Moderator Announcement about how the API changes affect r/tumblr
Hi everyone, I've gotten questions about whether or not r/Tumblr will join the blackouts in protest of the API changes.
Context:
There's a lot going on regarding Reddit's changes. I'm going to summarize the ones most relevant to r/Tumblr:
1. Some third party apps that help with accessibility may be impacted by the changes. Tumblr is arguably the most neurodiverse and anti-ableist social media website on the internet. Here is a post from r/blind about it. The Reddit CEO claims here that Reddit is working with those apps right now. Which sounds like corporate speak for "we're not doing anything and are going to blame them when they shut down." I could be wrong. I hope I'm wrong. But I'm not optimistic.
2. Moderation on the official Reddit app is terrible, and a lot of moderators use third party apps like Apollo to help out. As just one example, the moderation log is not available on the official iOS app. Actually, I (u/taytayisgod) wrote my own bot (using PRAW) to send me info about the moderation log on my phone. Don't get me wrong, Apollo is great, it's just that I figured it was only a matter of time before Reddit did something stupid like nuke Apollo. But, also, please keep in mind that very few moderators know how to write Reddit bots and it is not our responsibility to fix gaps in Reddit's official apps.
3. A lot of multi-subreddit spam-fighting tools will be affected. For example, u/BotDefense is a moderator on here. The founder of r/BotDefense has a post on r/RedditDev about the situation here. So again, r/BotDefense is great. But I figured it was only a matter of time before Reddit did something stupid, so I (u/taytayisgod) wrote my own bot (using PRAW) which specifically handles the r/Tumblr bots (my bot has banned something like 1000 bots in the two months I've been mod). But again, very few moderators know how to write Reddit bots and it is not our responsibility to fix gaps in Reddit's anti-bot tools.
4. Supposedly, the free limit for API calls will change from 60 calls per minute per user to 100 calls per minute per user/app. So in other words, technically my own bot will be allowed more API calls because I'm just one user. But, for example, Apollo is screwed because they get 100 calls per minute for the entire app. In theory moderation bots (like my own are allowed) and should function better. But honestly, who even trusts Reddit admins anymore?
So what does this mean for r/Tumblr? Well to summarize:
We have decided to stay open during the black out but this is NOT because we approve of the changes. This was a difficult decision (and to be really open and honest, I'm not sure it's the right one), but here are the reasons:
1. I have a suspicion that if r/Tumblr were to join the blackout, admins would remove us and replace us with someone else. I can't exactly reveal why I think this. This came out of a mod team discussion.
2. Also, and much more importantly, this is unique to r/Tumblr: since I (u/taytayisgod) know how to write my own bots, in theory this subreddit should still be running just fine. I am (maybe?) unique in that I write subreddit specific bots (e.g. my anti-spam bots on r/RaimiMemes, r/Tumblr, r/YouBelongWithMemes, r/WhitePeopleTwitter and r/OrphanCrushingMachine are all customized to fit whatever the mods of those subreddit want me to do). Actually, this leads into the main point:
3. With the new difficulties in moderation, I want people to know that I offer to write bots for other moderators upon request. Again, have I mentioned none of this is moderator responsibility? But my hope, and this is a long shot, is that other moderators will see this (assuming they
Hi everyone, I've gotten questions about whether or not r/Tumblr will join the blackouts in protest of the API changes.
Context:
There's a lot going on regarding Reddit's changes. I'm going to summarize the ones most relevant to r/Tumblr:
1. Some third party apps that help with accessibility may be impacted by the changes. Tumblr is arguably the most neurodiverse and anti-ableist social media website on the internet. Here is a post from r/blind about it. The Reddit CEO claims here that Reddit is working with those apps right now. Which sounds like corporate speak for "we're not doing anything and are going to blame them when they shut down." I could be wrong. I hope I'm wrong. But I'm not optimistic.
2. Moderation on the official Reddit app is terrible, and a lot of moderators use third party apps like Apollo to help out. As just one example, the moderation log is not available on the official iOS app. Actually, I (u/taytayisgod) wrote my own bot (using PRAW) to send me info about the moderation log on my phone. Don't get me wrong, Apollo is great, it's just that I figured it was only a matter of time before Reddit did something stupid like nuke Apollo. But, also, please keep in mind that very few moderators know how to write Reddit bots and it is not our responsibility to fix gaps in Reddit's official apps.
3. A lot of multi-subreddit spam-fighting tools will be affected. For example, u/BotDefense is a moderator on here. The founder of r/BotDefense has a post on r/RedditDev about the situation here. So again, r/BotDefense is great. But I figured it was only a matter of time before Reddit did something stupid, so I (u/taytayisgod) wrote my own bot (using PRAW) which specifically handles the r/Tumblr bots (my bot has banned something like 1000 bots in the two months I've been mod). But again, very few moderators know how to write Reddit bots and it is not our responsibility to fix gaps in Reddit's anti-bot tools.
4. Supposedly, the free limit for API calls will change from 60 calls per minute per user to 100 calls per minute per user/app. So in other words, technically my own bot will be allowed more API calls because I'm just one user. But, for example, Apollo is screwed because they get 100 calls per minute for the entire app. In theory moderation bots (like my own are allowed) and should function better. But honestly, who even trusts Reddit admins anymore?
So what does this mean for r/Tumblr? Well to summarize:
We have decided to stay open during the black out but this is NOT because we approve of the changes. This was a difficult decision (and to be really open and honest, I'm not sure it's the right one), but here are the reasons:
1. I have a suspicion that if r/Tumblr were to join the blackout, admins would remove us and replace us with someone else. I can't exactly reveal why I think this. This came out of a mod team discussion.
2. Also, and much more importantly, this is unique to r/Tumblr: since I (u/taytayisgod) know how to write my own bots, in theory this subreddit should still be running just fine. I am (maybe?) unique in that I write subreddit specific bots (e.g. my anti-spam bots on r/RaimiMemes, r/Tumblr, r/YouBelongWithMemes, r/WhitePeopleTwitter and r/OrphanCrushingMachine are all customized to fit whatever the mods of those subreddit want me to do). Actually, this leads into the main point:
3. With the new difficulties in moderation, I want people to know that I offer to write bots for other moderators upon request. Again, have I mentioned none of this is moderator responsibility? But my hope, and this is a long shot, is that other moderators will see this (assuming they
Reddit
From the Blind community on Reddit: Reddit's Recently Announced API Changes, and the future of the /r/blind subreddit
Explore this post and more from the Blind community
stay around) and maybe I can help out? We can pick up what remains of Reddit after this disaster.
Is this the right decision? Probably not. Will I regret this? Most likely.
I actually am pretty sure most of you disagree with this decision. I totally get it. Honestly, I wouldn't blame you if you disagreed. But I'm hoping this all works out in the end.
https://redd.it/1475bj5
@Tumblrcontent
Is this the right decision? Probably not. Will I regret this? Most likely.
I actually am pretty sure most of you disagree with this decision. I totally get it. Honestly, I wouldn't blame you if you disagreed. But I'm hoping this all works out in the end.
https://redd.it/1475bj5
@Tumblrcontent
Reddit
r/tumblr on Reddit: Moderator Announcement about how the API changes affect r/tumblr
Posted by u/Taytay_Is_God - No votes and 3 comments
One more time: an idea about how r/Tumblr should respond to the API changes
Hi everyone!
Ok, so my last post went exactly the way I thought it would:
https://www.reddit.com/r/tumblr/comments/1475bj5/moderator\_announcement\_about\_how\_the\_api\_changes/
(I'm leaving it up so everyone knows the context).
So someone actually had a good suggestion. I could have my bot auto-remove every post, effectively making r/tumblr silent even if it's not private. This would have to involve community agreement first. Also, it would avoid the aforementioned problems with the admins (I think). Also, at least it would further serve the purpose demonstrating that I can write bots. And MOST IMPORTANTLY: it would be at least some solidarity with accessibility and third-party apps, even though it's not ideal.
I'm so stupid for not thinking of this!! My apologies, that was a totally fuck-up on my part. I accept 100% responsibility. I should've thought of it the first time. Please let me know what you think of this plan.
EDIT: it says the poll will be up for 24 hours, but I will make a decision based on your input before midnight (when June 12th starts). Sorry again for the mess earlier.
View Poll
https://redd.it/1479jxk
@Tumblrcontent
Hi everyone!
Ok, so my last post went exactly the way I thought it would:
https://www.reddit.com/r/tumblr/comments/1475bj5/moderator\_announcement\_about\_how\_the\_api\_changes/
(I'm leaving it up so everyone knows the context).
So someone actually had a good suggestion. I could have my bot auto-remove every post, effectively making r/tumblr silent even if it's not private. This would have to involve community agreement first. Also, it would avoid the aforementioned problems with the admins (I think). Also, at least it would further serve the purpose demonstrating that I can write bots. And MOST IMPORTANTLY: it would be at least some solidarity with accessibility and third-party apps, even though it's not ideal.
I'm so stupid for not thinking of this!! My apologies, that was a totally fuck-up on my part. I accept 100% responsibility. I should've thought of it the first time. Please let me know what you think of this plan.
EDIT: it says the poll will be up for 24 hours, but I will make a decision based on your input before midnight (when June 12th starts). Sorry again for the mess earlier.
View Poll
https://redd.it/1479jxk
@Tumblrcontent
Reddit
r/tumblr on Reddit: Moderator Announcement about how the API changes affect r/tumblr
Posted by u/Taytay_Is_God - No votes and 54 comments