On Reddit Killing RSS Support
Reddit is killing RSS support. On November 13, they are going to remove the ability to subscribe to subreddits via RSS, and their stated reason is weak, at best.
RSS – Really Simple Syndication – has existed since the early days of the Internet and is still supported by many websites. It's a hallmark of the open web – which is quickly disappearing.
This feature allows you to use an RSS reader to receive new content from supported websites all in one place. Many RSS readers have extensive features that allow you to organize and customize your feeds to your heart's content.
Reddit claims they are killing RSS support because of AI bots continually scraping their content. But they already rate-limited (limited the number of times an RSS feed could be queried from a certain IP within a certain amount of time), so it's not a matter of AI bots clogging up the traffic.
I think what this comes down to is money. Reddit has slowly been trying to monetize their users more and more, and killing RSS support gives them more control over the content on their platform. We'll probably see Reddit subscription plans, eventually.
Their recommendation to use the Discord Relay as a replacement for RSS is frustrating, too. Discord is a third party company and has its own “walled garden,” meaning there is no way to access Discord content without an account. And Discord is slowly monetizing its users more and more, as well.
Imagine eventually needing to pay for a subscription to fully access Reddit and a separate subscription to fully access Discord to have the same functionality that exists for free today.
I'm not sure if I will give in and start using the Reddit app/website more when RSS support ends, or if I will decide it's not worth the frustration.
#100DaysToOffload (No. 175) #tech #AI #internet