Three big Reddit communities are no longer focused on John Oliver

Three of Reddit’s biggest communities are nary longer focused wholly connected John Oliver successful a shape of protestation against Reddit. The subreddits had made nan move successful June to push backmost connected Reddit’s API pricing that yet made immoderate celebrated third-party apps unopen down, but now, they’re operating beautiful overmuch arsenic they did earlier nan protests.

One of nan subreddits, r/aww (which has much than 34 cardinal subscribers), posted a agelong mentation for nan change. While nan r/aww organization did ballot “overwhelmingly” for nan John Oliver rule, “it was ne'er intended to beryllium permanent,” a moderator wrote successful nan post, which was published earlier this week. “More than a period has passed, and arsenic things connected nan net go, nan passion for nan protestation has waned and people’s attraction has shifted to different things.”

The mod says that nan alteration did trim postulation to nan subreddit. “After an first spike to normal levels erstwhile nan subreddit reopened, overall subreddit traffic fell to betwixt half and a 3rd of normal, though nan influx of subscribers paradoxically grew much than nan number of group unsubscribing,” nan mod wrote. However, they added that “it’s improbable that it had immoderate important effect connected sitewide traffic, arsenic different subreddits conscionable filled nan gaps successful nan endless provender of contented astir users consume.”

Two different large communities person switched back, too. r/pics (with much than 30 cardinal subscribers) had possibly been nan astir visibly tied to John Oliver: Oliver himself posted a bid of silly photos specifically for nan organization to use, and astatine 1 point, nan moderators of r/pics invited Oliver to subordinate nan mod team. But sometime recently, r/pics removed immoderate evident trace of its connections to John Oliver; the Wayback Machine shows that r/pics was each astir John Oliver as of Friday but no longer connected Saturday. I haven’t recovered an mentation from nan moderation squad astir nan change, and nan squad hasn’t replied to my Reddit DM asking for comment.

r/videos (with much than 26 cardinal subscribers) really dropped its John Oliver norm backmost successful June; it was replaced by a caller norm that each posts needed to incorporate profanity successful nan title after a organization vote. Earlier this month, nan r/videos moderators reverted nan rules to what they were earlier nan protests started. “For those who deliberation our protestation went connected excessively long, you whitethorn want to punctual yourselves why we did this successful nan first place,” a mod wrote successful a station astir nan decision. “Reddit still has immoderate issues to address.”

r/gifs (with much than 21 cardinal subscribers) remains focused connected John Oliver, according to nan community’s rules. However, nan newest station I tin find connected nan subreddit is from 9 days ago, and strangely, nan second-newest station is from a period ago. I’ve asked nan r/gifs moderators astir why location person been truthful fewer posts arsenic of late.

In June, much than 8,000 communities went acheronian to protestation nan API pricing, but successful nan weeks since, galore subreddits person opened backmost up (some aft feeling unit from Reddit) and are operating arsenic they did before. Many users are still disgruntled, though, and made their feelings known in July’s r/Place canvas.