Transcribers of Reddit, who transcribe images for blind users, is closing on 30th June 2023, due to API changes

https://www.reddit.com/r/TranscribersOfReddit/comments/14ggf8k/the_future_of_transcribers_of_reddit/

created by And_be_one_traveler on 23/06/2023 at 11:52 UTC

3501 upvotes, 33 top-level comments (showing 25)

Comments

Comment by Itsthejoker at 23/06/2023 at 15:42 UTC

1449 upvotes, 9 direct replies

Hey, head mod of TranscribersOfReddit here. It's kinda buried in the thread, but I wanted to make a top level comment and let folks know I wrote out some additional thoughts on the decision and our stance here: https://www.reddit.com/r/SubredditDrama/comments/14gwkk2/transcribers_of_reddit_who_transcribe_images_for/jp86o6t/?context=3

Comment by [deleted] at 23/06/2023 at 16:30 UTC

247 upvotes, 4 direct replies

[deleted]

Comment by AstronautStar4 at 23/06/2023 at 12:31 UTC

1162 upvotes, 24 direct replies

The announced changes to the API structure starting July 1st would likely make it more difficult, though not impossible, for Transcribers of Reddit to function.

The more I learn about the API changes the more I think the admins did it without thinking for more than 10 seconds.

Comment by Anonim97 at 23/06/2023 at 16:12 UTC

136 upvotes, 1 direct replies

Damn. That sucks, these folks were doing amazing job.

Comment by AltitudeTheLatias at 23/06/2023 at 12:34 UTC

245 upvotes, 1 direct replies

Well, Curatedtumblr is screwed then. They transcribe every post

Comment by KvotheLightningTree at 23/06/2023 at 13:19 UTC

338 upvotes, 3 direct replies

That took a lot of class, reddit. Way to take those blind folk down a peg.

Comment by StartsStupidFights at 23/06/2023 at 17:35 UTC

55 upvotes, 0 direct replies

I briefly did ToR on another account a couple years ago (roughly one or two hundred transcriptions). One of the tools some people used was basically a stripped down third party Reddit client with many quality of life features that make it easier to do more transcriptions faster.

Comment by [deleted] at 23/06/2023 at 15:03 UTC

237 upvotes, 4 direct replies

Another hard earned victory for the anti-disabled. I'm sure this thread will be full of support just like the last one.

Comment by [deleted] at 23/06/2023 at 20:25 UTC

15 upvotes, 1 direct replies

😢 This sucks

Comment by InflationMaterial at 23/06/2023 at 18:28 UTC

11 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Comment by Bladewing10 at 23/06/2023 at 14:01 UTC

118 upvotes, 1 direct replies

Spez and the admins are fucking liars and grifters. What a shithole this website has become.

Comment by strangehitman22 at 23/06/2023 at 12:08 UTC

366 upvotes, 3 direct replies

I bet no one to actually care about this and will spend this thread shitting on the mods, since that's all that happens when drama surrounding blind people's accessibility to reddit is posted

Comment by vpsj at 23/06/2023 at 18:04 UTC

21 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Aw... I did a bunch of transcribing a few years ago. Sad that it won't exist in a few days

Comment by kittenbouquet at 23/06/2023 at 21:50 UTC

25 upvotes, 1 direct replies

I know it's not the point of downvotes, but I really want to downvote this post. That news sucks so much

Comment by mrsunsfan at 23/06/2023 at 16:48 UTC

41 upvotes, 1 direct replies

Nice to see that Spez and Co show their true colors and show their hate for people with disabilities

Comment by Penta-Dunk at 23/06/2023 at 20:48 UTC

17 upvotes, 0 direct replies

This situation keeps getting worse. I browse(or used to before it went private) curatedtumblr and pretty much every post had a transcription under it which I always appreciated seeing. I can only imagine how many more blind or partially blind people will be affected by this on many other subs too. Fuck spez again

Comment by heroofcows at 23/06/2023 at 12:25 UTC

75 upvotes, 2 direct replies

I don't see any drama?

Comment by Bluecheckadmin at 23/06/2023 at 23:10 UTC*

14 upvotes, 1 direct replies

The drama with bootlickers is pretty great if anyone wants to scroll down.

Edit sorry downvoters, I mean to say "fuckheads trying to deep-throat the whole boot, if anyone wants to laugh at authoritarian mind set weirdos."

Comment by azvnza at 23/06/2023 at 17:17 UTC

13 upvotes, 1 direct replies

didnt reddit state less than 100 bots would need payment to use the API? has anyone actually assessed the costs or if this would be in the free tier?

if the subreddit is looking to build a 3rd party app later, have people thought about waiting for the shitshow to calm down, then discuss with admins for an exeception?

Comment by SchrodingersRapist at 23/06/2023 at 22:17 UTC

4 upvotes, 0 direct replies

The drama that never dies

Comment by [deleted] at 23/06/2023 at 15:04 UTC

9 upvotes, 1 direct replies

[removed]

Comment by [deleted] at 23/06/2023 at 15:22 UTC

-44 upvotes, 3 direct replies

Though I've lost most of my sympathy for the protests, I do feel bad for the blind people who're losing one of their already limited options to interact on social media.

If anyone had any serious ideas about how to oppose the changes, this would be at the head. A real issue, disproportionately hurting an already disadvantaged community, the sort of thing that people can get behind, that has genuine moral impetus, that will get attention from people outside the Reddit bubble.

Instead we have wave after wave of porn and John Oliver, in a war that is mostly between mods and admins, rather than between corporations and consumers.

Comment by qtx at 23/06/2023 at 13:32 UTC

-71 upvotes, 7 direct replies

The announced changes to the API structure starting July 1st would likely make it more difficult, though not impossible, for Transcribers of Reddit to function. Technical functioning is just one part of running a project of this size and scope; we believe it is only a matter of time until further changes truly make it impossible. In the meantime, our team would be faced with constantly increasing work to keep the project alive until we inevitably have to shut down anyway. In addition, the communities we aim to serve (including /r/Blind) are being driven away from the platform when accessible third-party apps are replaced by the inaccessible official app with only vague promises for future improvement. Add to that a lack of trust in Reddit and severe disappointment in their responses to user protests, it is ultimately not reasonable for our team to take on that workload.

tl;dr they just don't want to do it anymore and are using the protests as an excuse to stop.

Their bot falls under the free-tier to access the reddit api so nothing changes for them.

It's an absolute bullshit excuse if you ask me. They are stopping an amazing product just because some people (probably just the mods) won't be able to use their preferred mobile reddit app.

So millions of blind people who use their computer (with a BIG screen) to visit reddit are going to be left behind because of a minority who exclusively use their phone to visit reddit. Good job guys! You certainly showed us where your true alliance lies.