Indeed, the fact that Apollo can use the API for free then turn around and charge users for a premium version all while giving nothing back to Reddit is simply insane, you would never see Facebook, Instagram or other services allowing the same thing. And before one says that third party app users drive user driven content, what kind of content do you think Facebook and Instagram have?
The Apollo dev agrees! Free api is not sustainable. It’s the proposed price that’s killing all major third party apps, and most minor ones, and Reddit has not only insisted that they won’t budge, but have even gone on to attack the Apollo dev directly while also stating in public that they do not offer analytics about an apps api usage nor will they help app developers (partners!) identify inefficiencies in their api usage- just tell them (publicly, with no warning) that their app is inefficient.
I don't think anyone disagrees. The rate they were charging, and every. single. message. that has come from Reddit's CEO since that announcement have been so full of shit that they'd make the porto potties at woodstock (or the shit pits at Fyre festival) look like flower pots.
They could have changed NOTHING about the move except their messaging and attitude and things would've gone a lot better.
Umm, isn't that exactly what Facebook apps like FarmVille were? I don't think Facebook charges app developers to publish apps on their platform, and the app was monetized.
Farmville is ancillary to Facebook as a whole. Those users might play Farmville but also read up on their feed or click through their friends' posts, thereby allowing Facebook the chance to show ads.
Apollo et al are different in that they are packaging up the entire experience wholesale, they are not ancillary. There is no way for Reddit the company to show ads through third party clients (the client could simply block ad posts if they wanted to).