You might be tempted to say some of the following:
- But Reddit has an API, and lots of third-party clients!
- But you can just use https://old.reddit.com or https://i.reddit.com instead!
The problem is that the user-hostile trends of current Reddit (e.g. locking the user out and prompting them to install an app) make it apparent that most of these workarounds and such are going to be made invalid in, say, the next 5 years. Even if they do survive, they will be mothballed and largely inaccessible to someone who is starting to use Reddit today. As it IPOs, these user-hostile patterns driven by people who focus on next quarter's returns to the exclusion of all else are only going to increase.
So I agree with Karl's conclusion here – don't contribute anything relevant to forums that aren't decentralized to start off with.
What do I suggest as an alternative?
This is just my personal opinion, but I think email lists the most accessible decentralized substitute. It's 2022, and we have much better techniques to apply to spam filtering. I will take the tradeoff of the occasional spammy email for having my conversations with others archived under my own control without a ton of effort (I can just use regular old OS tools like Mail, Outlook, and such instead of the more complex information management efforts built by more dedicated folks.
- But Reddit has an API, and lots of third-party clients!
- But you can just use https://old.reddit.com or https://i.reddit.com instead!
The problem is that the user-hostile trends of current Reddit (e.g. locking the user out and prompting them to install an app) make it apparent that most of these workarounds and such are going to be made invalid in, say, the next 5 years. Even if they do survive, they will be mothballed and largely inaccessible to someone who is starting to use Reddit today. As it IPOs, these user-hostile patterns driven by people who focus on next quarter's returns to the exclusion of all else are only going to increase.
So I agree with Karl's conclusion here – don't contribute anything relevant to forums that aren't decentralized to start off with.
What do I suggest as an alternative?
This is just my personal opinion, but I think email lists the most accessible decentralized substitute. It's 2022, and we have much better techniques to apply to spam filtering. I will take the tradeoff of the occasional spammy email for having my conversations with others archived under my own control without a ton of effort (I can just use regular old OS tools like Mail, Outlook, and such instead of the more complex information management efforts built by more dedicated folks.