Reddit protest updates: news on the apps shutting down and Reddit’s fights with mods
www.theverge.com
Reddit communities went dark to protest recent changes.

Here’s the list of highlights from the article, as it’s a good TL;DR:

  • The Reddit app-pocalyse is here: Apollo, Sync, and BaconReader go dark
  • How Reddit crushed the biggest protest in its history
  • Reddit will remove mods of private communities unless they reopen
  • Reddit CEO Steve Huffman isn’t backing down: our full interview
  • Why disabled users joined the Reddit blackout
  • Apollo’s Christian Selig explains his fight with Reddit — and why users revolted
  • A developer says Reddit could charge him $20 million a year to keep his app working
  • OpenStars@kbin.social
    2·
    1 year ago

    It does take long term into account, but only for itself, never for the others.

    Rational agents can take long-term into account, so if people on Reddit watching it all burn & fall apart before their eyes are choosing to ignore that, are they “fully” rational agents then?

    In any case, they might be correct in staying, IF we only only allow looking ahead like a month or so in time - b/c inertia is a real thing. Even then, for some of us it is no longer worth it, while for others it is.

    Also, why would upvoting a comment such as “^THIS 1000%” constitute a long-term style of rational acting? It adds nothing to the discussion, so when all “discussion” becomes replaced by such, which float to the top b/c of the large number of upvotes (& maybe awards, etc.), then “real” content such that people might actually come to Reddit - like via a Google search for a specific query - get buried below them? If that is “rational”, then it seems short-sighted to me.

    Or in opposition to rational, there is maybe “emotional”, so that you have a feeling and want to express it, and you see something that expresses that, so you “like” it further, in addition to liking / upvoting the original comment - without considering the long-term ramifications.

    Yes but it’s clear that the admins were making it more social media-based.

    True - many were resisting that, but it was happening, truth.

    • LvxferreOPM
      1·
      1 year ago

      Not fully rational, but their average/typical behaviour is closer to the economical “rational agent” than our average is.

      Let’s take your example of upvoting a "THIS 1000%” comment. For the rational agent, upvoting it has pros and cons:

      • pros - allows the rational agent to express itself, support its own views, encourage the participation of people with a similar mindset.
      • cons - makes it only slightly harder for the rational agent to find relevant info in the future; it also requires some effort (a single click).

      If the pros > cons, it’ll upvote the comment. Otherwise, it won’t.

      The upvote will also make it harder for other people to find relevant info, but the rational agent doesn’t care; not because it’s short-sighted, but because it’s 100% selfish. Its individual actions only make the platform slightly worse for itself, but they give it a really nice ego boost that more than compensates it.

      And, if the platform becomes too shitty, the rational agent knows that it can simply migrate to another. But unlike us it’ll only do it once the new platform offers more subjective value than its former platform, by a small margin (what you called “inertia”, aka “cost of switch”).

      Or in opposition to rational, there is maybe “emotional”, so that you have a feeling and want to express it, and you see something that expresses that, so you “like” it further, in addition to liking / upvoting the original comment - without considering the long-term ramifications.

      The economy-style fully rational agent does take into account emotions. But only its own emotions, never the ones of other people.