I am relatively new to using Reddit. Before I had an actual account, I still sought out Reddit threads because I thought that its users had valuable information that I couldn’t get at other places. As someone who does various fiber arts crafts, I found Reddit to be a wealth of information, with many users explaining different and new techniques. One of my biggest faults is that I’m incredibly impatient, therefore I’d much rather read a reddit comment about how to change colors while crocheting than watch a 3-minute-long video. However, you can only see so much without an actual account.

 So, I bit the bullet and created an account, just before the Reddit Blackout of 2023. I was barely getting used to the site before the subreddits I had become so attached to went dark. As a new user, I had no idea of all the different apps that people were using to be able to access their favorite forums. Reddit had announced that third-party apps would have to pay for their data.

Why is this an issue?

It’s an issue because third-party apps are essential for many users to be able to access Reddit. Many disabled users turn to other apps to access the site because they offer better accessibility than Reddit’s app. If third-party apps must pay for data, it would potentially end them or require users to pay for those additional apps, which would severely limit access to disable folk.

Additionally, moderators use third-party apps to more easily monitor their subreddits. Moderators are volunteers, many of whom would not have the time or ability to moderate without the help of third-party apps. Without them, subreddits would not have the structure that we’ve grown accustomed to.

And thus, we have the blackout.

The blackout was an online form of protest, users opted out of posting online to prevent the company from generating income. Unfortunately, it wasn’t entirely successful. Many third-party developers were forced to shut down. Although Reddit did commit to not charging third-party developers for their accessibility tools.

However, this blackout asks the question: Who owns our conversation?

I follow subreddits such as r/crochet and r/embroidery, I love seeing all the creativity of the users, sharing the most creative and interesting pieces of art. However, I also follow many subreddits about books. Although this blog is centered around digital media literacy, I’m an English major at ASU with a passion for literature.

I frequently visit subreddits such as r/52book , r/suggestmeabook, and r/bookclub, but I also search through a many other literature based subreddits. I love discussing books and delving deep into hidden meanings and other things that could have been missed. I also visit them quite frequently when I’m reading a required text for a class. I frequently visit these sites to remind me things that happened in a book, or to find something that I may have missed. Being that my school is online, I find that these discussions simulate those I miss in the classroom.

But do these discussions belong to the users or the hosting website?

Theoretically, I don’t believe that anyone can “own” your discussions. Although they may be physical (in a sense that they are written down), they’re still our ideas and thoughts. Discussions are more than just written words, it’s a conversation you have with others. It’s an experience, and nobody can own your experience. Even if a website “owns” your discussions, they don’t own the experience you had and what you learned, nobody can take that away from us.