The version of Reddit we\u2019ll see over the next few days may be a shell of itself. Hundreds of subreddits have pledged to go dark,<\/a> with thousands more planning to follow. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n The protests are happening over API changes that will force many third-party apps, like Apollo<\/a> and rif is fun for Reddit<\/a>, to shut down. Frustration was already brewing in the community as developers began reacting to the changes, but Reddit CEO Steve Huffman\u2019s responses in recent days haven\u2019t calmed things down.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In a Reddit AMA<\/a> on Friday, Huffman was met with seemingly universal anger. There were a lot of f-bombs from commenters. A lot<\/a> of<\/a> people<\/a> called<\/a> him<\/a> a coward. If there are positive comments, I didn\u2019t find them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Before r\/Videos went private today, its mods wrote<\/a> that Huffman\u2019s AMA performance was \u201ca collage of inappropriate responses\u201d and that Reddit\u2019s CEO seemed to have intentionally misconstrued a conversation the company had with Apollo developer Christian Selig. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n The two men recently spoke about the API changes and, according to Selig, Huffman grew upset and claimed Selig was threatening him. Selig has since posted a recording illustrating the \u201cthreat\u201d was cleared up as a misunderstanding<\/a> while they were still on the call, but he says Huffman has continued to tell Reddit employees Selig threatened him in the meeting. Now mods and developers are calling Huffman and other Reddit leaders \u201cliars,\u201d accusing them of ignoring big questions during the AMA, even though those questions had the most upvotes, to answer easy ones instead. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n According to this post on r\/ModCoord<\/a>, the protest will end when Reddit addresses issues with the API, improves accessibility for blind people, and creates \u201cparity in access to NSFW content.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n The biggest complaints are about how Reddit\u2019s leadership has, or mostly hasn\u2019t, communicated the details of changes to its API pricing or incoming restrictions, including prohibiting third-party apps from showing NSFW content that\u2019s already viewable on the site. ReddPlanet developer Tony Lupeski said it was a \u201cblatant lie\u201d<\/a> that Reddit leadership was keeping dialogue open with impacted third-party developers, as Huffman wrote. \u201cThat\u2019s not an answer and you know it,\u201d said user Anacharsis<\/a> to the same Huffman reply<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n When moderator Merari01 asked<\/a> why the site hadn\u2019t probed the new changes with users and moderators, Huffman said the company<\/a> \u201cstarted sharing this information in April.\u201d A few responses pointed out the earlier announcement didn\u2019t include any pricing information<\/a> and left out details<\/a> like the ban on third-party apps showing NSFW content. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n One user pointed to a post on r\/History<\/a> listing times Reddit had reneged on promises<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Since the AMA, some subreddits have escalated their response. Over at r\/iPhone, the moderators posted early morning<\/a> that their original plan was to go dark for just 48 hours, but Huffman\u2019s behavior changed their minds:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Originally, the protest was planned to be 48 hours. However, after a shambolic AMA held by Reddit\u2019s CEO, it has become clear to us that Reddit doesn\u2019t intend to act in good faith. When the CEO is willing to lie and spread libellous claims about another third-party developer, and then try\u00a0double down<\/em>\u00a0by vilifying them, again, in an AMA, despite being proven as a liar by the developer through audio recordings, that\u2019s when we knew what we were up against.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Now \/iPhone will be going private, severely restricting access to the sub. As will r\/Music, a default subscription for new accounts and one of the largest subreddits on the site. Mods of that community put it right in the title of the post announcing its participation<\/a>, which says it will close starting June 12th \u201cUntil Reddit Takes Back Their API Policy Change.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n r\/iPhone<\/a>, which has 3.8 million users, echoed r\/Music\u2019s sentiment, saying, \u201cin the (somewhat unlikely) scenario that Reddit\u2019s leadership has a change of direction that sees the reversal [of] the recent API policy change, we will reopen the subreddit.\u201d r\/Gaming says<\/a> its shutdown will begin on the 12th, and it will be set to private \u201cfor 48 hours or longer.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n