To those who have never got round to cultivating a Reddit habit, reports that swathes of the news aggregation, content and discussion platform have been plunged into darkness may merit nothing more than a shrug. But as one of the most visited websites in the world, its fate is significant.
The blackout is the result of a standoff between the company’s co-founder and CEO, Steve Huffman, and the volunteers who moderate much of its content via bespoke apps, which were given free access to the site in recognition that they made it easier to use. Mr Huffman recently decided that it was time to start charging for this access. But the moderators cried foul, and demonstrated their muscle by calling a 48-hour protest.
