Joey for Reddit went down today
It was one of those few 3rd party Apps that still worked. Apparently dev was in talks with Reddit in obtaining Paid-API-Access, but now they cut off his API-Access mid talks without informing him
Another sign Reddit was never interested in having third party apps at all. They want all mobile traffic through their own app.
Which would be fine at all, you know. It's their platform and their servers, and they can do what they want.
Except for the fact that the official app is several orders of magnitude more primitive, inefficient and uncomfortable to use. Even more so for Android than for iOS
Who gives that platform value? Who fills it with content for them to profit off of? Who moderates it for them, for free?
Users.
And they should be able to interact with the site they built up however the hell they please.
I used the Android app for a long while before I found out there were 3rd party apps. By the time I tried them I was so used to the horrible Reddit app I Just stuck with it. My biggest gripe with it was that they would make huge sweeping changes that changed how the app worked with no warning, no way to go back, and you Just had to change the way you browsed.
Then when I switched to an iPhone every time I tabbed out of the app (to read a link or whatever) then went back into Reddit the app would scroll me all the way to the top of whatever feed I was reading at the time.
I would literally be fine with scrolling past some ads if the shit worked. Their app (and the god awful redesigned site, always used the old.reddit when on a PC) was just so freaking bad. Like I'll tolerate some corporate bullshit and ads if IT WORKS WELL. You can't make me consume ads to use a broken half functional product.
Dystopia for Reddit seems like it has the best staying power since it serves an accessibility need that the bloated official app can’t. I’m down to that and Old Reddit. If they kill off both, I’m probably done.
Their mobile site is far superior to their app still. Especially when you switch it to the classic style. If only res worked on a mobile browser it would be perfect.
I absolutely hate their mobile site. It's nothing compared to the mobile oriented experience I got from Sync.
Exactly. They are trying to monetize everyone they can before their IPO. They don't admit it, but we all know the truth.
Ah yes another prime example of them working with those who were willing to work with them. That's what they said, right?
Unfortunate but predictable. Reddit and u/spez have decided that third-party apps are going to die, and nothing is going to stop them. The "talks" they were offering to interested devs were always just a show, as this clearly demonstrates.
Seems like you can’t trust a guy who edits user comments behind the scenes and lies about being extorted.
How fucking shitty. It just proves that everything spez said about negotiating with developers in good faith was bullshit.
You're right but the leaked conversations between Reddit and RIF pretty much confirmed that for us months ago. Spez had zero intention of allowing 3rd party apps to exist. Next on the chopping block, old.reddit.com
Fuck u/spez
mlmym.org acts like oldreddit, someone linked it further down in the comments, and it's changed my world.
https://github.com/rystaf/mlmym or those that want to self-host
I deleted all 3 of my accounts after joey went offline. It was my all time favorite reddit app. I hope that there's a mass exodus going on at reddit while the apps shut down.
That goes to show it was never about gettimg paid to use the AI, it was just to shut down all 3rd party apps. Even those who wnated to cooperate
Yeah! "We can't just give away stuff for free blah blah blah." They just don't want 3rd party apps.
It's funny how many users only used Reddit because of their favorite app
There are a few staying like narwhal. Really strange to cut off access during negotiations but reddit is a dumpster fire so no surprise
My prediction: Reddit is moving toward a YouTube-esque format.
They are going to monetize by allowing creators to make money from their content. This is why they're getting rid of awards. Of course, they'll take a cut which is probably why they're going toward this model.
They have also been moving toward more detailed, identifiable profiles as well.
They're trying to make the new social media.
This is the problem of starting internet businesses without monetisation planning. They start by doing whatever gains users, and then when they want to be profitable they must try to change whilst holding on to the users.
The exact opposite to how businesses ought to be grown.
Nah.
Killing comments and make a subscription-based visibility booster for them and posts seems more like what they want.
That would be an extremely interesting turn of events, and one much better than I personally imagined, to be honest.
I don't agree personally, but I think I understand your thought process.
My issue with them changing this up so much is that we already have YouTube and TikTok. We have ways for creators to make money.
Involving money makes Reddit far less likely to be a discussion forum where people have higher-quality discussions based largely on intellectual curiosity. You didn't post to make a dollar, you posted because you wanted to and because you had a desire to share something you know.
There was always room for memes and jokes, of course. There was room for gaming and funny cat videos too. But those were extras for a community that was (long ago) built on being nerdy, tech savvy, interested in science, politically progressive, anti-religious, etc.
Reddit has been drifting away from that for a very long time unfortunately. But this will be the final nail in the coffin.
Wait, they’re wiping awards completely? That’d be the best thing they’ve done if it wasn’t purely for greed
That's why I'm here. Fuck Reddit.
Fuck u/spez!
Ditto, exactly why I deleted my account on reddit after tagging spez in a post calling him a cunt
Same here, man. Same here.
same here. fuck reddit
So sad. I'm here because of that. Hopefully this community grows fast.
Me, too. Still trying to figure out lemmy.
what are you having a hard time with? Maybe somebody can help?
How can we help? I'm glad to share some knowledge if anything doesn't make sense.
vger.app is great
Welcome. Fuck reddit, don't look back. Discussions here are better anyway.
I'm in the same boat, also hoping the community can grow fast as more 3rd party apps shut down!
Wow, this is very cool, we're literally seeing waves of migration. I'm here because Sync for reddit went down and seeing spez's rat face made me sick of using Reddit. Sync for Lemmy ftw.
For me it was Apollo. Still shocking that reddit just shut down Joey's API access in the middle of talks. What a despicable company they have become.
I really hope he's able to migrate his app to Lemmy and continue to make a living. I would happily pay again.
Truly. Joey was so damn good. Honestly I would've paid 20 bucks monthly to keep using it.
I hope so too. I also paid for the original app. I signed up for updates on future apps from him, so it seems he's thinking of something.
Man Reddit is really all in on the “any PR is good PR”.
I'm here because Joey went down too. I stayed as long as Joey worked but I won't use the reddit app. I hope they can pivot to creating something for Lemmy.
I'm in exactly the same shoes... stayed on Reddit as long as Joey was working, now... goodbye.
Still use it for info, but won't download the main app. Hated it so much that I had to find something better and was so happy with Joey. I can't go back.
This current Lemmy app I'm using (LiftOff) seems to be good for now, but looking for something better.
I switched when NSFW stopped working in Joey... Gotta respect my priorities.
Fair enough lol
Same here. I actually had just posted to Lemmy that I was still browsing reddit through Joey but then checked and got the message it had veen shut down
RIP Joey
Wow, RIP. One of the few apps I actually paid for 💔
Man, Joey was my favorite one for sure
I loved Joey, definitely one of the best. Rip in peace buddy, Here hoping that the developer brings their talent to Lemmy.
Gutted about this... thought was just a technical issue yesterday then got the message today directing me to Lemmy so here I am. Reddit is an asshat.
RiF migrant here. Howdy, y'all! Pull up a chair.
Joey refugee here. I was registered via vlemmy but that died too so I've been ousted from two things I like this week.
What happened to vlemmy?
Nobody knows, they just went dark.
Finally started using lemmy after Joeys API was cut off.
Welcome to the threadiverse, friend
And this is why I came here today. Bye, Joey!
I tried all the reddit apps I got aware of and Joey was just miles ahead of the pack.
There have been so many customization settings, custom themes, well-impoemented navigation features like skipping posts/comments with the volume keys of the phone etc.
I'm currently using 8 apps for Lemmy and none of them seems even close (yes, I know these are mostly alpha releases).
I really hope the joey dev creates a Lemmy client.
It's wild that to me that the app dev made money from essentially being a web scrapper. No one should be makingoney off us posting memes lol 😂
Joey was one of the best, free Reddit apps for Android. It's a shame they did him in anyway even though he tried to cooperate. Between just using a browser for Lemmy and using the official Reddit app (which is slow, laggy, and has ads), I'd stick to the browser.
I tried getting the browser to work, cuz ya the app is hot garbage between the ads and awful notifications. Even using the browser it was unusable. Gave up after ten minutes of trying to just sign in or browse the front page till I came here.
Hopefully the Joey Dev opens someone similar for lemmy!
I wonder if "upcomming apps" means Fediverse!
it's sad Joey was a great app.
That's why I'm here now
Me too bro..
Here here
Joey was my go to reddit app, and I'm really sad to read about the developer stressing out. They seemed pretty cool, so it sucks that reddit is doing this to them.
I'm here because Joey got shutdown. It was a great app!
Welcome to all the new users in this thread!
I've personally sent Joey developer the email suggesting Joey for Lemmy. 🫶
I did too... Yet no response. He even did a survey and I suggested again he should port Joey to Lemmy and I'll buy again. But it seems he wanted to stay in the Reddit bullshit. Let's hope he will come to Lemmy.
Let us know if you get a response. Please.
I don't wanna be mean to the guy who effectively just lost his job but like, come on bro. Reddit wasn't exactly hiding their negative intentions, outright lies, and lack of respect.
He said it's his only source of income, so he's probably been busy trying to gain as much time as he could from Reddit while simultaneously trying to work out his finances and such. And if Reddit was still talking to him, it's like dangling a carrot. The dev had some hope before the rug was swept out from under him.
I'm here because Joey was shut down, I refuse to get the reddit app.
Same. Haven't looked back since the day I lost Joey.
I was using Joey, which died last night - Always said I would leave as soon as my apps i liked didnt work so I made one last post calling spez a cunt then deleted, here i am!
this is so fucked up
And here I am. Finally migrated and newly registered.
Hello
Former joey user I left reddit as soon as the API changes where public, I wanted to dev to pivot joey for Lemmy among other that said the same on the subreddit but never got any response. rip.
I was so stoked that thinking that maybe Joey wouldn't go down, it's been my most used phone app for years. Trying to force myself to love lemmy, just wish there was an app that allows swiping from one post to the next
Connect for Lemmy has you covered. If you're on Android.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kuroneko.lemmy_connect
Else, you can try WefWef.app which also worked really well as a web app. It has gesture support.
If your on Android the connect for Lemmy app allows this. Though it is in experimental mode right now but it works well for me
Is there any way to get something resembling Joey in Lemmy? Best-rated app in Play Store is Connect, and, well, I miss Joey. 😩
RIP Joey,
Downloaded it back in 2017, promptly forgot my password, and now the only I'd access my account is gone, I guess this is a goodbye to Reddit and a hello to Lemmy.
Wow, reddit reaching new levels of suck right here.
I used Joey for few years. I expected that it will end after API changes, but it's still sad. I wonder what another project will be about, I signed to newsletter. I guess, it's time to move to Lemmy more than I did
Narwhal on IOS is still going I just keep it to see how long it lasts zero chance I get the official app.
I deleted Narhwal even though it wasn’t cut off from the API because I had no intention of using the developer’s proposed subscription model that was supposed to come at some point in the future. Uncertainty about the pricing etc., made it feel like I had Damocles’ sword over my head. Rather just rip off the bandaid and move on. Plus no more porn (if I’m being honest).
How hard it is to replace the backend while keeping the experience the same?
Depends on how the code was written, it can vary between "a few days of work" and "it's easier to write a new one"
Depends on how the app is written, really. If it's written using good abstractions and adhering to so-called SOLID, it should be fairly easy.
This is why I'm here RIP Joey.
It still works fine if you moderate a subreddit. If you make yourself a private subreddit and mark it NSFW, you can both use the app and the API will let you see NSFW content.
Have you actually tried this? I used to moderate a sub of about 700 people. I don't have access now. Perhaps it's only if you moderate bigger subs?
Of course I've tried it, that's how I know it works. I was just using it 5 minutes ago. I don't think it's going to matter if you used to moderate a subreddit, you need to currently moderate a subreddit. I literally moderate an empty sub I made in like the last two days, who I'm the only subscriber to.
Realised this when I tried to use the app today morning. Sad! Wish they would make a lemmy app.
Such a shame... time for me to give Lemmy a go.
Sad but expected. It was my reddit app of choice while it lasted.
That's also why I am here.
On one side, I thanks reddit for getting my time back !
Very sad to see this. ... and why I am right here right now.
Yep, and here I am. Joey come to lemmy!!!