goatburglerJun 16, 2023
Dan Gillmor

Reddit's CEO is now comparing the people who've done the most to make the site popular to "landed gentry" -- demonstrating that he's both over-the-top arrogant and ignorant.

He's also threatening to change the rules of the site to make it easier to remove moderators. Yes, that'll definitely encourage more people to build communities there.

If anyone should be removed, it's him.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/reddit-ceo-slams-protest-leaders-says-hell-change-rules-that-could-end-rebellion/ar-AA1cBP7f

Reddit CEO slams protest leaders, says he'll change rules that could end rebellion

Steve Huffman, the Reddit CEO, said in an interview that a user protest on the site this week does not have wide support and is led by a minority of moderators.

MSN
Jun 16, 2023 at 12:09amWeb
Show threadCoach Pāṇini ®Jun 16, 2023

@dangillmor @donmelton He said this on Magna Carta Day, when King John sealed it reluctantly and only because rebellious landed gentry urged it to protect their interests.

Any benefits accrued to common folks were and are incidental.

https://www.minimumcomp.com/p/thurs-615-doj-george-floyd-murder

Thurs 6/15 - DOJ George Floyd Murder Investigation, Reed Smith Cuts Attorneys, Twitter Sued by Music Publishers, SBF of FTX Updates, and NHTSA opposes Right to Repair

Listen now (8 min) | We have the DOJ wrapping up its investigation into the George Floyd murder, Reed Smith cuts, Twitter sued by music publishers, SBF of FTX trial updates and NHTSA opposed MA right to repair law.

Minimum Competence
Show threadst3ph3nJun 16, 2023
@dangillmor reddit used to be my favorite place on the internet. They have thrown away so much community goodwill. Right now I don’t feel like ever going back. It is a pity for a bunch of the small, niche communities there.
Show threadBig WorkerJun 16, 2023
@st3ph3n @dangillmor hopefully small niche communities are also those that can most easily coordinate a migration to lemmy
Show threadFandangaloJun 16, 2023
@st3ph3n @dangillmor Been there 11 years and using Apollo a big chunk of it. Don’t think I can go back. I feel so adrift right now.
Show threadSleestakJun 16, 2023
@dangillmor I was planning to go back, but Reddit’s behavior is pushing to stay away for good. Sad, because I have the 15 year badge.
Show threadcharlesesmithJun 16, 2023
@dangillmor I mean, I thought this was what would happen, but holy shit is this such a case study in bad PR. "The free labor that's really the only reason this site has worked for 15 years is really the problem" is just an amazing take.
Show threadMaximumEffort433Jun 16, 2023

@charlesesmith It's been quite the spectacle, hasn't it?

Huffman pens prohibitive prices for 3rd party apps, gives them no time to make their applications more efficient, speaks ill of one of the app developers from his spot on the bully pulpit, de facto kills the apps that a lot of us (ME!) use every day, doubles down on the bad ideas in a company memo, and now he's all but issuing threats to boycotting moderators...

...dude's falling and hitting #EveryBranch on the way down.

Show threadHalf Cocked LawJun 16, 2023
@dangillmor Spez is really testing the theory that the only reason Elon is successful is that he completely lacks tact.
Show threadEdBJun 16, 2023
@dangillmor This is spez, the same genius who thought it was ok to store reddit users passwords as plaintext. Until the database was ripped off and the world found out about it.
Show threadMostly CloudyJun 16, 2023
@dangillmor wittle baby wants to take his ball and run away. Fuck him.
Show threadMagess Jun 16, 2023
@dangillmor Real-time lesson in: https://every.to/p/breaching-the-trust-thermocline-is-the-biggest-hidden-risk-in-business
Breaching the Trust Thermocline Is the Biggest Hidden Risk in Business

Companies have no way back from a sudden loss of trust

Show threadKristine K.Jun 16, 2023
@Magess @dangillmor I was just going to mention that jumping off the trust thermocline is an awesome way to lose your business! The arrogance that lessons from other companies don’t apply to you….
Show threadcyber-seal linux bistroJun 16, 2023
@dangillmor techbro culture needs to be deprecated
Show threadmvarioJun 16, 2023
@dangillmor If he wants users to be able to vote people out, maybe he should let users vote on Dictator Huffman, who is absolutely not responsive to what the users or the admins want.
Show threadRose HerbJun 16, 2023
@justwarren This is such a cool website! Mastodan is kind of like a unique muddle between Twitter & Indeed. Kind of like it! 😲😲
Show threadJust WarrenJun 16, 2023
@RoseHerb8304 Agree! I’m poking at it and it’s fun. The iPad app is a bit unintuitive IMO but I’ve managed to follow tags like #watercolor and #miniaturepainting and it’s nice seeing what people are making. Twitter was fun too but it got to be feeling like a bit too much outrage for my tastes.
Show threadRose HerbJun 16, 2023
@justwarren I hear what you mean!!! Say.. how can get through the #hashtags ??
Show threadJust WarrenJun 16, 2023
@RoseHerb8304 If you mean follow them, I can’t figure out how to do it again. Maybe I did it on my phone and not the iPad.
Show threadGen X-WingJun 16, 2023

@dangillmor Sounds encouraging to me. As in it should encourage mods to seek other platforms where they are the owners instead.

Because this is definitely a “Don’t interrupt your opponent when they are making a mistake” territory.

Show threadMJBotte1Jun 16, 2023
@dangillmor I’m (still technically) part of a mod team that’s decided to make our subreddit permanently Dark until things improve or revert. I’d like to keep it in this holding pattern, but if they’re going to attempt hostile takeovers we might have to go scorched earth. And that helps nobody.
Show threadTamJun 16, 2023
@MJBotte1 @dangillmor is it possible to migrate your subreddit to lemmy or kbin? Maybe I think too simply, but isn’t this what we all should be doing? Moving our communities one by one?
Show threadMaybeMyMonkeysJun 16, 2023
@dangillmor he is doubling down because the investors will replace him if he capitulates
Show threadPaul Carpenter 👾Jun 16, 2023
@dangillmor Could this all be explained because he is actually the CEO of some other business and the news just has this all confused? Cuz it seems like he totally doesn’t know what Reddit is or why it exists or what it does or anything, really. I think he might just be CEO of a corn feed supplier or something and this is one colossal “whoops!”
Show threadTony Diep (He/Him)Jun 16, 2023

@dangillmor

I deleted my content before I deleted my account and I encourage everyone to do the same.

Your value to #Reddit is your free posts and comments so remember to delete your posts before deleting your account!

I used this #RedditAPI script to delete 10 years of my comments and posts: https://codepen.io/j0be/full/WMBWOW/

Power Delete Suite

...

Show threadGNU/Matt  Jun 16, 2023

@tonydiep @dangillmor keep inmind that if any of your current comments are in subs that are dark, they wont be deleted by power delete.

I would suggest coming back as subs turn the lights back on and deleting comments again before June 30, and then delete your account

Show threadTony Diep (He/Him)Jun 16, 2023

@gnuplusmatt @dangillmor

Thanks for that info.

I planned ahead and deleted the comments Sunday night before the #redditblackout

On my way out I posted instructions to every subreddit I hung around. Got a ton of hate, but also the largest number of upvotes I've ever got, and #Reddit Gold.

Of course that got me permabanned on most of the subs. So there's no going back.

Deleted my account on Wednesday.

I gotta say I'm a little proud of myself ;)

Show threadZ O R A N G R B I CJun 17, 2023

@tonydiep @dangillmor It seems it's getting worse. He's openly discussing selling data to AI companies as a learning model.

Canceling your account isn't enough. You have to back up your comments and delete everything before. It seems they just undeleted all "deleted" comments. It means they've been keeping it, which is against GDPR.

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Show threadZ O R A N G R B I CJun 17, 2023

@tonydiep @dangillmor An additional step for EU citizens is to send a GDPR request for deletion and file a complaint. There's a form on the EU site. The Reddit CEO already said he doesn't care. I hope he'll get a huge fine which will mess up their IPO.

In any case, please take the time to do all this. It's one of those moments where you can weigh in and have these freaking techbro's pay attention.

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Show threadwonderwharfJun 16, 2023
@dangillmor
Show threadJarvis SlacksJun 16, 2023
@dangillmor @ryanschultz It's sad how quickly Reddit turned from something I loved into complete bullshit.
Show threadAnirbanJun 16, 2023
@dangillmor Waiting for the south park episode.
Show threadmoaningfridgeJun 16, 2023
@dangillmor I see that he's going Full Musk
Show thread Why Not Zoidberg? 🦑Jun 16, 2023
@dangillmor Felon Husk clone.
Show threadraminfJun 16, 2023

@dangillmor

There is a broader lesson here when it comes to community building, social media, and developer ecosystems.

There are many easy guesses. But it will take a long time to really nail it down and learn from it.

#reddit #RedditBlackout

Show threadRejZoRJun 16, 2023
@dangillmor So, they are already planning to overthrow mods and reinstate their own to open up largest subs. Facepalm.
Show threadThiago FigueiróJun 16, 2023
@dangillmor oof. Now tell me what you really think amirite
Show threadJevon Wright 💙💛Jun 16, 2023
@dangillmor I assume that means we can vote out Reddit admins as moderators? Right?
Show threadJonah SteinJun 16, 2023
@dangillmor I figure he has single handedly reduce the value of the Upcoming Reddit IPO by 20% or something like $2.5-3.5 billion. That is enough to force the board to take action. I would be really, really surprised if he makes it passed the 4th of July without being fired.
Show threadTamJun 16, 2023
@jonahstein @dangillmor it would be nice if you were correct about the decrease in value. But won’t it bounce back if people return to using it?
As for spez losing his job…other narcissistic dictators are still prospering despite catastrophic failures
Show threadJonah SteinJun 16, 2023

@TamNZ @dangillmor Hard to predict Reddit's long term value. Way to many people have written them off in the past. But this is not the narrative you want heading into an IPO.

Reddit's brand is a "collection of communities" and the CEO is working very hard to antagonize the leaders of those communities. I don't know that anyone simply moves past the insults he has thrown their way in the last 10 days or so.

If you feel gaslighted by the CEO, do users and moderators return?

Personally, I don't post much or even comment but I consider Reddit one of my favorite sites, especially since I quit Twitter. I am not sure when I will return or if my usage will be effected.

Show threadJonah SteinJun 16, 2023
@TamNZ @dangillmor Also, if by other narcissistic dictators you mean Zuckerberg, the one significant different is that Huffman doesn't own a majority of the stock. The founders sold to Conde Nest when the site was in it's infancy. I am sure he has plenty of shares/options from being CEO for a decade but that is a far cry from controlling the board.
Show threadTamJun 16, 2023
@jonahstein @dangillmor nah, Muskovite, Trump etc
Show threadHarry HallJun 16, 2023
@dangillmor He can already remove anyone he wants. This might coincide with the protest but I am not sure they are related at all. He is exactly right as well. One of the subreddits I am a part of has a major problem with its lead moderator who refuses to give up any control despite being told they are wrong repeatedly by members. Making it so users can vote on their moderators would help solve problems like these.
Show threadLorkaJun 16, 2023

@dangillmor “Looking back on Reddit 18 years ago, it was a bunch of 20-something techno-libertarians in America — 98% dudes, by the way. I know because I was one of them,” Huffman said.

Reddit changed to something better than techno-libertarian memes, and now they are destroying it.

Show threadxs4me2Jun 16, 2023

@dangillmor

Huffman needs to find another job. Just the wrong attitude.

Show threadPasta_CoderJun 16, 2023
@dangillmor The community made reddit what it is... we can equally "unmake" it and start elsewhere.
Show threadMark HughesJun 16, 2023

@dangillmor It's hard but it's better to let him and Musk burn these sites to the ground and get people to learn from that.

There are a long list of such apparently public spaces which are privately owned and will turn on those who made them and use them. Github is an obvious contender.

We need lessons like these to inspire the building of #p2p alternatives.

I don't miss Twitter (nor fb left in 2016) and despite being a Reddit mod for a FOSS project since 2014 I see this as good long term.

Show threadMaybeMyMonkeysJun 16, 2023
@dangillmor surprised he didn’t say ‘obey me’
Show thread-Flukeman-Jun 16, 2023
@dangillmor This is the reason I am here now. It will take some getting used to, but I think Mastodon could be a great replacement.
Show threadD2Jun 16, 2023
@dangillmor when monetization trashes stuff, two thoughts recur for me: what about public-utility paradigms? And (sarcastically) “if *only* there were free peer-peer tools for these functions, like Usenet (and finger, email, uucp, etc.)”
Show threadRhodie114Jun 16, 2023
@dangillmor the idea of mods being easily removable by the community is horrifying. I participate in several communities that are consistently the target of online trolls. Those communities are only able to exist because our mods hold them off. If those trolls were given the power to remove those mods, they’d do it in a heartbeat.
Show threadWaterluvianJun 16, 2023
@dangillmor He looks exactly like I’d expect. Just went to the SV CEO store and got the cheapest option.
Show threadDani DanisJun 16, 2023
@dangillmor He‘s such an snobby nobhead 🙄
Show threadRejZoRJun 16, 2023
@dangillmor i love how he's saying "our data" in Verge interview. Dude, you don't own shit, if users weren't posting stuff, Reddit wouldn't exist.
Show threadTor Iver WilhelmsenJun 16, 2023
@dangillmor I think he should embrace #Web3 and tie the platform to crypto and make every subreddit run by its own DAO, completing the #enshittification
Show thread🥥 Tucker Carlson's Nuts 🥥Jun 16, 2023
@toriver @dangillmor 🥥 #Enshittification isn't just for the internets. You can find examples of it throughout late-stage capitalism all over the world. 🥥
Show threadJJun 16, 2023
@dangillmor Judging by this picture, I'd say Reddit's CEO eats pieces of shit for breakfast, but I wouldn't want to insult Christopher McDonald like that.
Show threadzeruchApr 12, 2024
@dangillmor Spez went from a fairly even-handed sensible choice when he came back in 2015 to spending the last couple of years making himself out to be a milquetoast version of Andreessen/Musk/Rabois, themselves already quite tasteless and tone-deaf. These people are making themselves rich while breaking the spine of the industry itself.