Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Hackers Threaten to Release Reddit Data Unless API Changes Are Rolled Back

I don't think Reddit has done anything illegal. They can censor, delete, highlight and burry posts all they want, they can also raise prices for their API.

Now's the time to start a clone website that offers similar functionality (without stepping on reddit patents), ideally using the same API calls and an easy way for users to migrate their posts over to the new platform. Charge something reasonable for the API, guarantee those fees for a reasonable time and you're good to go.
 
wanha said:
People say the same thing about Twitter and Facebook and Instagram.

But here's the thing:

No two feeds are the same.

Every user's feed is unique, created based on who/what they follow and which posts they like and share. The algorithm takes care of the rest.

If your feed is a cesspool, that's actually more a reflection of you rather than it is of the algorithm or the company behind it.

Rather than just blame the algorithm which is more or less a mirror of your interests, it may be useful to meditate on why the algorithm mirrors back what you don't like to see. What are you feeding it?
Click to expand...
I don't want algorithmic feeds. I want to see what I follow, absolutely nothing else, and in chronological order
 
  • Like
Reactions: Azzin, addamas and SB1500
Yep... no greater way to lose sympathy for a legitimate cause / interest than terrorism or threatening behaviour. Personally I now want to see Reddit stand strong against this bs.
 
aleksander said:
I never said you can't monetise it but you should do it sensibly, with the ultimate goal to grow your community and make their experience better. Just look at Flickr.
Click to expand...

Am I looking at Flickr because they succeeded or failed at that? I've no idea, I forget they even exist. I thought Yahoo shut it down about 8 years ago.
 
This is terrible. The hackers are weakening the case of the developers. They are like the few who turn violent during a peaceful protest and ruin the just cause of the protestors.
 
  • Like
  • Love
Reactions: PBG4 Dude and SB1500
aleksander said:
They failed miserably at what it could become because of crap management with no vision and poor decision making skills.
Click to expand...

I thought so. I think unfortunately the likes of Reddit and certainly Twitter are too big to fail that much now. I'd like to see it, I preferred the age where a new site came along every few years but it appears we've reached monopoly now.

I don't particularly agree with what Reddit has done or rather how they've gone about it - it's definitely an example of how not to PR your company. But at the same time we've reached the point where just having users isn't profitable anymore. We had that spell where investors would chuck millions at things just because it had a large user base. Users were very valuable - and they kicked the ball down the lane on how you'd actual profit from them with a free service. Reddit at the moment with the API is/was providing a free service for 3rd party apps where all their ads were being filtered, so they were earning nothing. In that regard those users are practically worthless other than perhaps a small percentage of them contributing content that standard reddit users would visit the site and see.

I definitely do think a Wiki style Reddit community would have been better, but that boat has sailed now. I can't believe Wikipedia is the only site of it's nature we have with that "business model".
 
ninethirty said:
Reddit hasn't done anything wrong. They're the ONLY social media company that hasn't been charging for API access. Just because people got used to something doesn't mean they have a right to that thing.
Click to expand...

I don’t know how many times it has to be said before this kind of misinformation stops: it’s NOT about them starting to charge! It’s about absurdly high pricing and even more so, the fact that they only gave 30 day notice and while that 30 day clock ticks down, they’re not providing feedback to developers in timely fashion. Oh. And Huffman has been lying his ass off about what developers have been saying.
 
  • Like
Reactions: redbeard331
MacRumors said:
80GB of compressed data was stolen through a phishing attack, and BlackCat says that the data will be made public unless Reddit pays $4.5 million and withdraws the API pricing changes that will go into effect on July 1.
Click to expand...
Go ahead, do it. It worked out for the guy who did the Valve hack... oh wait. Well, it worked for the guys responsible for "The Fappening"... oh... nope. Ok, but it went really well for the guy who did the GTA/Rockstar hack... oh damn... ok, ok, it worked out for the FBI and some other agencies across the world. ;)
 
  • Like
Reactions: WarmWinterHat
techfreak23 said:
View attachment 2220443

Don’t know if anyone mentioned it on here, but they have a banner that links to a help page explaining that the majority of bots and 3rd party services will fall into the free tier. I’m curious how many of those are throwaway accounts that have been forgotten or were created for a very specific reason. I know I’ve had several over the years for various scraping and moderation tools that were barely used.
Click to expand...
Both sides are selectively including and excluding dead accounts and other figures to make their side look better when they throw out stats.
 
dannys1 said:
There's no chance you use a 3rd party tool to access MacRumors that might be removed is there?
Click to expand...

Web browsers are going to be removed? What 3rd party apps access macrumors?

I guess I'm the odd one that I never use my phone to access social media, but then I don't really use social media. No reddit, facebook, tiktok or twitter.
 
freediverx00 said:
The issue is not that they’re charging for API access. It’s that they’re charging 20X the industry rate, that they only gave developers 30 days to implement the change, and that just a few months earlier, Huffman had told them there would not be any changes to the API or its pricing structure for the next few years. Then, to add insult to injury, Huffman crapped on developers and users in every interview he’s done since, while also slandering Christian Selig, who fortunately had audio recordings of their conversations to prove who was the one lying.
Click to expand...

Can you provide a source on 20x the industry rate? My understanding is that what they'd charge is the same as other major social media companies, which is why you don't see as many 3rd party apps as you do with reddit.

Also, the audio that Selig has, literally has him trying to extort money from reddit, which he conveniently said was a joke afterwards.
 
  • Disagree
Reactions: BigMcGuire
noraa said:
To summarize: developers and Redditors largely agree that Reddit should, and needs to, start charging for API access. Reddit has chosen to charge an exorbitant amount for API access, and has provided very little time for developers to make changers to their apps, effectively shutting down most 3rd party apps.
Click to expand...

Can you provide a source on "exorbitant?" My understanding is that what they plan to charge is in line with what other social media companies charge.

The real issue here is that people have gotten used to something, and they want that thing to continue, but in reality, they have no right to that. Reddit is about to IPO and will need to become profitable as they'll answer to shareholders. Giving free access to the API so that people can build their own reddit applications that don't show ads is silly, and reddit isn't evil for wanting to end that.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back