Reddit’s unpopular choice to revise its API pricing in a transfer that’s forcing third-party apps out of business has taken a bizarre flip. In an AMA hosted today by Reddit co-founder and CEO Steve Huffman, aka u/spez on the web discussion board web site, the exec doubled down on accusations towards the developer behind the favored third-party app Apollo, which the corporate had beforehand accused of working inefficiently and never being a very good “API” consumer.
Regardless of neighborhood backlash — which incorporates a site-wide protest from 1000’s of communities referred to as subreddits — Huffman’s AMA confirmed the corporate has no plans to revise its coming API adjustments. What’s extra, Huffman continued his accusations towards Apollo, calling out the developer, Christian Selig’s, “conduct and communications” as being “everywhere” and saying he couldn’t see Reddit working with the developer additional.
Selig had been among the many first to highlight that Reddit’s new API pricing would successfully make it unimaginable to proceed to function the Apollo app. He defined that, beneath the brand new phrases, it might value him $20 million per year to take action — cash the app doesn’t make. This week, Selig announced the app’s last day can be June 30, forward of the July 1 implementation of the brand new API pricing.
Different third-party apps are additionally closing down, together with Sync, RIF and Reddplant, to call just a few.
However Huffman seemingly has an ax to grind with Selig specifically, first accusing the developer of extortion, per Selig’s extensive post on the situation between himself and Reddit.
Based on Selig’s interpretation of the scenario, he raised the query as to why Reddit was selecting to alter its API phrases to place third-party apps out of enterprise reasonably than simply shopping for them out, as the corporate did with Alien Blue (an older Reddit consumer that it acquired in 2014). He stated that if Apollo was costing Reddit $20 million per 12 months, Reddit ought to reduce him a examine to place an finish to the app. The comment doesn’t sound like a severe ask from his telling. In truth, he clarified on the decision, “…that is largely a joke.”
If something, it comes throughout as a way of attempting to know why the corporate would make a transfer that’s positive to generate unwell will amongst its wider neighborhood. (As it has.)
A Reddit consultant on a name with Selig, nonetheless, first seemingly interpreted his remark as a “risk,” Selig stated. However on the decision, they cleared up the misunderstanding and the contact apologized. Selig got here with receipts — he recorded the decision (which is authorized the place he’s based mostly in Canada).
However in a subsequent name with moderators, Huffman referred to this dialog as Selig “threatening” Reddit.
That stance hasn’t softened on Reddit’s facet, Huffman made clear at the moment.
Within the AMA, one consumer requested Huffman to make clear, “what had been you pondering together with your try and discredit Apollo by claiming that Christian threatened and blackmailed you?”
The response was stunning. In contrast to most corporations, which attempt to soften their blows behind company PR converse, Huffman answered reasonably plainly.
“His ‘joke’ is the least of our points,” the CEO wrote. “His conduct and communications with us has been everywhere—saying one factor to us whereas saying one thing fully totally different externally; recording and leaking a personal telephone name—to the purpose the place I don’t know the way we may do enterprise with him.”
It’s an odd flip of occasions for Apollo, whose iOS-first and user-friendly design simply this week noticed it featured throughout Apple’s Worldwide Developer Convention, forward of Reddit’s API coverage change that may now put it out of enterprise.
Different distinguished builders have come out in help of Selig following this debacle.
Halide co-founder Sebastiaan de With tweeted on Thursday calling Selig “one of many nicest guys in our indie app world,” and stated Reddit administration was mendacity, slandering, and vilifying him. Others quote-tweeted and agreed.
Until Reddit’s board chooses to intervene, it doesn’t appear that Huffman is anxious a lot concerning the fallout from these selections, site-wide protest or not.
Within the AMA, he fended off quite a lot of questions, politely phrased and never, from customers upset over the API adjustments. These ranged from these questioning the model (why not a profit-sharing mannequin like Epic does with Unreal?) and asking concerning the compressed timeframe to broader questions on Reddit’s shift to being extra about earnings than neighborhood engagement. (“We’ll proceed to be profit-driven till earnings arrive,” the CEO replied. “In contrast to among the 3P apps, we’re not worthwhile.”)
“Some apps, like Apollo, Reddit is Enjoyable and Sync have determined this [API] pricing doesn’t work for his or her companies and can shut earlier than pricing goes into impact,” Huffman defined. “For the opposite apps, we’ll proceed speaking. We acknowledge that the timeline we gave was tight; we’re completely happy to interact with people who need to work with us.”
Within the comments, although, ReddPlanet’s developer (u/lupeski, aka Tony Lupeski) stated “it is a blatant lie,” noting that he had tried a number of occasions to get in touch with Reddit relating to these adjustments and had been ignored. One other indie app developer said they’d stuffed out a request for Enterprise API entry thrice and had acquired no response.
As for the remainder of the AMA, there’s little extra to report past what Reddit had already shared. The corporate is seemingly unmoved by the neighborhood backlash over its API adjustments and has no intention to delay or rethink. It should nonetheless keep its carve-out for a handful of accessibility-focused apps, as said.
Huffman additionally clarified that whereas The NYT piece positioned the API pricing changes as a solution to restrict entry to its boards, which have change into a coaching floor for giant language fashions (LLMs), that’s not the one cause behind this transfer. The corporate can also be spending “tens of hundreds of thousands of {dollars}” per 12 months to help the third-party app ecosystem, and that wanted to be reigned in. (And it’s in “energetic dialogue” with corporations utilizing Reddit as coaching knowledge for his or her AIs).
The exec moreover famous that entry to mature content material will likely be restricted by way of its Information API as of July 5, 2023, as a part of a broader effort to offer further guardrails beneath a “stricter” regulatory surroundings, however specific content material was nonetheless being allowed.
An summary of the AMA in a extra readable format is available on r/Save3rdPartyApps, a neighborhood that sprung up for the reason that API adjustments had been introduced. The discussion board now has over 50,000 members.
