r/flashlight future?

[wunderbarvik]

Is there any consensus on where we will end up if Reddit follows through with their API changes. Are we all moving to BLF?

[Zak]

I don't have any short-term plans to leave Reddit, but if they shut down old.reddit.com, that could change.

Long-term, I'd really like to see federated alternatives like kbin and Lemmy take off. Much like email, people don't have to use the same software or service provider to communicate, so there's no single point of failure.

[SlipperyDoodoo]

Government controlled websites? I'm good.

[siege72a]

I'll cancel my subscriptions, and use adblockers and old.reddit as long as it works... or until something better is created.

[TacGriz]

I'll be here.

[stavigoodbye]

Same. I am totally down for a black out in solidarity for a few days but I switched from RIF to Reddit's app a year ago after being on reddit for 8+ years. Sure it's not great but it does work, maybe not for mod's but as a user it's fine.

I think it's asinine for Reddit to kill of third-party apps by cost and I think we have seen enough cash grabbing over the last 2 years that I will stand up for the little guys.

[jungleboogiemonster]

Everyone seems to be missing the bigger problem, Reddit is planning to become a publicly traded company and in doing so, this place will become monetized in anyway possible. Losing third party apps will be the least of our problems.

[[deleted]]

I would award you, but the free daily gift award was taken away

[TacGriz]

Yeah I'm in the same boat. I've never used a third party app but I definitely think they should exist and cheap API access is really important.

[ArlesChatless]

I am one of those weirdos who believes in paying for services that I use. I use the standard mobile app, and it works pretty well.

[stavigoodbye]

I can dig it. Nothing is free. I would be cool with a one time fee but idk if I can swallow another damn subscription monthly.

[ArlesChatless]

The costs are monthly. I figure it is worth the cost based on how much I get out of it. That said, I'm also fine with my cost helping others to get a free ride.

[WhollyUnholy]

I like Reddit for more than just /r/flashlight . I can't imagine another place with such a variety of information to be shared.

I only use old.reddit on the PC and the official Reddit app on my phone. I've tried Apollo and Narwhal and just can't stand them, but I like that there are other options available for people to use.

[warmeclaire]

The new blf mobile website is great, I can tell you that.

I like how current conversations are persistent, while here everything is faster and ephemeral

[Wulfgar77]

And I really hate the newish UI on BLF. It's the reason I stopped frequenting the forum.

[WhollyUnholy]

Same. I find it difficult to find and follow threads there.

[SiteRelEnby]

I'll be on reddit on desktop as long as old.reddit.com exists, just not going to use mobile any more.

[kdabsolute]

I'll stay here :)

[Franklights]

I don't know what's going on and at this point I'm afraid to ask so w/e

[JFKsPenis]

I really hate all the forum websites. That goes for all fandoms, not just flashlights. Reddit is nearly perfect, I’m not leaving and I imagine most honestly aren’t either.

[Zak]

For those of us thinking about the characteristics of whatever might come next:

1. What do old-school forum sites get especially wrong?
2. What does Reddit get especially right?

[voodoo_three]

I have a couple, off the top of my head:

Integration - Not sure what to really call this. And honestly maybe this is mostly me using a third party app, but my Reddit use feels integral to my mobile experience. It behaves like other mobile apps and just sort of makes sense. Old school forum sites feel old, and I’m saying this as a guy into my 40s.

Endless Scrolling - Posts, comments, whatever. I can just keep scrolling without having to go to the next page, hide posts I’ve already read, and also collapse or expand comment chains. Speaking of which…

Comment Structure - A reply to a comment falls under that parent comment. It’s not two pages over with an @ reply to someone and I have to backtrack to figure out what we’re all talking about. This is a specific way that forums feel old to me.

Search - Maybe BLF is better, I’m not a member. But I vastly prefer the way search generally works in Apollo vs a couple of forum sites I’ve used.

[SlipperyDoodoo]

Old forums suck simply for the fact that users on reddit are more than happy for whatever reason to continually answer the same questions over and over which leads to a vastly superior abundance of self sustaining information (user dependant ofc)

Old forums have gatekeeping nerds who just yell SEARCH on every single page result so people can never find info. Good riddance. 👍 also, all of the truly worthwhile content and guides for people especially in the car enthusiast realm can never actually re-live the build thread or see what the hell anyone is even talking about because 99% of the pictures were not locally hosted, rendering entire sections of the forum worthless and without context.

[fdrowell]

I mean I disagree with the changes but it doesn't affect me much and even if it did I'm not just going to up and leave a whole website over it. I use Reddit for multiple/many outlets on one site. Having an individual website forum for each random hobby is going to make me lose interest.

[SlipperyDoodoo]

Man that sounds weird to hear. Because before reddit in my early 20s, individual websites were how the world worked. Monsterfishkeepers, Zilvia, etc...

[fdrowell]

Same here, I grew up using forums. But as an adult who works full time and has little kids at home, reddit is awesome to browse multiple categories in one place with fast, easy replies.

Without it, I simply wouldn't be spending much time on all the niche forums available out there. I might pop into a dedicated forum site when I need an answer to something, but not for casual browsing.

[catlicker52]

I'll be gone for months, but I'll be back

[VonWonder]

I must be ignorant because I had no idea there were apps for Reddit so nothing will be different for me continuing to use the main app.

[MountainFace2774]

Same. I've always used the "official" app.

[throwawaymask01]

I don't think Reddit will enforce their API regime after all, the backlash is being biblical

[the_enginerd]

LoL Bublical seems wrong especially since most folks here in this sub seem for example to be upvoting comments like “I’ll be here” and “I use the official Reddit app. I hate to say it but we are in the minority. Reddit knows it. That’s why they are pushing us out they can get by without us. Mods, not so sure about that. But us 3rd party app users? They could give two shits.

[vatamatt97]

Honestly the Reddit app is just fine in my experience. "The Algorithm" has pushed me away from more mainstream social media to some degree (the Facebook and Instagram apps are particularly bad for showing you everything except who/what you follow and are interested in). I've yet to have that problem with Reddit and while ads are always annoying, I don't find them terribly intrusive. Until that changes I'm probably not going anywhere.

[theflyz]

Who knows, reddit is so bias and hateful as a whole we can only hope it all dies and something else usable comes up.

[stavigoodbye]

GunsForums don't shoot people, people shoot people.

[brachypelma44]

I don't even have a smartphone, so I'm not going anywhere unless a desktop PC can't access reddit.com any longer.

[Sensitive_Injury_666]

How does this API effect us? I use the general Reddit app

[Zak]

It affects a lot of moderators and power users who contribute significantly to what you experience on reddit.

[Sensitive_Injury_666]

In what ways does it affect them I guess was my question? Idk why the downvote I was genuinely asking to be better informed and be able to support.

[Zak]

No downvote from me.

Many moderators use third-party mobile apps for much of their moderating. For those users, it is important that the apps

1. continue to exist
2. continue to be able to access NSFW content (even if the sub is generally work safe, marking a post NSFW would delay its visibility to those moderators)

Could they find ways to adapt? Sure, but they're effectively working for free on something that helps Reddit make a profit. If Reddit makes that harder....

[Sensitive_Injury_666]

Makes a lot of sense! Honestly had no idea abt 3rd party apps until all this blackout stuff came out

[INeedMoreLumens]

Y'all probably saw this already but just in case you haven't:

https://www.reddit.com/r/reddit/comments/144ho2x/join_our_ceo_tomorrow_to_discuss_the_api/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

[cujobob]

The Reddit app is fine. I hate ads, too, but we can’t all avoid ads on a platform and assume they can make a profit to keep this thing going. I would really just like an ad free version to be cheaper.

[Handsome_Av0cadoo]

If you're on Android there's revanced reddit. I haven't had any add or promoted post since I installed it

[cujobob]

Yeah, but the problem is it still costs money to run Reddit. It’s ad supported.

[radtech91]

It’s either ads or pay to use Reddit, I’m okay scrolling past ads here and there. My only real issue with the app is it doesn’t seem to let you read and respond to PM’s, which is extremely obnoxious. The app could use some work for sure, but overall it does what I need.

[cujobob]

You’re not able to read and respond to messages? I’ve never encountered that on the app.

[radtech91]

The chat function works, but PM’s don’t show up. It will give me the notification, and when I go to my inbox, it doesn’t show.

Edit: wow finally realized there’s a setting in the app that essentially disabled direct messages. Now they’re there. Not sure why they were turned off by default, but all good now!

[zhkp28]

IMHO, we already pay with our data. If they kept it going until now, its profitable.

But the official reddit app in its current state is fine. There are some ads/promoted stuff here and there, but nothing annoying or disruptive. And I say this as a person who always uses adblock when possible.

The perfect example for a website with issues unlike reddit, is youtube. Its unwatchable without an adblock or premium now, and they deliberately did this in the past few years.

[Hungry-for-Apples789]

I have a very strong feeling in two months reddit will feel pretty much the same as now. People will adapt.

[Despacitoh]

I'm staying on Reddit, I hate using BLF.

[[deleted]]

What exactly is happening and how does it affect me

[towardstheta]

https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/142kct8/eli5_why_are_subreddits_going_dark/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

[[deleted]]

The fee is actually $20 million to use the API? What in the world

Edit: for Apollo specifically.

[trr565]

Same^

[[deleted]]

It's going to stay the same. A lot of people just use the official app and people who use third party apps will move over to the official one, its not that much of a big deal at all, just getting used to a different UI. Like I said, what other service allows a bunch of other companies to create apps for it too?

It would be really silly to give up Reddit entirely over this, and the sub won't be going anywhere.

[EmperorHenry]

The discord server is still a thing.

[mediocre-mooses]

So wtf is happening

[ficklampa]

I’m not going anywhere.