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Some subreddits could be paywalled, hints Reddit CEO (9to5mac.com)

submitted 3 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

456 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Reddit CEO Steve Huffman has hinted that in future some subreddits could be paywalled, as the company seeks to devise new sources of income.

He suggested that the company might experiment with paywalled subreddits as it looks to monetize new features. “I think the existing, altruistic, free version of Reddit will continue to exist and grow and thrive just the way it has,” Huffman said. “But now we will unlock the door for new use cases, new types of subreddits that can be built that may have exclusive content or private areas, things of that nature.”

This is another move likely to anger Redditors. While the platform is a commercial enterprise, its value derives almost entirely from freely offered user content. That means Redditors feel at least some sense of ownership in a community endeavour, so the company needs to tread carefully when it comes to monetization at user expense.

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago

Sure, if that's how a really popular subreddit pays it's moderators, it's not unreasonable. We just know that isn't what's going on here.

In addition, it would be unreasonable to expect users of a free service to suddenly start paying for it without an extremely huge value boost which there's been no mention of. If anything engagement will certainly go down, further reducing the value.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago

Enshitification is inevitable

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago

If they grandfather existing subscribers in it might work for a few months or years, and what does the current Reddit leadership care if that community survives longer than they stay at the company. They also might make a few sales with paywalled celebrity IAmA threads. In any case I will watch from the sidelines and enjoy the spectacle 🍿.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 months ago (5 children)

If Reddit were run by competent people, I'd think that paywalled subs might be a good idea. I imagine that there are countless scenarios where people have really useful info to share, but at the same time, said info can't be spread too widely, and a paywall is one way of making sure that only people who truly care about said info can take advantage of it.

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