Photo by Brett Jordan / Unsplash
Reddit's volunteer transcribers are quitting over the company's API changes. The r/TranscribersOfReddit community, which provides accessibility features like alt text and captions for media posts, will shut down on June 30. That's a day before Reddit starts charging for API access.
The group says Reddit has failed to fix core issues with the platform and has shown a clear disregard for accessibility. It also says the third-party apps that Reddit will exempt from the API fees (like RedReader, Dystopia, and Luna) are not suitable for blind and visually impaired moderators.
Reddit declined to comment on these issues. It previously said it was exploring accessibility options across its platform. But many users will soon lose a valuable service that made Reddit more inclusive.
The API changes have also sparked backlash from other third-party developers and moderators. Some popular apps are closing down, and some subreddits went private or allowed porn in protest. Reddit supposedly removed moderators from some NSFW subreddits, which it can't make money from with ads.