/place is going exactly as expected lmao
pic.twitter.com/8UVKlxOZMk</p>— [archer] (@archer_uwu)
July 20, 2023</div><p></p>This article originally appeared on Engadget at
https://www.engadget.com/reddit-takes-control-of-popular-subreddit-that-protested-api-changes-182005439.html?src=rssSource:
Reddit takes control of popular subreddit that protested API changes
