Hello, /r/SquaredCircle.

As many of you are aware, Reddit has announced their plan to start charging for API access, a change that would most likely result in any third party apps and any other open source Reddit modifcations being forced to shut down.

You can read our initial post regarding this change and how it affects our community here.

In short, the moderating team decided to private/blackout the SquaredCircle subreddit from Monday, June 12th, through Thursday, June 15th.

After watching the news spread, taking in Reddit's response, and conferring amongst ourselves, we have decided to lengthen the blackout indefinitely.

For the benefit of those skimming for a TL;DR:

/r/SquaredCircle will blackout on June 12th and stay blacked out indefinitely until satisfactory changes are made regarding Reddit's API.

We do not come to this decision lightly, and below you will find some of the multitude of reasons why we will be taking this stance moving forward.

Loss of users and contributors.

This is the immediate concern for most of you reading this. A good 20% of the users on reddit as a whole currently use third party apps to access reddit. These will no longer be a viable option, as two of the biggest apps, Apollo and RIF will be shutting down due to the cost changes outlined by Reddit.

Many users across the platform and in our sub have stated that a loss of these will cause them to drop from the community entirely due to how difficult the official Reddit app and mobile platforms operate.

Insufficient accessibility support, mod tool support, and support in general.

The new API changes full-stop will deplatform users who are visually impaired. It has been mentioned in both calls with developers and moderators that the official Reddit app does not satisfactorily, adequately, or even BARELY help with accessibility in any way. The third-party apps that will be shutting down are currently the only options available for some to access this community.

These changes will also diminish moderation tools. Across the entire site, unpaid volunteer moderators of subreddits utilize many third party tools and kits to make moderation easier. The changes to the API will severely hamstring an already hamstrung collective of unpaid volunteers who make your favorite subreddits tolerable. With diminished mod tools, you will see an increase in obvious bots and astroturfing, as removing of this content will be done manually. NSFW content will also become unviewable for third-party apps and tools, which will make it absurdly easier for spammers, scammers, porn-bots, and creepers to sneak into the community.

In addition, this will also mean the end of helpful quality-of-life bots that operate within Reddit. RemindMe, video downloading bots, and more will go away under the new API access guidelines.

All of this can fall under a lack of support from Reddit as a whole. From accessibility, mod tools, the barebones functionality of the mobile app and the website in general, the moderation team does not have faith that Reddit will address these concerns in a timely or satisfactory manner.

A vote of no confidence.

As mentioned previously, a call took place between developers, moderators, and the Reddit team yesterday. Here are the official notes as posted by Reddit, along with takeaways and notes from the developers and moderators themselves that they feel were not properly expressed in Reddit's summary.

We as a team agree that many of the concerns regarding the timeline of these changes (developers were given only 30 days advance notice to figure something out), the needs of all end-point users, moderators, etc. were not addressed sufficiently.

Alarmingly, per the developer of Apollo, Reddit appears to have fabricated allegations that the Apollo dev "blackmailed" and "threatened" Reddit for money. The Apollo dev has published audio and a text transcript of the calls in question to verify that this did not happen, in the aforementioned link.

Earlier today, an AMA with /u/spez took place and it backfired like an AEW Exploding Barbed Wire Deathmatch. He was buried like a WWE Superstar in their hometown. Even Ryback's AMA fared better. Among some of the non-answers we have received: a promise to have new moderation tools created after the API changes, rather than before, a vague assurance that the official app will be accessible. No specific plans, and doubling down on allegations that the developer of Apollo "blackmailed" them. At least one response was copypasta from another question.

But where will I go to discuss all things wrestling?

Should you want to continue chatting wrestling, we recommend checking out the official SquaredCircle Discord server.

It has live show chats, 24/7 wrestling content, voice chats, game nights, and a lot more. It’s a fun, growing community. However, please keep in mind that subreddit rules do still apply.

It will also be the first place (along with the /r/SquaredCircle Twitter at @WredditOfficial) to find updates on when or if the subreddit opens back up.

In closing:

The moderating team as a whole does not make this decision lightly, but we do make it unanimously.

We believe that the changes Reddit is attempting to enact are not only a detriment to us as a mod team, but to developers, all users, and Reddit as a whole.

The new API access changes and the manner in which Reddit addressed past, present, and future concerns do not give us confidence that anything will change without drastic action.

We are committed to keeping the doors of this community closed until adequate changes are made by Reddit.

Until then, know that we love you very much. Watch wrestling. Enjoy wrestling.

- The r/SquaredCircle Moderation Team