What’s happening to reddit 🤦🏻‍♀️

  • Potatos_are_not_friends@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    29
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    edit-2
    1 year ago
    1. Question is a common question people Google for. Potentially AI generates.
    2. Post is filled with AI bots answering to inflate user numbers.
    3. Post is used by websites to generate new content. Often by AI.
    4. AI scrapes reddit post for data, and verified it on those websites.
    5. AI ouroboros
      • Potatos_are_not_friends@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        11
        ·
        1 year ago

        You don’t need APIs to bot. APIs provide a “official” method and make it easier.

        You can automate web scrapers and bots without APIs since forever.

        • LetterboxPancake
          link
          fedilink
          Deutsch
          arrow-up
          2
          ·
          edit-2
          1 year ago

          True, but it was a selling point of the API changes if I remember correctly. Some insane fanboys attacked everyone with stupid arguments like that one when you were critical of the changes. That drove me away even faster.