Reddit is bringing back r/Place, a collaborative project where individual users can edit pixels on a giant canvas.
The 2023 version of r/Place will commence on July 20th, but users are already using the announcement post to vent their frustrations. The event’s timing seems unfortunate, with a Reddit admin admitting it’s “right place, wrong time” in a short announcement video.
Previous attempts at r/Place in 2017 and 2022 resulted in mesmerizing pixel collages featuring art, country flags, memes, and video game icons. For the 2023 edition, Reddit is empowering subreddit moderators to “pin” coordinates on the canvas, potentially serving as a means for communities to channel their protest efforts.
Already, a subreddit called r/PlaceAPI, along with an accompanying Discord server, has gathered hundreds of subscribers who are preparing protest art. With tensions rising, it remains to be seen how long contributions will be accepted for this year’s r/Place, as the 2017 version ran for 72 hours and the 2022 edition spanned four days.
The timing of the announcement has been met with backlash from users, who are still angry about recent changes to the platform, such as the API pricing that forced beloved third-party apps to shut down.
The sources for this piece include an article in TheVerge.