I completely agree, and I think another major factor is a function of when you started using Reddit.
I’ve noticed a trend that many of the people who’ve moved on from Reddit (or at least the ones who are posting here and in places like Hacker News) joined Reddit 8+ years ago.
I started using Reddit about 14 years ago, and I’ve definitely noticed a change in the overall vibe of Reddit over those years. There were obvious changes (like cracking down/banning specific subreddits) and there were more subtle changes (like communities growing so large that the comments turned to shit) and there was a departure from a text-heavy, original-content focused haven for like-minded people to a feed full of gifs and inflammatory comment (not to mention ads-that-are-pretending-to-be-posts).
People who have been using it for so many years notice this change, but it was so gradual and over so long a time that they were used to it – essentially the change was slow enough that we were lulled into accepting the new reality of Reddit.
But then this whole kerfuffle has shaken us out of it and made us realize that it’s only going to get worse. So here we are, onto greener pastures.
Now, on the other hand, we have the (many, many) people who started using Reddit more recently. They only know the “new” Reddit. And so they don’t get what the big deal is. They think the mods are throwing a fit and the power users are just whiny and “why the hell can’t I see my memes?”.
As a fairly ‘new’ user of Reddit, I think you’re pretty spot on.
I’ve been using Reddit for around 5 years or so now (and their mobile app, I know, burn me right now) and as you said, for users like me, it’s not that obvious how much Reddit has changed for the worst. Sure, a few things were changed for the worst, but compared to other social medias, Reddit still seemed like the better option to me.
The think is, this protest has shed light on a lot of issues I ignored, and the way Reddit Corp. has handled it just straight up made me sick and wanting to dissosiate myself from Reddit as a whole. But I’ve a strong political background, strong beliefs and I am french so… I’m clearly not the ‘common user’.
Those, I get why they see the protest as an inconveniance at best, and just want to keep using the website conveniantly as they usually do. They don’t know about 3rd Party Apps, they don’t care about useful bots, they don’t understand forums and old internet culture. They just want their daily dose of content.
EDIT: Also my very first comment on Lemmy, as I’m trying to fly away from Reddit.
Only 3 years here, and this is also my first comment. Tbh, I still prefer using Reddit: I’m completely lost on this fediverse stuff, it’s near impossible for me to understand the UI, and I finally understand how old people feel with their technology illiteracy. Nevertheless, I don’t really have a choice other than to keep working at it, so hopefully I’ll get the hang of it soon.
I think this really hits the spot.
Corporate and Gov can eat people liberties step by step as long as they don’t touch their wallet and really few people will react.
Honestly, apathy. It is not like people have to start paying for the app or website explicitly
I completely agree, and I think another major factor is a function of when you started using Reddit.
I’ve noticed a trend that many of the people who’ve moved on from Reddit (or at least the ones who are posting here and in places like Hacker News) joined Reddit 8+ years ago.
I started using Reddit about 14 years ago, and I’ve definitely noticed a change in the overall vibe of Reddit over those years. There were obvious changes (like cracking down/banning specific subreddits) and there were more subtle changes (like communities growing so large that the comments turned to shit) and there was a departure from a text-heavy, original-content focused haven for like-minded people to a feed full of gifs and inflammatory comment (not to mention ads-that-are-pretending-to-be-posts).
People who have been using it for so many years notice this change, but it was so gradual and over so long a time that they were used to it – essentially the change was slow enough that we were lulled into accepting the new reality of Reddit.
But then this whole kerfuffle has shaken us out of it and made us realize that it’s only going to get worse. So here we are, onto greener pastures.
Now, on the other hand, we have the (many, many) people who started using Reddit more recently. They only know the “new” Reddit. And so they don’t get what the big deal is. They think the mods are throwing a fit and the power users are just whiny and “why the hell can’t I see my memes?”.
They don’t understand what we miss about Reddit.
As a fairly ‘new’ user of Reddit, I think you’re pretty spot on. I’ve been using Reddit for around 5 years or so now (and their mobile app, I know, burn me right now) and as you said, for users like me, it’s not that obvious how much Reddit has changed for the worst. Sure, a few things were changed for the worst, but compared to other social medias, Reddit still seemed like the better option to me.
The think is, this protest has shed light on a lot of issues I ignored, and the way Reddit Corp. has handled it just straight up made me sick and wanting to dissosiate myself from Reddit as a whole. But I’ve a strong political background, strong beliefs and I am french so… I’m clearly not the ‘common user’. Those, I get why they see the protest as an inconveniance at best, and just want to keep using the website conveniantly as they usually do. They don’t know about 3rd Party Apps, they don’t care about useful bots, they don’t understand forums and old internet culture. They just want their daily dose of content.
EDIT: Also my very first comment on Lemmy, as I’m trying to fly away from Reddit.
Only 3 years here, and this is also my first comment. Tbh, I still prefer using Reddit: I’m completely lost on this fediverse stuff, it’s near impossible for me to understand the UI, and I finally understand how old people feel with their technology illiteracy. Nevertheless, I don’t really have a choice other than to keep working at it, so hopefully I’ll get the hang of it soon.
I think this really hits the spot. Corporate and Gov can eat people liberties step by step as long as they don’t touch their wallet and really few people will react.