June 27, 2023
A group of Reddit volunteers, r/TranscribersOfReddit, responsible for transcribing material from other subreddits, is ceasing operations on June 30th, owing to changes to the company’s API.
According to Rebekah Ginsburg, a Transcribers Of Reddit moderator, the goal was to give some interim fixes for missing accessibility elements on Reddit, such as alt text, while pleading with the corporation to solve such “inadequacies.” Ginsburg added that the API changes and the company’s lack of commitment to accessibility made it “impossible” for the team to continue the project.
Reddit has said it will exempt some third-party accessibility apps from having to pay for API access, but members of the r/TranscribersOfReddit community say these apps don’t have the same moderation functions that are needed by blind and visually impaired users.
Reddit is pressing ahead with its new API policy, despite the backlash from the community. The company has said that it is “exploring a number of things” related to accessibility, but it’s unclear what these changes will entail.
The sources for this piece include an article in Engadget.
