# Is Reddit Really Going to Have A 'Blackout'? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 10, 2023, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-reddit-really-going-to-have-a-blackout/985278 "2023-06-10T06:02:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2023, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-reddit-really-going-to-have-a-blackout/985278/21 "2023-06-11T21:37:35Z")
I was wondering where you’d got to 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2023, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-reddit-really-going-to-have-a-blackout/985278/22 "2023-06-11T21:39:48Z")
So it’s the 12th here in New Zealand and now I have to wait and see exactly which “12th” the lockout will commence on. Which US timezone is normally followed for this kind of thing? ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2023, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-reddit-really-going-to-have-a-blackout/985278/23 "2023-06-11T21:43:17Z")
Eastern, probably. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2023, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-reddit-really-going-to-have-a-blackout/985278/24 "2023-06-11T22:07:22Z")
Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2023, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-reddit-really-going-to-have-a-blackout/985278/25 "2023-06-12T00:11:59Z")
FWIW, some of the subreddits I follow have already gone dark, so some of moderators are seeming to take the most expansive definition of “June 12”. I won’t be signing back in, at a minimum, until after the blackout period, although a coiple of the ligher weight subreddits seem to be not paying attention. And if something positive doesn’t happen shortly after that, I guess I can walk away. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2023, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-reddit-really-going-to-have-a-blackout/985278/26 "2023-06-12T04:02:32Z")
> [@kitap](#): > > Eastern, probably. No. There isn’t a set time when it will all happen. The change has to be done manually. I did mine this morning when I had time. It will happen over time over a 24 hour period. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2023, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-reddit-really-going-to-have-a-blackout/985278/27 "2023-06-12T14:41:05Z")
Reddit is down right now. Maybe an attack or hack? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2023, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-reddit-really-going-to-have-a-blackout/985278/28 "2023-06-12T15:01:14Z")
Front page appears to be up. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2023, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-reddit-really-going-to-have-a-blackout/985278/29 "2023-06-12T15:11:18Z")
So, if the blackout works, but none of us are reading reddit, how will we know that they’ve caved to the demands? The only places I’ve read about this is this thread, and reddit itself. Does anyone think this will make the regular news? ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2023, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-reddit-really-going-to-have-a-blackout/985278/30 "2023-06-12T15:12:21Z")
I consistently hit the front page, but with no content an a persistent “Something went wrong. Just don’t panic.” message. [nelson]Ha ha![/nelson] ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2023, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-reddit-really-going-to-have-a-blackout/985278/31 "2023-06-12T15:15:06Z")
It’s all over the news. For example > **[Thousands of Reddit communities go dark to protest company's controversial...](https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/12/tech/reddit-blackout/index.html)** > > Thousands of Reddit forums are going dark Monday in one of the largest user-driven protests ever to hit the social media platform. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2023, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-reddit-really-going-to-have-a-blackout/985278/32 "2023-06-12T15:15:43Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > Does anyone think this will make the regular news? It’s maybe not the top headline, but I’ve seen this on the major news sites for several days now. The story is on the front page of NBC News and CNN right now. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2023, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-reddit-really-going-to-have-a-blackout/985278/33 "2023-06-12T15:20:54Z")
Looks like there is an issue: > **[reddit Status](https://www.redditstatus.com/)** > > Welcome to reddit's home for real-time and historical data on system performance. _tinfoil hat on_ They’re crashing their own site so people won’t notice the blackout! ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2023, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-reddit-really-going-to-have-a-blackout/985278/34 "2023-06-12T15:28:33Z")
I started Reddit well before they had their own app. I use Relay for Reddit on my phone. I hate their mobile interface and their app, so if the changes go through I’ll pretty much done using reddit on my phone. I’ll still probably visit the desktop version (until they kill old.reddit) but only when I’m on my computer, which is not that often. So it might be good for me to not be on my phone that much. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2023, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-reddit-really-going-to-have-a-blackout/985278/35 "2023-06-12T15:36:48Z")
> [@pullin](#): > > My assumption that any media site that provides free content is selling eyeballs to advertisers remains mostly valid. But I’m probably unclear on what more sophisticated users are doing with these sites. Don’t fool yourself: Even if you’re paying for something, you’re still the product. Paying customers get sold to bigger customers, and agreements that say otherwise are only as good as the penalties for breaking them are effective incentives. In short, if the penalty for selling your information is a small amount of the company’s profit, you’re being sold no matter what the law says. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-reddit-really-going-to-have-a-blackout/985278/36 "2023-06-13T01:01:50Z")
Welp, the amount of content on my (carefully curated) front page has at least decreased significantly. A few subs I peek into occasionally but rarely participate in have gone private (including r/nba, _indefinitely_, which is hilarious timing). On one hand, I do agree that this seems easily ignorable since it has a definite stop date. On the other hand, I can definitely see admins moving fast to quash widespread indefinite closing announcements, and it does seem that a significant, measurable drop is happening, which may have the intended warning effect. We’ll see, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-reddit-really-going-to-have-a-blackout/985278/37 "2023-06-13T01:11:29Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > Reddit is a **fabulous** experience on a nice lean app like RedReader. Reddit is never a fabulous experience because of its content. At least in the places that I normally frequented. I don’t much any more because of that. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-reddit-really-going-to-have-a-blackout/985278/38 "2023-06-13T01:16:25Z")
Then visit other places. There are thousands upon thousands of individual subreddits. ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-reddit-really-going-to-have-a-blackout/985278/39 "2023-06-13T01:17:28Z")
When the people on the subreddits related to my interests are assholes, then I should get new interests instead of not visiting Reddit? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2023, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-reddit-really-going-to-have-a-blackout/985278/40 "2023-06-13T01:25:00Z")
Are your interests so obscure/niche that there’s only one sub for them? I think, for every subreddit I frequent, there’s at least a few others that are essentially the same, just with a different group of regulars. ETA, to be clear, no one is trying to convince you to keep visiting reddit, if you don’t want to, you shouldn’t. What’s being suggested is a possible solution for a less toxic way to do it, should you want to. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-reddit-really-going-to-have-a-blackout/985278.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-reddit-really-going-to-have-a-blackout/985278.md?page=3)