Reddit shockingly restored all the comments I deleted via PowerDelete Suite a while ago. If Reddit will do their damnedest to keep my content against my will, I’ll do what I can to still change it and protest.

I’m taking that as a chance to instead replace most of my non-useful comments via the same tool with the following open letter. That way in the future if anyone comes across my content, rather than see a (deleted) or a suddenly empty post which could be unhelpful and frustrating, maybe the message I leave will provide some context and information for future Reddit visitors considering to use that platform (or stumbling across my posts via Google searches). So feel free to use this template too. I think a bunch of us leaving behind something for future Internet historians would be helpful at least until Reddit stops being a thing completely a la Digg.

"I removed most of my Reddit contents in protest of the API changes commencing from July 1st, 2023. This is one of those comments.

This decision has widespread implications such as making it more difficult for moderators to manage their subreddits, more likely for spam to enter subreddits, more difficult for blind users to access Reddit, more difficult for anyone to see NSFW content and many other negative consequences. Most third party applications are now gone due to the extortionate new pricing being unaffordable for developers despite widespread outrage from the community.

CEO Steve Huffman’s awful leadership through the lackluster AMA and a press junket tour aggressively defending the situation insisting nothing will be changed, saying he’ll modify the moderator rules to kick out protesters and force subreddits to reopen, demonstrates humongous contempt for the Reddit community that makes and manages Reddit’s entire content library in the first place. Accusing a developer of blackmail and then completely ignoring all post pointing out how this is a lie with evidence - alongside other lies related to the API - is wild too.

I’m now using alternative community platforms like Kbin and Lemmy. Reddit’s revenue comes from my posts. If that is how they wish to treat our community, they don’t deserve my content any more.

This could have been easily avoided if Reddit chose to negotiate the API changes with their moderators, third party developers and the community their entire company is build around into a more reasonable middle ground. They have not.

RIP Reddit 2005-2023. You were Digg 5.0. So long and thanks for all the fish."