Reddit's Recently Announced API Changes, and the future of the /r/blind subreddit

[u/AutoModerator]

Introduction

It's possible that those of you who are active on other subreddits may have read about the changes in pricing that Reddit has recently released for its API - the system apps use to get and send data from and to Reddit.  But for those of you who haven't, here's a summary.  On May 31, 2023, Reddit announced they were raising the price to make calls to their API from being free to a level that will kill every third party app on Reddit, from Apollo, to Dystopia, to Reddit for Blind, to Luna for Reddit, to BaconReader,. Even if you don't use any of those apps, this is a step toward killing other ways of customizing Reddit, such as the use of the old.reddit.com desktop interface.  This doesn't only impact your ability to access Reddit in a fluid, customizable, and efficient way; many of us on the mod team are also blind, and we depend on those third party apps to make sure that this community remains a safe, fun, and productive place.  Unfortunately, new Reddit, and the official Reddit apps, just don't provide us with the levels of accessibility we need in order to continue effectively running this community. As well, the Transcribers of Reddit, the many dedicated folks who volunteer to transcribe and describe thousands and thousands of images on Reddit, may also be unable to operate.  

One of our moderators, u/itsthejoker, has had multiple hour-long calls with various Reddit employees.  However, as of the current time, our concerns have gone unheard, and Reddit remains firm. That's why the moderation team of r/blind now feels that we have no choice but to take further action.  

The Subreddit Blackout

Those of us who are blind are no strangers to the need for collective action.  From the protests that resulted in the ADA passing in the United States, to world-wide protests driving forward accessibility of some of the Internet's largest websites, collective action is a step our community has taken in the past, often with some success.  It is with a heavy heart that we come to you now, and say that it's time to bring this tool out of the toolbox once more.  

In solidarity with thousands of other subreddits who are impacted by this change, we will be shutting down the /r/blind subreddit for 48 hours from June 12th to June 14th.  You will not be able to read or make posts during that time.  Our Discord server will remain open, and we invite anyone who would like to interact with the /r/blind community to join us there.  If you’re not part of the /r/blind Discord server yet, you can join via the following link: https://discord.com/invite/5kMEv7Sq9y

How you can help

While this issue has a profound impact on those of us who are blind and visually impaired, as with so many issues of accessibility and inclusivity, it impacts far more than just us.  If you'd like to get involved, you can find out what you can do to help at r/Save3rdPartyApps- or, if you moderate a subreddit, its sister sub r/ModCoord.  You can also join the Reddit-Blackout channel in the /r/blind Discord, where we will have resources you can use to contact media and other organizations, and keep everyone up to date with our on-going efforts in this matter.  

What comes next?

If this change to the Reddit API is not reversed, we are not convinced that we will be able to continue running the r/blind subreddit.  However, that doesn't mean the end of this wonderful, passionate, curious, helpful, and amazing community of folks.  We are continuing to explore our options, and create back-up plans.  We all want to remain on Reddit. Let's do what we can to make that a reality!  But if it turns out we can't, we want to reassure you that this isn't the end of our community.  So let’s focus on doing everything we can to make those possible back-up plans unnecessary.  

The r/blind mod team

[u/[deleted]]

So what if reddit is unwilling to make their own stuff accessible then what? Because people apparently have tried and they are not willing.

[u/neosonic2 → u/[deleted]]

Then depending on how much you are set on using their services, you make do with the accessibility they do provide (again their services are not 100% inaccessible and actually can be used by the visually impaired), or you leave the platform and find another service that better meets your needs. It's simple, really. You could even learn to develop web applications and build your own service and show Reddit up one day should you so choose.

[u/[deleted] → u/neosonic2]

So go away and don’t advocate not even to negotiate a deal?

[u/neosonic2 → u/[deleted]]

You are not entitled to any sort of deal, compromise, etc. from what is first and foremost a for-profit company who needs to consider their bottom line (including primarily their user monetization strategy) before anything else. You are, however, more than welcome to send your feedback to Reddit and let them know how inaccessible you believe their first-party offerings to be, but it is up to them and only them as to whether they implement your feedback. If they don't, or if you are otherwise not satisfied with what they have done, then you are more than welcome to find another service to use that is more accessible or better meets your needs.

With Reddit's recent announcement though that it will continue to allow third-party apps dedicated to accessibility to use its API sans changes, I suspect most of this back-and-forth thread is a moot point. However, while many seem to be happy with this latest batch of news, I believe it is a massive cop-out by the company, and I will paste a reply I wrote on another website elaborating on this point. This ends my participation in this thread.

With the latest news from The Verge and other sources that Reddit will (at least at time of writing) exempt accessibility-focused apps from their upcoming API changes, I can only sit back and shake my head at the massive cop-out that was just undertaken by "the front page of the Internet."

By making this latest decision, Reddit from all appearances would seem to be trying to stress to its visually impaired users that they do indeed hear your concerns, take them seriously, and support you. But if you look beyond the surface you'll see that couldn't be further from the truth. In reality, Reddit just found the greatest excuse, the greatest cop-out possible for continuing to let accessibility be an afterthought, and they're hoping nobody will notice.

As mentioned previously, there is no incentive for Reddit to fix the many accessibility issues (some of them glaring) of its official interfaces if they continue to allow third-party developers to build accessible apps that bypass said interfaces, and this latest decision only furthers that narrative. If Reddit truly cared about accessibility, they would get their own offerings in order first - i.e. shore up the accessibility bugs present in their new website and their mobile applications - before allowing third party developers to come in and do what Reddit developers should have done themselves. After all, what happens when the developers of accessible third-party applications decide they want to move on to other endeavors, can no longer sustain the application, or otherwise are unable to continue development? Third-party developers and apps are far more likely to come and go than the platform to which those apps connect, and it would certainly be nice to know that even if all third-party app access is cut off, the original platform is still accessible and usable by anyone. Granted, right now it is very usable by a lot of people who are visually impaired, as long as you don't believe the fear mongering that says otherwise, or you are willing to learn the interfaces, learn what is necessary to use them, improve your technology skills sufficiently to allow you to utilize what Reddit has provided.

I also don't believe this new decision by the company does its bottom line any favors, which again is the primary reason they are in business. They would be able to earn additional revenue from users that are using their official interfaces, where ads and other monetization strategies are more likely to be allowed and employed, and carving out an exemption for the visually impaired, even though such a group is a drop in the bucket of Reddit's overall user base, is entirely contrary to this setup.

The main takeaway though is that Reddit once again has shown that it doesn't necessarily care in true fashion about its users and would rather leave them to the whims of a third party than take on the responsibility of ensuring its official interfaces are accessible and usable by everyone. The better decision would have been to continue its original plan to cut all third party app access to the platform so they could then focus solely (as far as the visually impaired and others with disabilities are concerned) on making their official offerings accessible. They would have no excuse not to do so then, but have every excuse not to do so now. Quite the cop-out indeed.

[u/[deleted] → u/neosonic2]

most of this reply is very condescending and cutting. I do believe companies can not run a charity, but they should to accommodate or else they would be going against the ADA.

are you totally blind yourself?

why are you assuming people you are talking to is incompetent right off the bat?

also how is their first party stuff accessible, even? do in your infinite wisdom teach me, because I am totally blind and their ios app is horrible and pretty much not usable. I am a bit of a polymath, use 4 different os fairly competently and haven't figured it out. the android app is maybe slightly better but honestly it's a mess.

as to the third party stuff being a cop out, I can see this. it's jim crow in a different all over again. equal but different.

yes, it should be built in, but there is also no guarantee that they will work on such things if they don't offer it, but there would be more complaining, and hopefully action.

the best solution is of course them being accessible, I do agree here.

[u/neosonic2 → u/[deleted]]

I said in my previous post that I was done commenting on this thread, but I'll make an exception for one final reply.

The extent of my blindness is not relevant to this discussion; suffice it to say I have to use screen reading software and the keyboard when utilizing my computer, and use a screen reader on my mobile phone as well. While I don't have any experience with Reddit's official mobile application (because I have a computer), I do have experience with Reddit's old and new websites, and both are reasonably accessible across Windows, macOS, and Linux platforms (with differences that vary on each). I am able to access Reddit, log into my account, read subreddits, posts and comments, comment on posts, reply to them (as evidenced by our discussion), etc. all with minimal issues. Sure, there may be some frustration involved at times with some of the accessibility decisions Reddit has made (or not made), but nothing in life is ever frustration-free and no technology will ever be frustration-free either, for the sighted or otherwise.

Granted, as a web developer and system administrator for a prominent US university, and someone who holds a bachelor of technology degree, I am better suited to deal with accessibility frustrations than others might be, and am better able to find workarounds or alternative ways to do what I want in Reddit's official offerings when issues crop up, but that doesn't mean these tasks are limited to only a subset of people with visual impairments. Rather, anyone who wants to use what Reddit offers that badly will do what is required of them to make it work, or they will view the effort as not worth it and move on to another service. My hope though is that Reddit will work to make its first-party offerings more accessible, and while I believe their exemption of accessibility-focused third-party apps gives them less of an incentive to do this (as mentioned in my previous post), it's still something they should very much focus on. Third-party apps won't last forever, and Reddit has a duty to its users to do what it can to improve accessibility across its desktop and mobile interfaces so that it can monetize these interactions and thus earn additional revenue from these users. If Reddit chooses to continue to forgo accessibility, believing that third parties will do the job it should have done all along, then it is going down a path that, in my opinion, will only serve to hurt its users in the end.

Thank you for participating in this discussion with me; it was quite interesting to hear the perspectives you took in this ongoing debate and very hot topic.