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by wvenable 1105 days ago
I've been using 3rd party apps for over 15 years -- I used Alien Blue on iOS when I had an iPhone and I bought Relay for Reddit on Android over 10 years ago. I use old.reddit.com and always have (back when it was just reddit.com).

How do I find and read that content that I like? It's a very different (and, for me, worse) experience in their official reddit app and on the non-old Reddit.com.

If I'm going to adjust to a different and worse way of browsing content, I might as well just go to a different site entirely. It's similar to how Microsoft keeps adding user-hostile features and degrading the UI on Windows every year. Most users will stay (I do) but a few more will move to Linux or Mac OS. I fully understand where you are coming from -- for you nothing has been lost. For me, it's a significant change for the worse.
1 comments
bastijn 1105 days ago
But in this case the alternative is not MacOS or Ubuntu, but a distro nobody has ever heard of. Third-party app users may be the more die-hard/advanced user group - and the minority - but I wonder how many of them are willing to switch to a small distro which might not have the content or might have an even shittier app experience.

If there are no alternatives, which today there aren't to the best of my knowledge, my guess is Reddit will win this stalemate. Sure, people will leave but not nearly as many as the leaders of the strike would like to think. At least, not for long.

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wvenable 1105 days ago
There hasn't been a strong need for alternatives so there was little motivation to make one (or improve the ones that exist). I think that's going to be changing now.

I don't expect a rapid fall of Reddit or Twitter but rather a slow decline. It's not unprecedented.

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bastijn 1105 days ago
That's the risk they take, indeed. Also the risk for anyone who migrates as chances are the alternative is not profitable either. In the end, to sustain the offering party needs to be profitable or at least break even.
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wvenable 1105 days ago
Reddit went from 700 employees to 2000 employees because they took VC money and have to grow grow grow. I'm sure one could make a sustainable business out of Reddit but nobody wants just a sustainable business.

The cycle will repeat for sure -- it's been repeating for over 20 years now.

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