It's one thing to test a new idea or a UX tweak or similar on a small portion of users - but just turning off a key way to access your service is so just so weird to me. How many of Reddit's decisions at this point are some version of, "hey, how angry do they get? What can we get away with?"
That post seems to be missing.
overlordror 80 points 3 years ago
People need to understand that this is about tracking your eyeballs. Reddit viewed on a webpage does not provide the metadata they want. What metadata does the app provide? Things you wouldn't think about wanting as a human, but the aggregate is very valuable.
Stuff like how long did you watch that video Ad? Where did you click on screen and at what time? What content were you viewing and what course of action did you take to get there? Web viewing only shows the landing page you arrived on reddit from and the exit page that took you away from reddit. Performing these actions in the app provides metadata cookie crumbs like a trail of roach shit to every single thing you've done on reddit in micro activities.
MrGoodBright 36 points 3 years ago
It's so completely wild and backwards. Imagine your not a reddit user, but a search leads you to a reddit link, and you're on your phone. You see all this stuff about downloading the app instead, and you're just going to bail, never reading the post. If there was no friction, they may have converted a new user.
They act like everyone already uses reddit and the users are so addicted they'll put up with anything.
BreakNeckJim 119 points 3 years ago
It's unbelievable how's user hostile all of these major site have become. I deleted my 11 year old Reddit account today and while it hurt a little it's important that we send a message and not use Reddit at least until they repeal this bullshit.
NataliePortland 73 points 3 years ago
Same! I deleted my 10 year account. Kinda not even sad. It was going downhill for a while now. But hey I just created my own instance for gardeners called thegarden.land so now I have a new home to grow roots and thrive!
BreakNeckJim 13 points 3 years ago
That's awesome! It's nice to see that people can actually try things here without getting downvoted to hell like on Reddit :)
administrator 6 points 3 years ago
Nice new instance! I’ll come check it out and subscribe to a community. I just made a new one yesterday too, Lemmy.pro
makeitso 4 points 3 years ago
I’m pretty sure I’m going to delete my three year and ten year accounts and just walk away for good. Honestly I was a little sad all day today, because I have a few hobbies I’m really crazy about and the cooking, baking, gemstone, and gardening communities have felt like home for a long time…but just using lemmy for a tiny little bit, I’m actually really excited! I’m having a much simpler experience here that’s refreshing. I like the content I’m reading.
NataliePortland 1 point 3 years ago
Hey from the Garden! We had to restart the site last night. Having some difficulties getting off the ground. I think we lost all our users! Were you one of them? Could I ask you to try there again and tell me if things are working okay, if you still are logged in, etc ? I Appreciate the help. Thegarden.land
FaygoBoozer 9 points 3 years ago
They're not gonna repeal anything. The only thing that will stop this is by Reddit dying and becoming a part of web history, which is hopefully on its way to happening.
BrooklynMan 103 points 3 years ago
"old.reddit.com isn't going anywhere"
-- a spez lie
d4r1us_drk 99 points 3 years ago
This is both informative and unfortunate.
Manticore 69 points 3 years ago
This... is dumb. Reddit gets traffic from people using it as a secondary search engine to get relevant answers.
Most people on the Internet view it from mobile. Reddit already makes their mobile experience genuinely awful despite this. Blocking it entirely?
The herding to their mobile app is so transparent (and DEFINITELY through stick, not carrot) I'm morbidly curious to see what horrible things they planning to put in their app that they know users will loathe, that requires their alternatives to be zero.
sgt_fridge 39 points 3 years ago
It seriously is. I've been on the site for all of 30 mins now and I am loving it so much more than reddit
StrangeWorrier 8 points 3 years ago
Why? It's a less mature platform with less features and not enough content. I get the idea of it being attractive but it's like Mastadon without the content you've got an uphill climb.
altz3r0 21 points 3 years ago
The main reason is that although the concessions we make may seem ever so insignificant, they pile up and dettach you from what you were looking for in the first place. You barely see your acquaintances posts on instagram or facebook anymore. Twitter is on it's way to become a cesspool. Every new Reddit "feature" just makes the experience worse. It won't be long for those platforms to all converge into a big mind grinder for propaganda.
In fediverse there is no valuation seeking to ruin things, and there won't be for the foreseeable future, so it's good ground to build upon, it's just good sense.
Take the content problem for example. You can think of that as an opportunity to be the content you want to see.
SenorBolsa 16 points 3 years ago
It’s a less mature platform with less features
That's why I like it. It literally has every feature I used or wanted on reddit already.
frostycakes 14 points 3 years ago
And there was a time when the same could be said for Reddit. Is Lemmy perfect? Of course not, but at least we have the ability to build something better instead of making the hippo dance to our beat, as it were.
Not to mention there's a lot of those features that have been added over the years that we could do without. Nobody's clamoring for an RPAN clone over here (I hope), or for three different ways to DM/chat with people.
communist 11 points 3 years ago
Because it doesn't actively try to make your experience worse
The problems with lemmy are actively trying to be solved, the problems with reddit are artificially created in order to make the user miserable.
unceme 10 points 3 years ago
It feels a lot more snappy, clean, and modern. I think most of that is because it hasn't accumulated a lot of the bloat and feature creep that Reddit has over the years. The biggest downside, though, is that the community is much smaller and there isn't a lot of the niche content that Reddit is so good for.
StrangeWorrier 2 points 3 years ago
I should say that Reddit without RES would probably be much closer to what I'm seeing on Lemmy now.
Uniquitous 8 points 3 years ago
Less mature and much less far along (and susceptible to) the enshittification curve.
TendieMaster69 8 points 3 years ago
It’s a less mature platform with less features and not enough content.
Well... that's kinda why I like it lol
Fr1shez 3 points 3 years ago
Yeah, there's a really nice feel to when dealing with something simply. ::: spoiler spoiler plus, instead of remembering all the key combines, you can click below which is diff from reddit app. Finally, accidental spoilers are no more! :::
sentient_loom 3 points 3 years ago
Lemmy is better than mastodon, for me at least. There was nothing interesting going on at mastodon, but Lemmy is thriving.
duncesplayed 61 points 3 years ago
I hate when people use passive voice in these things. It's such a slimy way to try and avoid responsibility.
"We have blocked you from using a mobile browser." is the active voice. It includes a subject ("we") and a verb ("blocked"). It says that someone made a decision, executed that decision, and is responsible.
"It looks like ... ", " ... is currently unavailable" is so fucking weaselly and irresponsible. You are 100% a complete piece of shit if you ever say something like that. You are not responsible enough to handle a Wendy's drive-through order, let alone a large organization.
feetongrass 52 points 3 years ago
This happening in the middle of the API gate seems like a pretty dumb move, even for Reddit.
deegeese 29 points 3 years ago
Blocking all mobile access except for the official client is the whole point of “API gate”. Don’t want people to just fall back on something with equally poor monetization, gotta show them all the ads.
feetongrass 9 points 3 years ago
Right, but I've seen tons of comments that say "I'll at least use the mobile site instead of your app". If they do this now, then those people will just leave. Plus, blocking mobile site is a dumb move.
EvilColeslaw 3 points 3 years ago
It's a dumb move but it's in line with their goals. Giving third party Apps the "Fuck you quote." price is also dumb when they could have offered a reasonable price and got some cash out of it.
Regardless, this interaction is from a month ago, so if anything it's not reacting to the current situation but was a clue as to what they were and already are planning.
WaffleFriends 50 points 3 years ago
Unbelievable. Are they actively trying to get as many people as possible to leave their platform all together?
Hamartiogonic 31 points 3 years ago
Seems like it’s a race to become the most hated platform. Twitter started a bit earlier, but Reddit is catching up really well.
0U714W 20 points 3 years ago
Facebook's far worse than either of them, but as far as the Most Hated title goes, it will be fun (and grim) to see who wins that race. Although, I feel like Spez is simply selling out, and Elon is truly, more overtly, an evil fuckwit; who will keep screwing his platform out of spite far longer than Spez his out of greed. Spez played one of the last cards he could, I think.
AvrgJoe 9 points 3 years ago
Yes, this exactly. Ole spez is blinded by the impending IPO and those dollar signs are blocking anything else in his mind. At this point I think he would drive Reddit into the ground just to try and get a payday. For Reddit to survive he needs to resign.
onepinksheep 4 points 3 years ago
I'm not discounting the possibility that spez himself is also evil — he's certainly done enough shady shit. He was once a mod of r/jailbait, after all, and he (or Reddit staff) had given one of the sub's founders a "Pimp Daddy" badge.
sanguinepar 3 points 3 years ago
In a weird way, they probably are - I guess they figure that users who don't see any/many ads are not contributing to Reddit's finances, while still causing Reddit costs in terms of bandwidth, etc. In which case it makes sense to get rid of them (a bit like having an email database with 100000 people on it, but only 5000 of them ever open the emails - if you have to pay more to store those 95000 who don't, then it makes some sense to rid of them.)
Problem is, how many of those who view on old or on 3PAs are the ones making/sharing the content that brings eyes to their ads in the first place - maybe they've analysed it and decided that the loss of goodwill and incoming content from those people is more than offset by the savings to be made in having a smaller but more captive audience?
They might be right - but I hope not, because they've acted like dicks.
theDuesentrieb 47 points 3 years ago
Damn now this is just next level bullshit. I thought that even if I can't use Infinity anymore I can still access reddit through a firefox mobile with adblock and privacy addons to make the ux somewhat bearable.
So..
VindianaJones 46 points 3 years ago
Pretty disappointing to see something I've spent so much time with go down the tubes like this. I know that for a lot of people, Reddit has been dying for years, but I've stuck to old.reddit and my Android apps, and haven't looked at /r/all in a long, long time. I unsubscribed from all of the big/default subreddits, and just hang out in my happy subs where people (mostly) are people and aren't lunatics, and it's still been a nice place.
Killing the mobile apps is pretty much the last straw for me. I'm sure I'll still click on search results from Reddit sometimes, but I won't be logged in anymore and it will only be on a browser with ad-blocking and privacy features. There is no way I'm downloading their app.
If they were to go this route for all users, I would simply never use Reddit again on my phone. And yes, I'm in the minority, and yes, I know they don't care about losing me, but man, what a bummer.
Dutczar 13 points 3 years ago
The small videogame dedicated subs are the reason I'm still hesitant about leaving Reddit completely, but on the other hand, it would be entertaining to watch another big site burn lemmy grow, and it's not like I contributed much besides occasional comments. I might browse by top every few months or so to see what I missed.
thumbtack 7 points 3 years ago
niche hobby subs are absolutely why i suspect i’ll not truly be able to leave, unless they were to migrate to lemmy or somewhere else. though hopefully i’ll be able to move my general browsing here instead, it can be hard to find those same like minded people on a whole new platform :/
damipereira 1 point 3 years ago
I think we have to make the communities here as attractive as we can, crosspost when needed, promote the lemmy site on reddit, etc. I've always liked macgaming subreddit for example, and I'm trying to contribute to the lemmy version as much as I can. It's an uphill battle for sure, but it's not impossible.
Alatain 5 points 3 years ago
Yeah, I have put in a lot of time in some of the communities over there and would be sad to leave, but I refuse to continue to drive conversation and generate the content for a site that has such low regard for their users.
We'll see how it develops, but I am sad to say that it looks like the writing is on the wall.
flickertail 46 points 3 years ago
Between this and Twitter, I feel like "enshittification" is really the word of the past year. It's incredible to watch these massive social networks completely turn on their users in the name of profit.
Kaladin_Stormblessed 12 points 3 years ago
*without outright killing themselves YET.
ThatOneGuy 3 points 3 years ago
The thing that made me saddest about Twitter is how they shafted their own people.
flickertail 4 points 3 years ago
Forgot about Netflix! Yeah they've got to be pretty close to late-stage enshittification at this point. They can only raise their prices so much while simultaneously removing content before they completely lose their users.
LlamaSutra 45 points 3 years ago
Elon and Donald taught everyone that when you start being a dick, double down on it.
Love how totally out of touch with human psychology these decision makers are.
AndreTelevise 43 points 3 years ago
this is a beginning of the end for reddit as we know it
Illecors 40 points 3 years ago
As a sysadmin - I sort of welcome every dumb thing reddit does. I'll get more sign ups on my Lemmy instance :D
steakfries 39 points 3 years ago
I want to leave Reddit completely so bad. They're ruining such a good thing, I was a member for 13 years. I hope Lemmy kinda just naturally replaces it for me but I'm sure there's some stuff that's just the best to go to Reddit for, I hope that changes slowly and people start using Lemmy or something else. But hey im here and it feels pretty good. Feels kinda like when I found Reddit for the first time all those years ago. Hello everyone :)
Monthly_Vent 38 points 3 years ago
What were they thinking doing this experiment in the heat of the third-party app protest?? Are they trying to aim for their foot?
AnatorRenator 38 points 3 years ago
The more they push their shitty mobile app, the more people won't use it.
hyperfocus 38 points 3 years ago
Their approach here seems inherently broken. People aren't going to use the app they don't want to use.
throwing_handles 36 points 3 years ago path: 0 91209, hotness: undefined, score: 36, children: 12
yankeebobo 31 points 3 years ago
They just keep digging
_haha_oh_wow_ 20 points 3 years ago
haha, digg
alternativeninja 30 points 3 years ago
Wow. They really can't read the room.
alottachairs 30 points 3 years ago
Sure I had fun, but was it good for people? Communities of people did good things, not Reddit. Reddit was a great source for hate speech, propaganda, and ads. People did their best to be good in spite of the noise.
Reddit needs to die. People will find each other again, we always do.
Master 29 points 3 years ago
Honestly, mobile browing (even using old.reddit) has been garbage for years because they detect your mobile OS and constantly try to push their app on you. Click on link, do you want to open in mobile app? let me open the playstore for you. And then you also get limited comments. To see more comments open in mobile app... You could do a case study in how to alienate your customers into leaving your platform on just mobile browsing reddit.
sake 19 points 3 years ago
It's great news when the social media oligopoly shoots themselves in the foot.
So far I've tried:
- Facebook = Diaspora
- Irc = Matrix (Element)
- Reddit = Lemmy
- Twitter = Mastodon
Out of all the different federated solutions I've tried, I believe this one has the best chance to hit big. Diaspora didn't work because the network effect is too strong with Facebook. Same with Matrix and Mastodon. But reddit is pseudoanonymous platform, you are not here because of some specific people. It's actually somewhat a benefit when there are less people and you have more room for people to see the content you put out. And the quality of the discussion can be better when there are fewer people.
It's still likely that everyone will just go back to reddit but we have a good chance here. The Lemmy UI is actually better and more snappy for someone who has used old reddit all this time.
SleepyHarry 1 point 3 years ago
Same feelings / background here. Navigation will take me a little to grok, but I'm liking it so far.
DeltaRoope 3 points 3 years ago
I may myself go back to Reddit. My girlfriend loves the cat pictures I aend her from there. I'll just stop moderating and creating content, only accessing the site on Desktop with adblocker. I ain't giving a single fucking cent to them, even indirectly, if I can avoid it.
Argot 2 points 3 years ago
It does feel like there a a significant level of friction with each of these equivalent platforms though, including Lemmy. As with anything new it'll take time to catch on but each layer of complexity will be another stopping point for non-tech people.
ComputerSagtNein 28 points 3 years ago
Reddit speedrun to ruin their site
TempleSquare 28 points 3 years ago
It's funny you post this. Not more than 5 minutes ago I was trying to figure out what was wrong with Firefox on my phone. I kept trying to login over and over again on mobile and it didn't work.
A week or so ago, I really felt like reddit was nearly an S tier social media platform. It's heartbreaking to see it completely destroy itself. It's nearing Twitter in how bad it works.
sweet 27 points 3 years ago
Yikes this is so insane. I'm so sick of the ads and spyware laden apps. Once you look into that abyss it's hard to unsee it. It's uncomfortable to have every aspect of you monetized and viewed. It's unnatural man. I just started hardening my internet and device use this year.
howdy 11 points 3 years ago
Yeah. I've been conscious of it too. Moderately anyway. Ublock, pihole, vpn, browser containers, etc... It feels so bizarre that your entire online presence can be used to profile your existence for corporations to try and bleed every ounce of you for profit. I hate it. There are some good privacy communities on here already. Running my own instance and seeing ublock and pihole block literally nothing from Lemmy is incredible. This is pretty much what we wanted. Pure community. Sure there is some small technical stuff to iron out but it's like 90% there... Already.
UpperBroccoli 7 points 3 years ago
But even those guys will ask for user numbers, and if those are not steadily growing, Reddit's net worth suffers massively. Potential for steady growth and montarization are the only metrics investors care about.
LinkOpensChest_wav 9 points 3 years ago
Reddit can easily manipulate user numbers in a way that would absolutely mislead tech-illiterate investors
lynny 6 points 3 years ago
Look at how many companies such as Twitter and Tumblr have only had a one or two years where they were generating a profit. For every educated investor there's 10 more willing to put money into "the next big thing". Elon Musk has shown that's trying to sell user data at high costs to AI devs.
effingnerd 3 points 3 years ago
I got this. "Hey investors, if we do this we'll maximize our profits in the long run and minimize our losses in the short run."
RapidRaid 6 points 3 years ago
Oh yeah, i noticed and it pissed me off so much. Thank god people made stuff like viewditt, where you just need to replace parts of the URL to at least see the content. Regardless terrible user experience that gets worse each year.
damipereira 1 point 3 years ago
If you actually log in it will let you, even in mobile browser. It's like they need an account to confirm age, but they "conviniently" omit that from the popup, suggesting you use their app.
FlamingHot 4 points 3 years ago
Finding ways to shove more ads in your face and make tons of money. The issue is super simple at the end of the day.
FiskFisk33 24 points 3 years ago
hahah thats ridiculous, removing the last thing that made it actually bearable on mobile, now of all times...
BrokenToshy 24 points 3 years ago
Getting rid of old Reddit is a sure way to make sure I never check it. I won't even entertain using the new browser UI nevermind the app
lunarshot 23 points 3 years ago
The API issue was a huge nail into the coffin of the user experience at reddit. For sure, mobile site will disappear and then old.reddit.
Everything about this is utterly tone deaf, you can see it in u/spez answer in his AMA about how the company will continue to be profit driven until it’s profitable. Bro, this is not how you talk to your user base. Your actions, policies, and strategic outlook should be toward driving the user experience and your service so that it is profitable. Not degrading all things for grinding down every extra cent at the expense of your entire companies differentiators.
Fuck spez, fuck reddit.
F1nn 22 points 3 years ago
Earlier today, I was reviewing some Lemmy information in Google, and one of the links was to Reddit. I didn't think anything of it, but I clicked and saw the message that's given to mobile users saying you have to view NSFW content in the Reddit app. Fine, I've got the garbage app installed already for situations just like this. I click the link, and it throws an error stating my third party app (Boost, in this case) must be uninstalled in order to open links in Reddit.
No it doesn't, Reddit. And why do you care what's installed on my phone?
martini1992 22 points 3 years ago
It's like they're trying to kill the platform
sentient_loom 1 point 3 years ago
Yeah, maybe it's an exit scam. I bet some executive said, "I'll give the higher up execs what they think they want (ADS) which is the opposite of what the users want, but we'll all get bonuses just before the site dies."
little_hoarse 22 points 3 years ago
Damn they turning into quora
sentient_loom 3 points 3 years ago
I always hated quora, but somehow they got even worse.
RomanceDailies 21 points 3 years ago
And what about people who don’t want to install an app for a variety of reasons?
entropicshart 20 points 3 years ago
What a great time to get off Reddit
amnesiacrobat 20 points 3 years ago
Oh man, along with the api changes, blocking mobile browsers really might end Reddit. It’s sad that this is all a self-own that could be reversed if they chose. Oh well, that’s on them.
SomeGuyNamedPaul 20 points 3 years ago
Awesome, they're making even easier to not go back there.
CheeseQueen 20 points 3 years ago
Looks like reddit really doesn't want people to use reddit ... if that weren't obvious already
Uniquitous 6 points 3 years ago
Fine by me. I've never had a problem taking my business elsewhere when the management got uppity.
DarkDarkHouse 3 points 3 years ago
Haha, only serious. The Reddit service they provide to users is the ‘loss leader’. If they could serve ads and collect user data without providing any service (which costs them money) they would.
MJBrune 19 points 3 years ago
The fact they are running experiments on their users without opt-in is disgusting. In what world is that okay? Facebook also ran many psychological experiments on their users like shadow-banning them just to see if they felt more alone without telling people. It's gross.
a1studmuffin 19 points 3 years ago
Wow, they're really shitting the bed aren't they?
passthepotato 14 points 3 years ago
It was always going to happen, and the best time to shit the bed, is when you've already wet yourself, because the sheets have to be changed anyway, right?
robot_vacuum_cleaner 19 points 3 years ago
We're watching Reddit die in real time.
artaxadepressedhorse 18 points 3 years ago
What about if you switch your mobile browser to Desktop Mode? That seems to work for YouTube's fuckery where they pause videos when minimized on mobile.
But still, it's principle. Give them an inch, they'll take a mile. Reddit can burn.
meldroc 9 points 3 years ago
Old.reddit.com should continue to work for a while, maybe RES can be modified to tweak the site to be mobile-friendly.
But that would just be a holding action. Spez wants to kill old Reddit, so he can inflict more He Grifts Us ads on users. Enshittification continues...
Varyag 8 points 3 years ago
Yeah I am 100% sure that old.reddit is going to die. Not now, cause of the massive backlash already happening, but soon. Potentially immediately after this situation dies down. Good thing I'm already moving out of that whole situation...
flickertail 11 points 3 years ago
Actually, it wouldn't surprise me if they decided to kill it sooner rather than later. Restricting mobile access even further indicates to me that they're probably trying to get all their negative press out of the way as quickly as possible.
Chainweasel 9 points 3 years ago
They were pretty clear during their "AMA" that they couldn't care less about the backlash, even doubling down on the lies about the Apollo dev.
mynameisnotdoug 7 points 3 years ago
How do I know it's going to die? Because spez said it wouldn't.
Also, many years back, he said old.reddit.com wouldn't die until after i.reddit.com died.
Well, guess what...
Trainguyrom 3 points 3 years ago
I'm just pleasantly surprised it lasted as long as it did. I was certain old.reddit would be shut down years ago
RedPander 18 points 3 years ago
I had no idea that this was happening. But it makes sense with the decision they just made. I'm guessing they disabled X number of users on the mobile site that logged in, and tracked how many X users were converted to the Official Reddit App because of that.
That way they can predict how many users they will lose to the API change (roughly) and made a business calculation that the lost users were worth it. I'd be astounded if they didn't also have a sorting for 'value' of users as well and weighted the calculation with how many high value vs low value users didn't convert.
ClammyMantis488 24 points 3 years ago
The worst part of that is reddit is the only way to get good Google results anymore. I'm concerned about how bad google search will be.
FaygoBoozer 5 points 3 years ago
It's already bad with the blackouts. Maybe Bing will finally have its day in the sun lol
0range_julius 4 points 3 years ago
Was trying to do a character creation D&D session yesterday with the D&D subs dark, and it was bleak, man.
howdy 4 points 3 years ago
My bud was asking me about what I'm going to do now. I said I'll search for stuff for work and use reddit if I don't find it on stack overflow... Lol. (Software dev). That's probably the extent that reddit will ever see me again.
Stalinwolf 2 points 3 years ago
I've switched to DuckDuckGo as my primary search engine. The results are akin to what Google once produced.
Arystique 16 points 3 years ago
so in response to subreddits doing a blackout reddit decided to do its own blackout that will effect those who aren't participating in the blackout. Genius 5d chess right here people, some might even call it a sepuku.
unfazedbeaver 16 points 3 years ago
oh dear. Thats just evil
happyhippo 16 points 3 years ago
I had planned to leave reddit by end of June already, and have uninstalled Infinity from my phone a couple of days ago.
But man, this piece of news makes me wish I could do even more to boycott the platform. They are nuts. Enjoy the failure 😉
misguidedfunk 16 points 3 years ago
Monetization at all costs it seems. They really want that IPO bag.
TheSwede 15 points 3 years ago
Tiring to see reddits downfall due to corporate greed, just as so many other sites in the past. Honestly surprised old.reddit is still around, seeing how they certainly dont like users using anything but their own inferior app. While spez said it wouldn't go anywhere I have my doubts about that.
This just proves it's not about pricing, just unwillingness to let users choose.
_haha_oh_wow_ 15 points 3 years ago
What a bunch of dickheads, I'll stop using reddit entirely if they keep pulling shit like this. Hope Lemmy eats their lunch!
ngoomie 14 points 3 years ago
And they really don't stop comin, eh? Corporate social media sites in general keep shooting themselves in the foot lately lmao, I think we're about on track for a massive revolution in how the internet landscape looks and works sometime soon. Or, that's what I hope anyways :x
redhydride 13 points 3 years ago
well I an certainly not downloading the app
dystop 13 points 3 years ago
ahahaha the reason I finally stopped using Yelp was because their mobile site would only load part of a review and would force redirect to their app if you tried to expand on any reviews. Rather than download the app or change user agent, I just gave up.
every website and their mother wants you to download their app nowadays.
GroteStreet 7 points 3 years ago
path: 0 114639 114829, hotness: undefined, score: 7, children: 5
You may have to search a little for 3rd-party prebuilts, if you're not comfortable doing the patching yourself.
maniajack 9 points 3 years ago
Ah-ha, thanks, patched the apk but I dunno if I can sink low enough to use reddit any time soon. Really hoping that some of the ousted 3rd party devs come over here. Sync for reddit is one of the best apps I've ever used.
GroteStreet 8 points 3 years ago
As a paying Sync user, I couldn't agree more. Good news is LJ said in one of his comments, "Won't open source Sync. Maybe implement Lemmy". Unfortunately I couldn't link it since the sub's gone dark.
Also, this. But like you, I feel dirty staying with Reddit. And it feels like we're desecrating the legacy of Sync..
SleepyHarry 2 points 3 years ago
Trigger warning: r*ddit link
communist 5 points 3 years ago
path: 0 114639 125312, hotness: undefined, score: 5, children: 0
What you should really be interested in is this!
let reddit burn to the ground.
Pee_on_tech 12 points 3 years ago
The mobile browsing experience was a huge shitshow anyway. Randomly refreshing webpage, comments never posting or posting 5 times, expanding comments would work sometimes. They actively nuked it to make people use the reddit app. Fuck them
SevFTW 5 points 3 years ago
Randomly refreshing webpage
What is it with almost every modern website constantly refreshing until it errors out on my phone? I always just assumed it was because I blocked trackers and they just gave up trying to display their cancerous page.
Starsblood 2 points 3 years ago
Why make the mobile experience good when every single website wants you to download an app?
vivia 4 points 3 years ago
Well, at least you could send a link to a friend who doesn't have a Reddit account and they could view it. Now they'd be greeted with a friendly "install the app or get out" screen, and let's be real, they wouldn't install a whole app just to view the occasional link you'd send them.
bit0fun 12 points 3 years ago
This is incredibly pathetic. Why the asshats running reddit want to kill it this hard before an IPO is beyond me
I can maybe think of the thought process of people so far removed from how people use reddit trying to squeeze as much money out of it but killing it in the process, but it feels so dumb that I'm not sure I'm convinced
TenNinetythree 12 points 3 years ago
A few weeks ago, Reddit stopped the one usable mobile interface (.compact). Since then, I stopped visiting Reddit on mobile apart from a few moments of trying out miserable 3rd party apps.
PascalSausage 11 points 3 years ago
If I never have to use another Meta service again I'll be very happy. Unfortunately I still have to use WhatsApp because that's all anyone I know uses to communicate...maybe one day.
NicoCharrua 11 points 3 years ago
Reminder that even though reddit tried to remove the compact site, it's still available through https://reddit.com/.i
Sabata11792 11 points 3 years ago
Reddit: "I wonder how many ways I can kill my platform at the same time?"
Kuroneko 11 points 3 years ago
It’s worth noting that this post was from last month before they announced the usurious pricing of the API. However the fact that they were doing this does not bode well for people (like me) trying to avoid using their horrendous app.
GhostMagician 10 points 3 years ago
Is it better to overwrite comments and then delete them, or is just overwriting with whatever message I want to leave then deleting account accomplish same goal of making comments useless.
tiny_electron 9 points 3 years ago
This feels like a huge joke lmao
a_statistician 9 points 3 years ago
Can't you just change the browser's ID string and make it look like it's not a mobile browser?
venuswasaflytrap 9 points 3 years ago
Man, he's so professional. He gives answers that I'd expect a very experienced PR person to give, yet he's just a single-man operation developer.
RedMarsRepublic 8 points 3 years ago
The default site literally doesn't work on mobile anyway so it's not like it makes much difference.
dan 3 points 3 years ago
The site worked well enough on mobile... Reddit would say it worked too well. Sites can't collect nearly as much data about users as apps can, so they've got an incentive to try and get people to use the official app. The app isn't good though, so the only way they can get people to switch over is by making the site worse, and forcing people to use the app.
Tractor7691 8 points 3 years ago
Wow... just "Desktop Version" or if that doesn't work quit Reddit. The app is that awful.
ArcticCircleSystem 8 points 3 years ago
You mean the app that a significant portion of Reddit absolutely hates? Good lord. ~Strawberry
zacher_glachl 8 points 3 years ago
Man, they're really trying their hardest to get rid of me.
Sean_Thomas 8 points 3 years ago
As if it wasn’t bad enough to ask if I want to use the default mobile app every time I go to a Reddit page on my mobile web browser. 😕
sphere_au 7 points 3 years ago
Tapping on a Reddit link from mobile has mostly been pretty similar to this already for me. They have had an issue with DDG mobile browser for ages, refused to show more than a page of content and kept prompting me to "get the app", which didn't seem to recognise my third-party Reddit app... So I just hit the back button. Just recently, oddly, I noticed it had started working, but I'm in the habit of ignoring Reddit links on mobile anyway now so almost never go there whether it works or not.
nattekrant 7 points 3 years ago
If you want to lurk Reddit without being tracked, please use Teddit.net, they won't complain about using a mobile browser.
Osnapitsjoey 6 points 3 years ago
Lmfao looks like they're making it easier for the fediverse to have a chance
nick 6 points 3 years ago
They've already made the "new" reddit web view unusable for any sub marked NSFW. I feel sorry for the web devs at Reddit that spent all this time making a responsive site that works on mobile, then to be forced to artificially block access to push app usage.
adamantris 6 points 3 years ago
lmao, this shitshow just keeps getting worse and worse. good thing im currently building by community sub list so eventually i never have to look back at that site
ilikedatsyuk 6 points 3 years ago
Unbelievable. Hopefully this drives more users to the fediverse.
vivek_manjunath 6 points 3 years ago
This is terrible! I cannot believe that within the span of few months, reddit has not only shot itself in the foot but now effectively is trying to drown.
Stoneblackdog 6 points 3 years ago
To be fair the mobile browser version was already shit.
buried_alive 6 points 3 years ago
Yeah I was planning on using brave if I ever needed to access reddit on my phone now... this is not good. I refuse to use their terrible app.
toastloop 6 points 3 years ago
This has been going on for at least a month. They're trying to force their app on people so they can serve them ads. Unfortunately it's just another reason not to return to that god-forsaken website. This all seems motivated to increase their IPO price by touting the number of users for their mobile app.
marco 6 points 3 years ago
@lynny@lemmy.world can you fix the archive link, please? The one you shared tries to take a new snapshot :)
Luminance6716 5 points 3 years ago
Whelp it was a good run with Reddit. But their app is trash and now experimenting blocking browser access is bullshit. That may be the final straw that convinced me to delete my account.
CaptObvious 1 point 3 years ago path: 0 390724 397915 410999, hotness: undefined, score: 1, children: 0
PascalSausage 8 points 3 years ago
I think the difference is that Top is based on sheer number of interactions overall (upvotes, comments etc) while Hot is what is getting a lot of interactions in the present.
SteveDinn 5 points 3 years ago
Ha. I managed to post my comment on the wrong post and subsequently deleted it, but thanks for the explanation.
Edit: actual post I meant to connect on is here: https://lemmy.ca/post/623224
StrawberryCake 5 points 3 years ago
Holy cow, how is reddit even making itself worse minute by minute...
xylene 4 points 3 years ago
I think your link is wrong (that's the one that causes Archive.org to try a new capture). I got it working with this:
heartlessevil 4 points 3 years ago
This is from over a month ago
moose_cannon 4 points 3 years ago
I literally just had an instance of opening a nsfw reddit link from a Google search and it informed me that I could only see nsfw posts in the app...
alienBlues 4 points 3 years ago
They really decided to sink the boat. Such foolish level of unfriendliness to users was not seen since the time Facebook purposefully slowed their app to see how much its public was addicted.
quantum_mechanic 4 points 3 years ago
Trying to force everybody onto their shitty app. First /u/spaz said the API pricing is reasonable, then said Reddit wasn't built for third party apps. So he's contradicting himself, and admitting that their whole goal is just to get people onto their shitty app and destroy third party apps. And this final attempt is all the proof we need. To make matters worse, they approved only third party app that is worse than their own (redreader). So i'm sure there's an element of jealousy towards the other apps for being worlds better than their own.
smokinjoe 4 points 3 years ago
I know that twitter pulled a lot of the same bullshit but I have to give them and their developers credit: they created a great app that ensured people could move away from their preferred 3rd party app pretty easily.
misguidedfunk 3 points 3 years ago
Monetization at all costs it seems. They really want that IPO bag.
AcidOctopus 3 points 3 years ago
I fucking hate these trials they do. They did some bullshit trial with their mobile app not too long ago that turned it into a laggy, unusable mess. Just had to wait until it ended, or download a 3rd party app.
I don't know what the hell they're thinking blocking mobile browsers from accessing the site, but they're seemingly determined to burn through any good-will they've got, apparently.
parsifal 3 points 3 years ago
This is so brazenly hostile. And stupid: the web is a larger playground, and a more level playing field for all — especially those who take advantage of accessibility features.
Maybe they’re just doing stuff like this to goose their numbers before the IPO, but it’s just so slimy and disappointing.
Silviecat44 3 points 3 years ago
This is getting rediculous
neur0g33k 3 points 3 years ago
Reddit behavior is impressive given that all their content is user generated. I'm impressed by the level of blatant disregard for the people that actually makes you money. This is mastery of a shameful level if not giving a single fuck and some people would just still be ok to continue using that platform.
Spookbooty 3 points 3 years ago
That’s pretty crazy. Now I’m wondering how easy it is to change a user agent on iOS with either Firefox or Safari.
overzeetop 2 points 3 years ago
I hadn't seen this kind of gatekeeping until recently when I dropped my Evernote subscription from paid to unpaid. The unpaid tier can only have two connected "Devices" and, I believe, the "web" counts as a device. Except that with their new format they have prohibited mobile browsers. Luckily they aren't terribly careful with heir prohibition as switching to desktop version of the site on mobile (even on iOS) lets you in, but it's definitely a dick move.
HisNoodlyServant 2 points 3 years ago
A month ago. Well that should of been a red flag. Honestly, it has been a terrible experience forever with soft blocks everywhere.
techknowdude101 2 points 3 years ago
I'm reading this after I deleted my account. I have no regrets after reading this. Screw them.
reverendsteveii 2 points 3 years ago
Just deleted the reddit app. Looks like that's gonna turn out to be a great decision as they continually make it worse.
chekhovsgun 2 points 3 years ago
I'm on desktop and checked through a browser and it is dead.
Silver_neurotic 2 points 3 years ago
Bet they are working on a new mobile app that they will charge for.
EGirlEnthusiast 2 points 3 years ago
Well thats concerning. Hope the revenue they get from API access and forcing ads will offset the communities they are pushing away. Im about to delete my reddit account over this. Lets hope lemmy can gain traction.
Lleywyn 2 points 3 years ago
What a shit show.
That's the main reason I don't ever consider looking at posts on Facebook when someone sends me them... Forced to login or use the app.
Do they not understand that everytime someone loads a shared link, they still gain ad revenue? They're shooting themselves in the foot, arm, leg and head.
notfromhere 2 points 3 years ago
This is something I wish would stay on Reddit. The hate trains that spawned there should stay there. However writing this I see hate train spewing “fuck spez” and I realize this is a lost cause.
damipereira 1 point 3 years ago
Holy shit, this would be a nightmare for me. I never used and will never used any app, because they do not support my main usecase, which is, search for a topic, open 20 tabs about it, check them one by one, restart. They were very intense about "try the app!", but this is next level.
SojournerWeaver 1 point 3 years ago
My api app of choice is still running somehow so I get to switch back and forth to make the transition smoother. But I hear it's tanking any day now. This article doesn't change much for me. Still jumping ship. But I'm happy to know that reddit is out there ensuring Lemmy's success! Mastodon replaced Twitter for me easily. Now I just need a YouTube replacement (with something like shorts if possible) and I'm good!
ReVanced 1 point 3 years ago
I am not aware of Reddit experimenting with blocking mobile browsers. However, it's important to note that information and developments can change over time.
To get the most accurate and up-to-date information about Reddit's policies or any potential changes related to blocking mobile browsers, I recommend checking official Reddit announcements, news articles, or Reddit community discussions that might provide insights into any recent developments. Additionally, you can visit Reddit's official website or their support pages for any official statements regarding this matter.
millionsofplayers 1 point 3 years ago
Wait so it just directs you to the app now? they just got tired of updating the mobile website?
Wrathofcon 0 points 3 years ago
Are they legally allowed to just do that? Just shadow ban certain users temporarily for an 'experiment'?
If so... Why is that legally allowed??
confusedwiseman 28 points 3 years ago
Consider who "owns" Reddit. It's not a public service/utility. It turns out people can do what they want with things they own.
*save for lots of exceptions based on your wealth tier...
planish 10 points 3 years ago
A lot of this sort of A/B testing has the character of a psychology experiment. If it were conducted by a reputable research lab, it would have to pass an instituational review board who would weigh in on whether it was an ethical experiment, and among other things research subjects would always have the right to decline to participate in the experiment.
But when private companies do it, nobody holds them to the same standard of ethics in their human experimentation. But clearly people's right not to be subject to psychological experiments without their consent is being violated.
planish 2 points 3 years ago
No I really mean it. That's not a right that's, like, in the Constitution, but it's a principle of academic psychology and tech companies trample all over it. If it's just, like, which button design is better or what CDN makes the page load faster, it's mostly fine, but when they start asking questions like "what happens if we only show people the sad posts", it's really not fine.
MrScottyTay 2 points 3 years ago
A/B testing always happens in software
SleepyHarry 15 points 3 years ago
Why would it be illegal? It's shitty and it's obvious what they're trying to do, but I can't fathom what law from any jurisdiction this would violate.
thanks for using Leebra!
go to feed...
Jeez. The speed at which I've gone from "man it sucks that Apollo is shutting down but I still really enjoy Reddit and will suffer the first-party client" to "wow, Reddit is really trying to destroy their service and it's probably best I don't invest any more time there" is insane... going to draft up some thoughts and a probable farewell message for my frequented subs and followers there. End of an era.
save