Long post, non native english, mobile
I've loved my father dearly all my life. He divorced my mom when I was around 10 and left me with her. I never felt anything bad towards him due to that, I actually envied him. Mom was stay at home mom, due to disability also. My mom is a good person, but heavily mentally ill. She really has problems, she went to mental hospitals a bunch of times when I was a toddler and a kid, she experienced nasty side effects from heavy medications. She couldn't quite control herself, but loved me for real, so I suffered some unintentional emotional abuse, as I call it. Unhealthy behaviors, and even though she loves me with her whole heart, I had huge resentment, almost hatred, mixed with love and guilt. Anyway, I haven't talked to her in years, wishing her the best life but far away from me. Should have got me a therapist mom! I got one half a year ago and now I actually enjoy talking to her several times a week.
So, when I was around 14, my paternal grandma (now ~75f) got me to live with her (no custody battle, just an agreement). She is my most important person. She was watching me half of the time anyway through all my life. Sad to say, she was more of a mom to me then a real mom always. I live with her still and do not plan to leave her ever. She has poor health now unfortunately, she don't think she'll live another 2 years.
My father had another daughter, my sis T, in his new relationship (5f). He and another wife were together for 11 years but got divorced MONTH after sister was born, due to my father prioritizing himself. Imaging "wife, you are tired after full day and want me to watch a baby this evening? Sorry, I gotta run my daily 5k, ciao". I don't know for sure, but he can also yell if pressured, so I would divorce him to. Also, he was the one wanting a child.
I've always supported his ex wife, grandma too understood situation very well, but cut ties with her later for unimportant reasons. Now for reasons unknown to me communication between my dad and his ex is very tense, non-existent almost (it was better at some point I think). My sis spend every weekend with us (me father grandma grandpa). Somehow I became the only person speaking to dad ex, about T mostly. That's when I realized how low their communication is actually. I was saying "you know, how T always does this?" and her mom was like "no, she almost never does this in my place" and such.
So, I'm in a home with a little kid, my grandma is not healthy but always does something in a garden or something, grandpa always helps her. And dad... Not watches her to most of the time. And I'm the one communicating with her mom sometimes about important stuff. So months ago I found myself in unhappy position, where I was forced to watch my lovely sis. Dad would just tell me I don't have to, she can entartain herself alone. Yes, but not that much hours! She want attention and playtime.
To be clear, dad is not completely not paying attention, he walkes with her up to 1.5h a day, changes her clothes, lays to bed, manage her toys and things, wipes her. But he doesn't feed her, cannot play, and in the house mostly doing his own thing during the day. That's why I didn't even realize he lacks as a parent for a long time, he does important things by himself. But he doesn't take care for her for like 6 houst a day, and sometimes he loses his temper and bails out of situations.
Her mom is actually the one who helped me realize that and helped me set some boundaries (and talked to my dad too, pretty harshly I guess). My therapist helped too, I see her rarely. But like... Situation didn't change much, I stopped stressing.
And to complete the picture few words about my dear grandma: she can not accept help if her life depends on it. She doesn't have that skill. She always stress the f out of herself cause other person is doing all wrong and slow. She is quick to take responsibility. But her health declined a lot recently (doctors watch her regularly), and she is still adamant to spend all her day in garden just to lay in bed all next dat. She only stops when she feel absolutely awful, stubborn as hell.
So what motivated me to write this post. Today is Saturday, evening, grandma feels bad (as always honestly), but she pulls wonderful dinner for us (she actually couldn't enjoy it herself, she went to bed. Nobody is pressuring her, I swear, everybody only says her to chill all the time). When she was almost done, already feeling very bad, she went to a garden to got greens. She said to grandpa "I need greens, but I can't, I couldn't go that far", he said "I can, let me do it", I overheard and said "I can do it". She brushed him off, said to me I always bring way too little, and went herself. I went after her to help, my sis was playing outside and tried to help. Anyway, she sat in dirt a little, we laughed it off, I couldn't see any sticking to her butt. Grandma was like "we need to wash now, lemme..." but since she was feeling BAD already I cut her and said that's not our problem, that's dads problem.
We went inside, I told dad. He was tired today all day, in that condition his temper is so short almost inexistent, he gets irritated a second he is touched. I know the feeling very well, I got it from him. So I never have a problem feeling that mood of his, "do not disturb" one, since I have it exactly the same. But I know that doesn't mean I now have to deal with everything myself, it's still his responsibility, it is his daughter weekend. So when I told him to check if her pants are dirty he said "no do it yourself", I was like "what do you mean yourself, whose daughter it is", he declined to do crap again, I said "you bring her!", he said something declining again. Anyway I went inspect T's clothes myself, it had a few small insignificant wet spots, I said good enough and didn't do anything.
So just a little later dad was looking after T (his decline was an immediate reaction, out of irritation, not a continuous decision, so even tired he of course didn't abandon her), she changed clothes. He asked her to go upstairs for her inside pants, she declined, he said "may be L(me) will go get it" (not in a manipulative way, he just didn't want to go). I said "no, dOnT tOucH mE". I tried to repeat his phrase with which he declined the first time. So, he just sinhed quietly and went.
My problem is, after recently me noticing he does mess up in his caring for T, and a little speaking with T's mom (she tried her best to not badmouth him to me, I tried my best to not push for information, but some things she said stuck with me), I felt like rose tinted glasses were lifted from me. I absolutely despise how he handles his temper with his strong "no". Idk, he had so sort of therapy, is that why he states his wishes like this? I know in his first marriage with my mom he couldn't really do it, cause she would got hurt, he painfully avoided confrontation and put up with her. But he really could use some "meh... What happened? Can you do it please? One second then..."
And also, today I had this thought. I have naver actually thought about it ever. I don't remember much from childhood (not trauma, just bad memory), but I dont remember him taking me from my mom by himself, on weekends. My grandma did, all the time. I now know he was already with his second wife (T's mom), and I've just remembered she doesn't think children should meet parents new spouses. I met her years later. I think I'm hurt now, cause I suddenly realized, I could honestly expect more from my dad (and could have expected). I love him a lot, we go along really well, and those are really hard feelings for me. I suddenly feel almost betrayed after all these years of pure love and acceptance. Help pls

For roughly 2 years I’ve been questioning my sexuality, I know I like girls but through porn, M/M videos have turned me on as well.
However, romantically and sexually it’s not the case in a real life situation. I find myself not enjoying being with a guy or even taking notice in public of guys that way.
Wanted to know if anyone in here knows of friends or family or even themselves that have questioned sexuality and came to the conclusion that they’re straight.
Because for the last 2 years I’ve almost forced myself to think I’m not straight because I thought if you began to questions things then that’s it. Would really love some help on this.

I was in conversation with another member today. We were sharing nofap experiences and I didn't even realise when I got carried away and just wrote up an entire testimony. Thought it might be good encouragement for the sub. Feel free to read if you want, here's what I wrote:
Wow, you know, it's so strange hearing other people's testimonies in this matter. Everybody's journey through this issue is similar but different in key areas and fuelled by different insecurities and shortcomings. For example, what you said about you conflating your penis size with true masculinity is something I can never relate to but that's because my journey through this addiction was different to yours. Hippie christians like to say that there are many ways to God but I only find the opposite to be true. Many ways to Satan and the destruction that lays in wait for the unwary. Many ways but one destination.
My journey with PMO was different. When I was about 8 my family emigrated to the UK and I started attending primary school in London. Looking back, this was a stressful time in my life. I was barely fitting in my school back in my home country because of the restrictive bringing up that I received from my dad. Relating to peers was always difficult for me because I didn't watch/play the same movies/games as everybody else, we had no TV at home, I had no interest in sport, etc... Transferring schools to a foreign country had it's toll. I was faced with a whole new culture. Kids interacted differently here, they were louder, bolder, more disrespectful towards teachers, wasted food, etc... I was struggling to process all these differences. Around this time I had first come into contact with the concept of masturbation via seeing peers that would fondle their privates in class. I didn't really understand what they were doing at the time but I was also experiencing first pangs of sexual curiosity. I was always really easily infatuated with girls since I was little but I felt a stronger drive towards older girls and the teachers. My fantasies would usually explore the impossible, somehow it never occurred to me at the time that this may be dangerous, I always had a rich imagination.
Later I experienced another cultural shock when my family moved city and I went to high school without my friends from primary. This city had a very different demographic and as a result so did the schools. While all schools in greater London are ethnically mixed, this area of London was very Muslim dominated. The school had a reputation for being rough. We had metal gate checks. There were fights, smokers, drug dealers, gangster rap, swearing, etc... Some kids get exposed to these things earlier on but my primary school left me very sheltered. This time I was really lost at sea with no compass. Finding common ground was really difficult and I couldn't tolerate the seclusion because I was always really social and outgoing. In school, most kids arrange themselves into groups according to their interests and qualities. The footballers form one group, the fly boys and rebels form another, there are also the half cool half nerdy types that ace all the tests without studying. Lastly, if you don't make it into any of these three, you usually wind up with the cast outs. The emo kids, the gay/trans types. In the 2010's this last group was fringe and only made a small circle, now it's all different...
I was lucky to land into the 3rd group. Finally making some friends and not feeling so alone, I was making myself a place in school. We usually hung out in the library, playing yugioh cards and looking through manga and comic books to find provocative pictures... I must have been 12 around this time. YouTube was still new and it was a wild west. My first exposure to soft porn was though YouTube during my first years of having my own room and PC. Looking back, this was a mistake but I was the oldest child and my parents didn't know any better. The internet opened my world to new things that I never heard of, and new grounds for relating to my peers. I was getting into rap music (behind my dad's back of course) and sharing albums with my cool nerd buddies. Next was anime and all the perversion that goes along with that. I was really lost. This pattern of masturbating to fantasies about teachers had really amplified by this time. I never really stopped to question why that was until today. I suspect that I was acting out a subconscious contempt for my mother. During my childhood, my mother and father were always at odds with each other as to how I should be brought up. My dad was always on the side of growth and discipline, my mother was always pulling the other way. She was always my enabler, the one who covered up my misdeeds keeping me from responsibility, the one who would listen and find understanding for any choice that I made. She meant well and I was always very open with her growing up but I think deep down inside, I resented her for it. Because I knew I was walking the easy way and she was making it possible. I was missing out on a healthy relationship with my father because it put expectations on me
Finally, I went to college. Another move, this time to a completely different part of the country. By this time, rap and hip hop culture was deeply ingrained in my mind. I had a juvenile record for vandalism, shoplifting and cannabis smoking behind my belt. Moving out of the city had me feeling lost and looking for a way out. I was being sucked in by evil forces into further drug experimentation, my curiosity was fixed on the psychedelic mushrooms that grow in abundance in the region to which we moved. I fell for the lie that there is freedom and enlightenment at the end of that road. My mind was constantly revolving around drugs, rap, anime and other worthless things. College had me depressed. I was failing my courses even though I was an A predicted student. I was being bombarded by rad-fem, neo-marxist dogma in my humanities class and I was sick of it. I couldn't articulate my disgust at the time but I just knew I had enough of the place. At this time my porn addiction was spinning out of control. I was compulsively consuming anal porn involving middle aged women. I was venturing into extreme hentai and even bestiality at the worst of times.
Something was brewing. I was conflicted because at the same time I was becoming exposed to the conservative revolution that seemed to be taking place in 2016-2018. There was a wave of change going through the internet. Everybody felt it. People like Jordan Peterson, Ben Shapiro and others were emerging as prominent voices and they were telling me something compelling. That the thing I'm lacking in life is responsibility and that I need to get my act together. I was also learning to articulate my distaste for the education system that I felt but didn't understand at the time. They gave me the words that I needed.
To cut the story short, I failed college and went to work. Got my first job in the fall of 2018 in a food factory via agency, going back and forth on random shifts with a Greek guy that they paired me up with for transport. Over the next 4 years I got to work many different kinds of blue collar jobs ranging from food to a car panel welding plant and a forklift/warehouse/deliveries in out/phone job. I learned that the world outside isn't as dull a place as they make you believe in school. I met many interesting people, middle aged guys with their heads screwed on as opposed to being surrounded by a bunch of angsty teenagers who don't know jack shit about life. Don't get me wrong, my life was still a mess. I got into smoking, my porn use was degenerating and I was still childishly ungrateful for my lot in life but I was learning to take responsibility for my actions. I was getting pay checks every month, contributing my bit to the house budget, saving the rest for dreams I didn't have yet. I finally felt like I was hauling my ass. I finally felt like some vague fog of a life plan was emerging out of the chaos.
In the last 2 years I decided to give my life to Christ. I was always brought up in the spirit of Christian values but I only ever rejected it up until now. I realised that God has a life for me if I trust in him. That I'm conflicted and that the time has come to stop teetering on the fence. I dedicated 2022 to self improvement, reading books, developing a relationship with my dad and brother, repairing the damaged one with my mother, swimming, playing an instrument, programming and also nofap. My first year of was a mixed success, it was a good learning experience a good foundation for 2023 when I finally managed to take off for good. I am currently 160 days into my streak (monkmode) and not looking back at all. Jesus Christ saved my life, literally from the despair and chaos that defined it up until this point. I finally realised that I have a purpose, that my life actually matters and that I can dedicate it to service and living a Godly life aimed at the good.
This has gotten awfully long hasn't it? It was meant to be a brief outline of my nofap journey but I guess it just wasn't that simple, turned into a full blown testimony. Anyway, this was more or less how I went through the motions.

Greetings, members of writing!
By now you have probably heard a lot about The Open Letter about API Pricing. Some of your favorite subreddits may have signed up to protest. I know there has been discussion on this sub while the mods have been in discussions--both internally and with other subreddits--and we wanted to address our plans for June 12th. First though, we know plenty of people are confused about what API even is, how this pricing will impact them, and why it is worth talking about. There have been a number of posts about this very subject, all explaining better than we could. Subreddits like explainlikeimfive have highlighted in an easy way to understand what API is and why this is change is a problem. AskHistorians have explained in detail why so many Mods are upset and, frankly, disillusioned, in the wake of the Admin announcement.
To a lot of people, the API changes are not a big deal.
If you use the Official Apps and have no issue navigating it, that’s great. You may not have known that third party apps existed, or why people prefer them. If you’re wondering why people can’t just use the official app, we can acknowledge that for many users it is simply a personal preference. They’re used to it (some have been using them for years before there was ever an Official App) or they might simply prefer it because of the designs and features. If you’re interested in a visual representation of why so many prefer third party apps, please check this bestof comment out for a side-by-side comparison.
For mods, the mod tool support of these third parties largely makes our jobs much easier, which keeps the communities we all love safer. On a third party app, we can accomplish in two clicks what would take the Official App five. This efficiency means we can address more problems in the community in a more timely manner. Some of you may have even noticed a slight change in the modding of this sub over the past few days. This largely comes from a number of our mods needing to step back, either directly because of these upcoming issues or for personal reasons. This is also why there has been a delay in responses to this issue. We are currently dealing with those internal issues, but still wanted to take a stand on this larger problem.
If you’re thinking to yourself, “If these apps are making a profit, Reddit deserves a cut!” we do agree. What we take issue with is that their API is being valued at 10-20x over what other similar services do, to the point where almost every app has released some kind of statement that indicates these changes will kill their apps. We could link to more statements like that, but you get the idea.
Before you ask “why can’t they just run ads to offset those costs”, Reddit has already decided this will not be an option for third party apps. One thing to be aware of as well is that even if a third party app manages to survive July 1st through a subscription based model alone, those apps will not have all the same content as the Official App. Namely, despite paying for the privilege of having a choice, NSFW content will be unavailable and invisible to those users.
If you’re thinking, "Well, I'm fine. I only use the mobile website via my chosen mobile browser (chrome, mozilla, etc.)," you should be aware that Reddit has already been testing functions that eliminate mobile web browsing, and there is no guarantee that your preferred method of using Reddit won’t be next.
Limiting user choice, charging exorbitant and predatory fees, and refusing to communicate, are all significant problems that the writing team takes issue with. However, the one we find most egregious is what this change will do to members of Reddit’s blind community.
How are blind Redditors impacted by this decision?
In short, Reddit’s Official Apps leave a lot to be desired at best, and are barely functional at worst. The app on iOS has incorrectly labeled controls, doesn’t always work with swipe, and not all functions can be accessed. For blind moderators, it can be difficult-to-impossible to find the moderation functions necessary to moderate, and the customizing layouts to better suit their needs or make the app easier to navigate are similarly difficult. Third party apps have addressed many of these types of issues because Reddit won’t, giving these underserved communities a voice that Reddit seems to have no problem taking away.
You might ask yourself how blind users navigated Reddit before there were apps, and the answer is that it didn’t always used to be this way, but it has certainly always had accessibility issues. In fact, discussions about accessibility have been going on for months, if not years. Just a few months ago, Reddit received a free consultation to make their mobile layout more accessible. Reddit did not follow up, privately or publicly, until the protest’s momentum started to build. Even after numerous, far more recent interactions with the Admin, there seems to be little progress or commitment concerning these issues. This type of interaction is exactly why we, the writing mod team, feel that Reddit is not making accessibility a priority.
Subreddits like blind are vital for the visually impaired in various stages of blindness, providing not just a source of communal support, but insights, strategies, and resources to navigate their new and changing lives. In the wake of Reddit's changes, subreddits like blind will be forced to go dark, leaving an already overlooked group without the invaluable support they both need and deserve.
These changes will also significantly impact volunteer run support subreddits such as transcribersofreddit and descriptionplease, which serve to allow visually impaired Redditors to read text images, and receive descriptions of visual content such as videos and images. These volunteers are indispensable to the blind community, because Reddit is the only social media website with no support for alternative text. As visually impaired Redditors are forced to use an app that is not designed with accessibility in mind, these communities will shrink, wither, and may cease to exist. (See this video for more details on this subject).
For many of us, third party apps are a choice or a preference, but they are an absolute necessity for the visually impaired. The writing team is of the opinion that pricing these apps out of existence before their own app is WCAG compliant is nothing short of passive discrimination.
The mod team of writing, and many others, feel that July 1st is an unrealistic timeline to make all the changes necessary to make their app accessible. At this point, the only reasonable course of action is for Reddit to publish a public list of key results that they are committed to addressing and guarantee that third party functionality will be left unchanged until they do.
Disabled individuals are often expected to pay a premium for the same basic things everyone else uses and enjoys for free. Visually impaired Redditors deserve equal access, and even if third party apps survive, they will not receive it. Those users will not have access to all of the content and features that the rest of Reddit will. Remember, NSFW content will be unavailable to regular users on third party apps (and yes, disabled people like porn too!)
So what does all this mean for writing?
As stated above, many of our current mod team have needed to step back in the wake of these issues. Many of us, myself included, however don't. For us, this is not just about our personal preferences; it is about standing in opposition to ableism and making sure others have a voice.
We have had many comments and modmails asking about the position of writing modteam. We wanted to discuss these matters internally first, to make sure the remaining mods were on the same page before we made any sort of announcement. Now that we have:
The mod team of Writing is in agreement that we should join the blackout on June 12th.
We are prepared to remain blacked out for a minimum of 48 hours. This means that the sub will be turned private and no one will be able to access any writing content until the blackout is over. In standing up for the voices of others, however, we don’t want to strip away the voices of our community. So now we want to hear from you. If you support us in this decision, please share and upvote this post, and comment with your thoughts and support.
Particularly, we would like to hear from our users: How long should writing's blackout last? From our talks with mods from many other subreddits (including those of BestofRedditorUpdates, who very, very graciously allowed me to use most of their wording/research for this post) we are aware that many subs are intending to prolong their blackouts past the original 48-hour mark. Pending further developments, we are currently planning to reassess the situation after this 48-hour mark to make further decisions, taking into account what new statements have been released, how the protest is evolving, and what our users want. As it stands, some subs are intending to blackout however long it takes to effect change, others are intending to come back to be able to be a platform for their users to continue voicing their feelings on the blackout. If you have an opinion either way, please let us hear it. You are a part of this sub as much as any of the mods (and we will likely be turning to some of you to become mods in the not to distant future depending on the state of things after these protests are completed). Thank you for all that you do and letting us take this stand in however that may be.
- the Writing Mod team

Greetings, members of /homeswap
By now you have probably heard a lot about The Open Letter about API Pricing. Some of your favorite subreddits may have signed up to protest. When we cross-posted the letter, plenty of people were confused about what API even is, how this pricing would impact them, and why it was worth talking about. Since then, there have been a number of posts about this very subject, all explaining better than we could. Subreddits like explainlikeimfive have highlighted in an easy way to understand what API is and why this is change is a problem. AskHistorians have explained in detail why so many Mods are upset and, frankly, disillusioned, in the wake of the Admin announcement.
To a lot of people, the API changes are not a big deal. If you use the Official Apps and have no issue navigating it, that’s great. You may not have known that third party apps existed, or why people prefer them. If you’re wondering why people can’t just use the official app, we can acknowledge that for many users it is simply a personal preference. They’re used to it (some of us have been using them for years before there was ever an Official App) or they might simply prefer it because of the designs and features. If you’re interested in a visual representation of why so many prefer third party apps, please check this bestof comment out for a side-by-side comparison.
For mods, the mod tool support of these third parties largely makes our jobs much easier, which keeps the communities we all love safer. On a third party app, we can accomplish in two clicks what would take the Official App five. This efficiency means we can address more problems in the community in a more timely manner.
If you’re thinking to yourself, “If these apps are making a profit, Reddit deserves a cut!” we do agree. What we take issue with is that their API is being valued at 10-20x over what other similar services do, to the point where almost every app has released some kind of statement that indicates these changes will kill their apps. I could link to more statements like that, but you get the idea.
Before you ask “why can’t they just run ads to offset those costs”, Reddit has already decided this will not be an option for third party apps. One thing to be aware of as well is that even if a third party app manages to survive July 1st through a subscription based model alone, those apps will not have all the same content as the Official App. Namely, despite paying for the privilege of having a choice, NSFW content will be unavailable and invisible to those users.
If you’re thinking "well, I'm fine, I only use the mobile website via my chosen mobile browser" (chrome, mozilla, etc), you should be aware that Reddit has already been testing functions which eliminate mobile web browsing, and there is no guarantee that your preferred method of using Reddit won’t be next.
Limiting user choice, charging exorbitant and predatory fees, and refusing to communicate, are all significant problems that the BoRU team takes issue with. However, the one we find most egregious is what this change will do to members of Reddit’s blind community.
How are blind Redditors impacted by this decision? In short, Reddit’s Official Apps leave a lot to be desired at best, and are barely functional at worst. The app on iOS has incorrectly labeled controls, doesn’t always work with swipe, and not all functions can be accessed. For blind moderators, it can be difficult to impossible to find the moderation functions necessary to moderate, and customizing layouts to better suit their needs or make the app easier to navigate is similarly difficult to impossible. Third party apps have addressed many of these types of issues because Reddit won’t, giving these underserved communities a voice that Reddit seems to have no problem taking away.
You might ask yourself how blind users navigated Reddit before there were apps, and the answer is that it didn’t always used to be this way, but it has certainly always had accessibility issues. In fact, discussions about accessibility have been going on for months, if not years. Just a few months ago, Reddit received a free consultation to make their mobile layout more accessible. Reddit did not follow up privately or publicly until the protest’s momentum started to build. Even after numerous, far more recent interactions with the Admin, there seems to be little progress or commitment concerning these issues. This type of interaction is exactly why we the BoRU mod team feel that Reddit is not making accessibility a priority.
Subreddits like blind are vital for the visually impaired in various stages of blindness, providing not just a source of communal support, but insights, strategies, and resources to navigate their new and changing lives. In the wake of Reddit's changes, subreddits like blind will be forced to go dark, leaving an already overlooked group without the invaluable support they both need and deserve.
These changes will also significantly impact volunteer run support subreddits such as transcribersofreddit and descriptionplease, which serve to allow visually impaired Redditors to read text images, and receive descriptions of visual content such as videos and images. These volunteers are indispensable to the blind community, because Reddit is the only social media website with no support for alternative text. As visually impaired Redditors are forced to use an app that is not designed with accessibility in mind, these communities will shrink, wither, and may cease to exist. (See this video for more details on this subject).
For many of us, third party apps are a choice or a preference, but they are an absolute necessity for the visually impaired. The homeswap team is of the opinion that pricing these apps out of existence before their own app is WCAG compliant is nothing short of passive discrimination.
The mod (there is just the one of me...) homeswap , and many others, feel that July 1st is an unrealistic timeline to make all the changes necessary to make their App accessible. At this point, the only reasonable course of action is for Reddit to publish a public list of key results that they are committed to addressing, and guarantee that third party functionality will be left unchanged until they do.
Here at homeswap we take steps to try and ensure our content is accessible. We ask our contributors to provide image descriptions and to transcribe text images. Sometimes transcribing those text images can take significant time, especially when those images are numerous multi-image text exchanges. Our OPs have never complained when we make that request, even though it is not an official requirement. We find it inexcusable that Reddit cannot do the bare minimum to ensure their visually impaired users have a voice and community. (This entire post was shamelessly stolen due to it addressing a large swath of concerns very adroitly. Please excuse some inaccuracies relating to homeswap specifically).
Frankly, disabled individuals are often expected to pay a premium for the same basic things everyone else uses and enjoys for free. Visually impaired Redditors deserve equal access, and even if third party apps survive, they will not receive it. Those users will not have access to all of the content and features that the rest of Reddit will. Remember, NSFW content will be unavailable to regular users on third party apps, and yes, disabled people like porn too!
So what does all this mean for /homeswap Some of our Mod team do use third party apps, both for casual browsing and for moderation. Others don’t. For us, this is not just about our personal preferences; it is about standing in opposition to ableism and making sure others have a voice.
We have had many comments and modmails asking about the position of the homeswap modteam (we actually haven't, please see above). We wanted to discuss these matters internally ourselves first, to make sure we were on the same page before we made any sort of announcement. Now that we have:
The mod team of /homeswap is in agreement that we should join the blackout on June 12th.
We are prepared to remain blacked out for a minimum of 48 hours. This means that no one will be able to access any homeswap content until the blackout is over. In standing up for the voices of others, however, we don’t want to strip away the voices of our community. So now we want to hear from you. If you support us in this decision, please share and upvote this post, and comment with your support.
How long will homeswap's blackout last? Pending further developments, after 48 hours we will reassess the situation, taking into account what new statements have been released, how the protest is evolving, and what our users want.
Please use the space below to provide feedback as to what this community wants. I'm all ears!

By now many of you have probably heard a lot about The Open Letter about API Pricing. Some of your favorite subreddits may have signed up to protest. I'm sure many of you might be wondering what an API is. Subreddits like explainlikeimfive have highlighted in an easy way to understand what API is and why this is change is a problem. AskHistorians have explained in detail why so many Mods are upset and, frankly, disillusioned, in the wake of the Admin announcement.
To a lot of people, the API changes are not a big deal. To try and explain why we're joining up, I've gotten permission to use this post BestofRedditorUpdates shared which helps communicate the issues at hand for us.
If you use the Official Apps and have no issue navigating it, that’s great. You may not have known that third party apps existed, or why people prefer them. If you’re wondering why people can’t just use the official app, we can acknowledge that for many users it is simply a personal preference. They’re used to it (some of us have been using them for years before there was ever an Official App) or they might simply prefer it because of the designs and features. If you’re interested in a visual representation of why so many prefer third party apps, please check this bestof comment out for a side-by-side comparison.
For many mods, the mod tool support of these third parties largely makes our jobs much easier, which keeps the communities we all love safer. On a third party app, we can accomplish in two clicks what would take the Official App five. This efficiency means we can address more problems in the community in a more timely manner.
If you’re thinking to yourself, “If these apps are making a profit, Reddit deserves a cut!” we do agree. What most take issue with is that their API is being valued at 10-20x over what other similar services do, to the point where almost every app has released some kind of statement that indicates these changes will kill their apps. I could link to more statements like that, but you get the idea.
Before you ask “why can’t they just run ads to offset those costs”, Reddit has already decided this will not be an option for third party apps. One thing to be aware of as well is that even if a third party app manages to survive July 1st through a subscription based model alone, those apps will not have all the same content as the Official App. Namely, despite paying for the privilege of having a choice, NSFW content will be unavailable and invisible to those users.
If you’re thinking "well, I'm fine, I only use the mobile website via my chosen mobile browser" (chrome, mozilla, etc), you should be aware that Reddit has already been testing functions which eliminate mobile web browsing, and there is no guarantee that your preferred method of using Reddit won’t be next.
Limiting user choice, charging exorbitant and predatory fees, and refusing to communicate, are all significant problems that the BoRU team takes issue with. However, the one we find most egregious is what this change will do to members of Reddit’s blind community.
How are blind Redditors impacted by this decision?
In short, Reddit’s Official Apps leave a lot to be desired at best, and are barely functional at worst. The app on iOS has incorrectly labeled controls, doesn’t always work with swipe, and not all functions can be accessed. For blind moderators, it can be difficult to impossible to find the moderation functions necessary to moderate, and customizing layouts to better suit their needs or make the app easier to navigate is similarly difficult to impossible. Third party apps have addressed many of these types of issues because Reddit won’t, giving these underserved communities a voice that Reddit seems to have no problem taking away.
You might ask yourself how blind users navigated Reddit before there were apps, and the answer is that it didn’t always used to be this way, but it has certainly always had accessibility issues. In fact, discussions about accessibility have been going on for months, if not years. Just a few months ago, Reddit received a free consultation to make their mobile layout more accessible. Reddit did not follow up privately or publicly until the protest’s momentum started to build. Even after numerous, far more recent interactions with the Admin, there seems to be little progress or commitment concerning these issues. This type of interaction is exactly why we the BoRU mod team feel that Reddit is not making accessibility a priority.
Subreddits like blind are vital for the visually impaired in various stages of blindness, providing not just a source of communal support, but insights, strategies, and resources to navigate their new and changing lives. In the wake of Reddit's changes, subreddits like blind will be forced to go dark, leaving an already overlooked group without the invaluable support they both need and deserve.
These changes will also significantly impact volunteer run support subreddits such as transcribersofreddit and descriptionplease, which serve to allow visually impaired Redditors to read text images, and receive descriptions of visual content such as videos and images. These volunteers are indispensable to the blind community, because Reddit is the only social media website with no support for alternative text. As visually impaired Redditors are forced to use an app that is not designed with accessibility in mind, these communities will shrink, wither, and may cease to exist. (See this video for more details on this subject).
For many of us, third party apps are a choice or a preference, but they are an absolute necessity for the visually impaired. The BoRU team is of the opinion that pricing these apps out of existence before their own app is WCAG compliant is nothing short of passive discrimination.
The mod team of BoRU, and many others, feel that July 1st is an unrealistic timeline to make all the changes necessary to make their App accessible. At this point, the only reasonable course of action is for Reddit to publish a public list of key results that they are committed to addressing, and guarantee that third party functionality will be left unchanged until they do.
Here at BoRU we take steps to try and ensure our content is accessible. We ask our contributors to provide image descriptions and to transcribe text images. Sometimes transcribing those text images can take significant time, especially when those images are numerous multi-image text exchanges. Our OPs have never complained when we make that request, even though it is not an official requirement. We find it inexcusable that Reddit cannot do the bare minimum to ensure their visually impaired users have a voice and community.
Frankly, disabled individuals are often expected to pay a premium for the same basic things everyone else uses and enjoys for free. Visually impaired Redditors deserve equal access, and even if third party apps survive, they will not receive it. Those users will not have access to all of the content and features that the rest of Reddit will. Remember, NSFW content will be unavailable to regular users on third party apps, and yes, disabled people like porn too!
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So what does this mean for us?
gradadmissions is going to stand in solidarity with the other subreddits protesting reddit's actions on the issue of how they are handling their API changes. Fundamentally for us, the issue is their determination to make things harder for users struggling with disabilities; a protest being spearheaded by blind and the fact that their actions make moderation even harder for many mods.
As a result, gradadmissions will be joining the blackout on June 12th for 48 hours. The subreddit will be private on those days, with a message explaining why we have gone private.
This means that no one will be able to access any of our content until the blackout is over.
Pending further developments, after 48 hours we will reassess the situation but gradadmissions will reopen since we recognize that this is an important resource for many and remaining indefinitely blacked out as many other subreddits might choose to do so will negatively impact those who need help and assistance.
We recognize that there will be voices both for and against this decision. And its important that even disagreement is voiced and heard. I'll be leaving this announcement post open, though it will be moderated the same as any other post in terms of the discourse that is allowed.
If you want to take your own actions but are unsure how to get news on the evolving status of the protest, check out ModCoord and Save3rdPartyApps to stay updated with the latest!

First source, her tweet chain from yesterday with her accusations.
Second source, a daily mail article about what actually happened.
Third source, a massive "defense document" she posted to wordpress that reads like horny smut.
Not-so-brief-TLDR: Back in 2017, Jones was married & an instructor at Florida State University who had an affair with a student. Seems like the student stopped the affair when she showed up at his place one day to try and pregnancy trap him. Series of events happened that had her arrested multiple times, fired from university for sleeping with a student & banned from campus. The guy also got a restraining order against her. She even got institutionalized when she threatened to use a coat hanger to force an abortion because the guy reported the self-harm threats to police. Then in July 2019 she got in trouble again for writing a 340+ page manifesto called "SurvivingGarret" that she spread around online in #MeToo circles that included nudes of the guy and their sext'ing. That got her arrested for revenge porn. She's currently on a year-long probation, and just YESTERDAY seems like she's tweeting out more false-rape accusations while fully doxing him in retaliation.
There is way too much to read, if I got anything wrong feel free to correct me anyone.

Cheers DOT folks.
The mod team has been discussing the upcoming Reddit protest all week, and as several of you have requested updates via ModMail, we thought we'd share our decision with the community. We wanted to discuss these matters internally ourselves first, to make sure we were on the same page before we made any sort of announcement.
TL/DR: DOT goes private from June 12th through 14th. Mods on vacation. Mayhem ensues.
By now I suspect most have heard about the open letter and API pricing. Even if it doesn't affect you directly, it will impact many of the ways Reddit currently functions. If you are not sure what this even is, I direct you to some folks who explain it far better than I could. In an easy way to understand, this is what API is and why this is change is a problem. AskHistorians explains in detail why so many Mods are upset, disillusioned and/or angry, in the wake of the Admin announcement.
To a lot of people, the API changes are not a big deal and might not be noticed. If you use the official app and it works for you, that’s great. You may not have known that third party apps existed, or why people prefer them. Some of our Mod team do use third party apps, both for casual browsing and for moderation. Others don’t. For us, this is not just about our personal preferences; it is about standing in opposition to ableism and making sure others have a voice.
Latest updates
If you’re thinking "These apps make a profit, so they should share some with Reddit," we absolutely agree! The issue many users have is the prices. It's near 10-20x more than similar services which means these apps will have to shut down. Apollo has been the scapegoat in some ways, but Narwhal, Relay, RIF, BaconReader, Boost and Slide have all issued statements that they are shutting down.
Before you ask “why can’t they just run ads to cover costs”, Reddit has decided this will not be an option. Even if a third party app manages to survive July 1st through a subscription based model alone, those apps will not have all the same content as the Official App. Namely, despite paying for the privilege of having a choice, NSFW content will be unavailable and invisible to those users.
WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU
Most mods use third party apps because the tools are light years better, and we're not swamped with ads. Despite the hate mail we get, us mods generally don't live in your mom's basement but have full time jobs, families and mod on our lunch breaks, after hours or other free time. We do this work because we care about the community. The switch forcing moderators to use the official app would slow down moderation and force more of the work to happen on desktop. That means your posts and comments will sit in queue unseen longer, it will take longer to get back to modmails, and harmful/illegal content or users may remain visible and unbanned for longer. In discussions with other mods, these changes will probably cripple most NSFW content on the website. On a third party app, we can accomplish in two clicks what would take the Official App five. Though Reddit has made strides in improving them, there is a long way to go. Even with uBlockOrigin and my mobile browser it's tough to mod. Plus you should be aware that Reddit has already been testing functions which eliminate mobile web browsing, and there is no guarantee that your preferred method of using Reddit won’t be next. (Where my Old Reddit fans at?)
FURTHER ISSUES
Some people cannot use the official apps. Blind users especially (but others who need accessibility features) may not be able to access Reddit have challenges. For blind moderators, it can be difficult to impossible to find the moderation functions necessary, as well any layouts customizations necessary. This is the gap third party apps have happily stepped in to fill, and lived in harmony for years this way. These changes will also significantly impact volunteer run transcription subreddits, which allow visually impaired Redditors to read text images, and receive descriptions of visual content such as videos and images. These volunteers are indispensable to the blind community, because Reddit is the only social media website with no support for alternative text (though they may be working on that). Remember, NSFW content will be unavailable to regular users on third party apps, and yes, disabled people like porn too!
(NB: as of publishing this post - there is an article out on Verge from yesterday the that says Reddit will be making exceptions in the API policy for accessibility users, but no details yet. )
For many of us third party apps are just an option, but for some they are a necessity. We are of the opinion that pricing these apps out of existence before Reddit has a solution is passive discrimination. While there is much speculation why Reddit wants to take away the voices of those who are blind, or otherwise need accessibility or transcription accommodations, the plain fact is, that flies in the face of the tolerance and anti-discrimination the mod team here has always tried to stand up against. Limiting user choice, charging exorbitant and predatory fees, and refusing to communicate, are all significant problems that the mod team here takes issue with. We quietly have worked to make the sub more accessible (and would welcome additional feedback via modmail if you have suggestions), so this is deeply disappointing to us.
SUMMARY
We are prepared to remain blacked out for a minimum of 48 hours. This means that no one will be able to access any DOT content until the blackout is over. In standing up for the voices of others, however, we don’t want to strip away the voices of our community. So now we want to hear from you. If you support us in this decision, please share and upvote this post, and comment with your support.

No matter how many times this comes to mind, it always astounds me. Because of two low IQ narcissists that engaged in unprotected sex, I have to be a life-long slave of a capitalistic dystopia. Being caged inside of a body I didn't ask for, and being shallowly judged for it by other humans. Going through psychological and physical agony. Forced to compete in a rat race while receiving superficial judgement from everyone. Brainwashed by the same narcissists to believe in a made-up religion, and being threatened with hell if I don't subscribe to that nonsense. List just goes on and on.
The only nice thing about this place is that it has entertainment options that allow me to escape and delve into a more interesting world. Whether it be video games, movies, manga, shows, etc. When I engage in any of these activities, I become so engrossed that I lose sight of my own existence and feel as though I'm living in that world. But of course, these things can only distract you for so long, until you're reminded of the deplorable reality you're living in. I currently only use Reddit to post on this site when I'm not currently immersed in a work of fiction. I just find it ironic how the only good thing about this existence is having the ability of escaping from it via escapism.
People that talk as if escapism is a bad thing are liars, and they're living in the matrix. Keep playing your video games, keep jerking off, keep smoking weed, and keep watching porn. This society already took 10+ years of your life forcing you into prison-like institutions, learning useless crap that wont be relevant to your wage slave job. You'll then go on to be a slave, working a 9 to 5 for several decades. That's quite a boring, uneventful, and joke of an existence, and obviously nowhere near as interesting as the world of video games.

Discord.gg/dime

Effective July 1st, Reddit is implementing changes to their third-party API services that will effectively kill off all third-party apps and many external tools that Reddit users and moderators have come to rely on.
We won't rehash points that many of you have already been reading about — details of the changes and the discussion surrounding them can be found on the announcement post here, and the initial response on /modcoord: https://www.reddit.com/ModCoord/comments/13xh1e7/an_open_letter_on_the_state_of_affairs_regarding
Instead, we'll just briefly talk about why we consider this important, and what it means for you, the average Reddit user:

Third-party Reddit apps are going away

If you make use of a third-party app to browse Reddit, such as Apollo, RIF, BaconReader, or Narwhal, those apps are going to stop working on July 1st of this year.
Reddit have implemented enterprise-level pricing for their API that they state is intended for third-party apps, however the pricing model they've released is unconscionably high, nearly twenty times what it's believed their API services actually cost to operate. The developer of the Apollo app expects that keeping their app running would cost upwards of twenty million dollars a year, and will no longer be able to offer their app. Effectively, this change is an elimination of third-party apps in everything but name. The developers of RIF and Narwhal also expect they will be forced to shut down their apps.

Reddit content is about to become worse

Many subreddits make use of third-party tools to support their community, including custom browser extensions, bots, and archival services. Many of these services are likely to stop working, robbing communities of tools they have come to rely on to manage their content. The Pushshift API, which powered sites like Reveddit, has already ceased functioning. Many more tools are expected to cease working after this change goes into effect. We can surely expect the legacy old.reddit.com to be next on the chopping block — the mobile browser site, i.reddit.com, has already been removed.
That means that you, the user, can expect to see more spam, more FUD, more trolls, more stolen content, and more reposts in your communities.
The mod tools offered by the default app and website also pale in comparison to what's offered by third-party apps and plugins. This means that communities can expect less moderation, worse moderation, and less transparency after these changes go into effect.

Reddit content is about to become less safe

In addition to the pricing model, Reddit is blocking the display of NSFW content in third-party apps. That means that even if the app developers find a way to keep their apps running, your beloved porn is going away.
This also means that anyone viewing a user profile via a third-party app will be unable to view post histories on NSFW subreddits. Many communities serving underage users take steps to prevent posting by individuals with NSFW posting histories; the ability to do this outside of the official Reddit app is about to be crippled.
In short, this means more OnlyFans spam, and more porn directed at kids.

Reddit is about to become less accessible

Accessibility tools like screen readers simply do not work on New Reddit and the official iOS Reddit app. This change will effectively exile the Blind community from Reddit overnight. Read more about this here.

So what are we doing?

We're joining hundreds of other subreddits to raise visibility on this issue and try to encourage them to allow third party apps to continue to exist. Reddit requires its user's content in order to survive — if we stop posting, Reddit stops making money.
To that end, /TalesFromThePharmacy be joining hundreds of other subreddits in a Reddit-wide blackout. On June 12th, 2023, participating communities will set their subreddits to private in protest of these changes, depriving Reddit of the content and traffic it needs to survive. The intent is to force Reddit to reconsider these changes and come to a reasonable compromise with app developers — who have stated they are willing to pay reasonable API costs — so that we can ensure that Reddit stays as safe and accessible as possible.
This isn't a decision we're undertaking lightly, but we believe that we do have the capacity to force change here, and we'd be remiss as members of this community to not take the few steps we can to attempt to ensure a better and safer Reddit experience for everyone.
Read more about the issues here:
https://www.reddit.com/Save3rdPartyApps/comments/13yh0jf/dont_let_reddit_kill_3rd_party_apps/
https://www.reddit.com/apolloapp/comments/13ws4w3/had_a_call_with_reddit_to_discuss_pricing_bad/
https://www.reddit.com/redditisfun/comments/13wxepd/rif_dev_here_reddits_api_changes_will_likely_kill/
https://www.reddit.com/getnarwhal/comments/13wv038/reddit_have_quoted_the_apollo_devs_a_ridiculous/jmdqtyt/
https://www.reddit.com/ModCoord/comments/1401qw5/incomplete_and_growing_list_of_participating/