美国国家公共电台 NPR--Online messaging boards are protesting Reddit's controversial new fees

Online messaging boards are protesting Reddit's controversial new fees

Transcript¹

Thousands of communities on the popular social media site Reddit "went dark" in protest of new changes. The outrage² is focused on new fees that Reddit has levied³ on the developers of third-party apps.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Thousands of communities on the website Reddit have gone dark. It's an apparent protest by many users. Behind that protest is a big question across the internet right now. Who pays and who profits from social media? It would be hard to read about this issue on parts of Reddit today, so NPR's Bobby Allyn explains it here.

BOBBY ALLYN, BYLINE⁴: The drama at Reddit is over something that sounds so technical it would send most people to sleep, an application programming interface⁵ - or API. It's understandable if you hear that and think, a what? Think of it this way, though - a digital bouncer guarding the Reddit website.

CHRISTIAN⁶ SELIG: There would be a bouncer in front of Reddit. And I would say, hey, bouncer, could you ask Reddit for all the comments on, like, this post I'm looking for? Or could you give me all the posts in a specific subreddit?

ALLYN: That's Christian Selig, a 29-year-old who lives in Nova Scotia. He developed one of the most popular third-party Reddit apps called Apollo about eight years ago. At the time, there was no official Reddit app.

SELIG: I started building it after I graduated university and I finished an internship⁷ at Apple. So I was kind of looking for what to do next. And I really love Reddit. So a new Reddit app kind of felt like the natural thing to try to build.

ALLYN: And his app became popular. It now has 1.5 million users a month, which is only a fraction of Reddit's traffic since it's one of the most popular sites on the internet. Selig's app works by going to the Reddit bouncer, getting the OK to grab data and loading what's happening on Reddit on his app. Until now, that process has been free. But now if you want Reddit data, you've got to pay the bouncer.

SELIG: For virtually all apps, the pricing is so high that things would either have to drastically change or things would have to shut down.

ALLYN: Selig's back of the envelope calculation was that he'd have to pay Reddit $20 million a year to keep the app going. The app's annual revenue does not come anywhere near that, so he's announcing his app is going out of business.

SELIG: It is really brutal⁸ because I love building this app. And for it to just suddenly, like - within two weeks, for it to just all crumble⁹ to nothing is, yeah, it really hurts.

ALLYN: Reddit has explained the new fees by saying it's time for third-party developers to pay their fair share. CEO Steve Huffman has said that popular AI services like GPT scrape Reddit for its wealth of online conversations, and that Reddit doesn't get anything from that arrangement. The new focus on making money comes as Reddit sets its sights on taking the company public later this year. Some discussion groups, known as subreddits, are going dark for 48 hours, others for longer. The aim is to bring Reddit to the negotiating table. Chris Mason (ph) is the moderator of a popular subreddit, Explain Like I'm Five, which is taking part in the boycott¹⁰. He says third-party apps help him remove nasty comments quickly.

CHRIS MASON: You have users who are particularly egregious¹¹, like, very rude or those kinds of things. You can ban them directly from their comment on some of these apps, but you can't do that on the Reddit app.

ALLYN: Reddit says it's made some exceptions to the new fees. It says it will still provide free access to its data to apps that help with accessibility. And access to researchers and academics will also remain free.

Bobby Allyn, NPR News.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

3 levied   

征（兵）( levy的过去式和过去分词 )； 索取； 发动（战争）； 征税

参考例句：

• Taxes should be levied more on the rich than on the poor. 向富人征收的税应该比穷人的多。
• Heavy fines were levied on motoring offenders. 违规驾车者会遭到重罚。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 interface   

n.接合部位，分界面；v.(使)互相联系

参考例句：

• My computer has a network interface,which allows me to get to other computers.我的计算机有网络接口可以与其它计算机连在一起。
• This program has perspicuous interface and extensive application. 该程序界面明了，适用范围广。

6 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

7 internship   

n.实习医师，实习医师期

参考例句：

• an internship at a television station 在电视台的实习期
• a summer internship with a small stipend 薪水微薄的暑期实习

8 brutal   

adj.残忍的，野蛮的，不讲理的

参考例句：

• She has to face the brutal reality.她不得不去面对冷酷的现实。
• They're brutal people behind their civilised veneer.他们表面上温文有礼，骨子里却是野蛮残忍。

9 crumble   

vi.碎裂，崩溃；vt.弄碎，摧毁

参考例句：

• Opposition more or less crumbled away.反对势力差不多都瓦解了。
• Even if the seas go dry and rocks crumble,my will will remain firm.纵然海枯石烂，意志永不动摇。

10 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

11 egregious   

adj.非常的，过分的

参考例句：

• When it comes to blatant lies,there are none more egregious than budget figures.谈到公众谎言，没有比预算数字更令人震惊的。
• What an egregious example was here!现摆着一个多么触目惊心的例子啊。