Interested in getting a feel for what people may be likely to do IF reddit reverses their decision regarding API access, or reduces access fees to a reasonable level and 3rd party apps remain sustainable.
While I know the chances of this are extreeeemely slim, until 1st July there is an ever so slight chance this could still happen.
From my perspective, the community harm is done, and those who have left prior to July 1 have left due to principles, not because their app stopped working. As such, I’d be inclined to think most of those migrators would stay here in the fediverse.
But would we see a mass exodus back to reddit if the changes were undone? It’s easy to say no, but if it went back to operations as relatively normal, it may be easy to justify going back for some users.
I’d like to think I wouldn’t go back. I’ve deleted content and account from reddit. I’ll be happy here so long as there is enough userbase for some discussion.
I try and take a pragmatic stance.
My desire to find an alternative to Reddit stems in part from a practical aspect. I TRIED using the official app, but it’s as bad as Facebook these days and bombards me with ads. The user experience is terrible.
So if the API changes were reversed, that means I’d probably still use Sync to check some super-specialized subs or to look up answers from time to time.
But on the other hand, the damage’s been done. I will not use Reddit where there’s a viable alternative, and Kbin is not only a viable alternative but actually better for conversation and general discussions. It’s a project I’m excited about instead of just using it by pinching my nose.
So I think a large part of the damage is already done. If Spez 100% reversed his decision, it’d still be too late. It’s like a boyfriend/girlfriend being supremely shitty to you, then realizing their mistakes and apologizing sincerely… Although you might accept their apology, something about the relationship is already broken.
So I think whatever happens, Reddit has reached the Facebook stage for me. I’m still using Facebook for a few things like staying in touch with some friends or joining events, but the days where I’d go there to find interesting content are long gone.
11 year redditor here and this sums up almost exactly how I feel. There are 2-3 small niche communities that I may go back to if reddit reverses their API changes or at the very least commit to a reasonable rollout period like Christian Selig had proposed. But for my main content aggregation? I’m now fully onboard with this federated model, whether it be kbin, lemmy, or some mix of the two/some other great open source solution.
Plus honestly it’s hard to imagine a sincere apology from Spez at this point. The time for that was near the start of this. Maybe when the blackout started.
At this point, it’d be hard to believe any apology to be sincere as opposed to something scripted.