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[META]: should /r/nba participate in the upcoming Reddit blackout, to protest planned API changes?



Reddit has recently announced significant changes to their API function. This has proved hugely controversial, and in response many subreddits – including major default communities – plan to participate in a site-wide protest. This would consist of a 48 hour blackout, from Monday 12th June – in which these subreddits would go “private”, meaning users cannot see or post to these communities.

We would like to discuss our potential participation in this blackout with the /r/nba community, in order to make a collective decision on our action in line with what the userbase wants. Some of that discussion has taken place [here](https://old.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/141xpm9/your_input_needed_reddits_api_changes_rnba/) if you would like to review.

For a detailed explanation of what is changing and why this is important you can go [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/Save3rdPartyApps/comments/13yh0jf/dont_let_reddit_kill_3rd_party_apps/) and [here](https://i.redd.it/zqptto18e34b1.jpg)

The TL;DR of the matter is that Reddit is adamant in changing conditions in the way that third-party tools interact with the site itself, making it harder and more expensive for apps and tools developed by outsiders to continue to exist.

Many Redditors exclusively use third-party apps for their browsing experience, so this will have a significant impact. Third-party apps and features are also crucial to several key moderation tools – removing these will make the subreddit harder to moderate, especially if tools to catch ban evaders and bad faith users are harder to maintain.

We are primarily here to serve the desires of the user base. We would put this subject to debate, and ask the community for feedback and guidance on what to do regarding this issue. This will include a poll, to help us further gauge opinion.

**Please remain civil in discussions being had, the subreddit rules for civility will still apply**

**Please be aware this blackout will likely occur during the closing games of the NBA Finals**

**Should r/nba participate in the upcoming site-wide blackout, planned to start on the 12th June, for 48 hours? Should we be prepared to hold out for even longer, as other subs have decided to? Should we not participate at all?**

#–>[Please vote here](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfk9rrCiufT6AZD1mFia_Ff-scoqTW_5oA8iN178CxLoagJGg/viewform?usp=sf_link) <–#

by MelGibsonDerp

25 Comments

  1. About to go on strike tomorrow, might as well participate in this blackout too.

  2. batmans420

    Yes. Solidarity. Also a few days off Reddit would do a lot of the people on here some good

  3. PitbullMandelaEffect

    > Third-party apps and features are also crucial to several key moderation tools – removing these will make the subreddit harder to moderate, especially if tools to catch ban evaders and bad faith users are harder to maintain.

    Let more people be mods then, it’s not like you have to pay them 🤷‍♂️

  4. FetchFrosh

    Probably would be best to do something other than a Google Forms poll. Speaking as someone who moderates a comparably sized subreddit, we’ve been getting plenty of traffic from non-users who are coming to insist that we blackout (though a large amount of our regulars are also supportive). Just worth considering that some of the people who are going to vote don’t care about r/nba, they just want more subreddits joining.

  5. D09987766

    I vote yes. Ignore the people shilling for the official app or ones claiming that 3rd party apps are “stealing revenue”. 3rd party apps have tons of features that the official app doesn’t (including accessibility features for the blind, for example) and they **already pay API fees to reddit/imgur.**

  6. reececanthear

    Wait.. we’re all getting BLACKED ?

  7. sharknado56789

    Dont wanna get to into it because someone will take me out (JFK CIA style) but this is obviously set up by Lebron and co to take revenge because of the swep. They (Lebron) just wanna see the nuggets fans suffer and i feel bad for y’all.

  8. juicccccccy

    Literally nobody who goes outside gives a fuck. Hey geniuses, what happens after the two day “blackout” and reddit changes nothing and laughs their asses off (in luxury recliners) at this pathetic protest.

  9. johnylawn

    Why not? It’s always fun to join a good protest. Plus, it’s not like anyone was going to get any work done anyways.

  10. DoctorAco

    Before I vote , I have a question…

    Short term – no. we shouldn’t it’s the finals.

    Long term – yes because we’d feel the effects in not only all the future finals, but in everything.

    Is this relatively correct?

  11. stopmutations

    You want me to sign in to vote? Someone undecided vote yes for my lazy ass. Like this website doesn’t have polls already

  12. stalkmeo1

    Reading all these comments really makes me sad. Proves the saying People wont care unless they are directly affected by it. Sorry to those people who have problems with their vision reason for using a 3rd party app to browse reddit.

  13. BigMoh789

    Getting big net neutrality protest vibes here

  14. AleroRatking

    Absolutely. Probably won’t make a difference. But at least it will be doing something.

  15. SecondCityPizzaRoll

    If the NBA Finals are still going on, fuck no.

  16. Ok-Jellyfish8198

    Guys, it’s clear most people on this sub don’t want to black out, so don’t make them! Just because we want to protest does not mean we should make others protest. That’s not the point of a protest!

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