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submitted 11 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

Just in case anyone here was wondering how Reddit's numbers are looking these days...

Data and visuals from https://subredditstats.com/r/askreddit

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[-] [email protected] 65 points 11 months ago

Not that I don't appreciate the cynicism, but by killing the api, could be a major dropoff in bot accounts.

[-] [email protected] 109 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

this is not an opinion that should be shared by anyone who has opened a frontpage comment section in the last 3 months. bot spam has only gotten significantly worse since july.

the API changes had no effect on bot accounts, anyway. reddit corp specifically made an exception for them and other "low volume" API users - which is why you can still use your own API key to activate defunct 3rd party apps.

(yes, the implication is that normal users can go to hell if they don't want to use the app - but by imitating a bot, reddit gives you preferential treatment. they want bots juicing their activity metrics.)

my guess is that subredditstats.com is itself impacted by the API changes, or this is a consequence of frontpage posts cycling MUCH more slowly than they did before the protests. fewer individual posts reaching r/all means less traffic and fewer comments as a result.

[-] [email protected] 20 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

they want bots juicing their activity metrics

Seems like it would have been easier to just not destroy third party apps given that their traffic numbers have apparently collapsed because of that.

[-] [email protected] 20 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

yes it's always easier to NOT fuck up a fully functional product and drive your userbase off a cliff, but that's not good enough for the huge IPO that huffman is courting. he wants to be able to say "look, we're monetizing 80% more MAUs than before and earning 45% more per person".

frankly i doubt they'll be able to go public at all at this rate. if i were the Newhouses (reddit's owners through Advance Publications) i would certainly be looking for someone to unload this hot potato onto.

[-] [email protected] 4 points 11 months ago

The worst part to me was how they completely ignored the glaringly obvious route to monetization of "oh you like using third party apps? You now have to pay us a subscription fee to use those" because while that would've been unpopular they would've gotten some users to pay up for sure, and I don't think it would've been as harsh of an exodus of power users that drive engagement

[-] [email protected] 7 points 11 months ago

That's literally how they got that piece of shit off the ground; lots and lots of fake engagement

[-] [email protected] 12 points 11 months ago

Has it gotten worse, or has it stayed the same while real people left?

I don't ask to be a jerk. I'm genuinely curious. I don't roll over that way often anymore and when I do it's always for super specific things so I don't hit the front page.

[-] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago

it can't really be evaluated in a vacuum. the front page moves so much more slowly that maybe it's the same number of bots concentrated on a smaller number of posts, i dunno. i just know that it's inescapable on popular posts and the bots have hardly needed to adapt because reddit corp doesn't give a fuck.

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this post was submitted on 18 Oct 2023
672 points (96.5% liked)

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