Hundreds of subreddits of all sizes and topics, including major ones, will go temporarily dark starting June 12 to protest changes to Reddit's API that will make it virtually impossible for third-party apps to operate.

Reddit first announced plans for a new developer agreement in April, saying that the 2008 release of its data API, which has enabled the creation of "thousands of great applications," including moderation tools and bots of various kinds, was about to change. Chris Slowe, Reddit's Chief Technology Officer, said, "Broad access to data has an impact, and as a platform with one of the largest corpora of online human conversations over the past 18 years, we owe it to the community to be responsible stewards of this content. We have an obligation to be stewards of this content," he wrote.

As part of the updated terms, Reddit said it will begin limiting fees for access to its free data API and launching a "premium access point" for developers who want "additional features, higher usage limits, and broader usage rights." The new data API and developer terms were to be released on June 19.

Details of the new fee limits were shared last week: applications that use OAuth for authentication will be allowed 100 queries per minute; applications that do not use OAuth will be capped at 10 queries per minute. Large applications will need to move to the "enterprise" access tier starting July 1; Reddit has already "contacted the most influential large applications to adjust their access conditions."

The terms proved to be onerous: Christian Selig, creator of the popular Apollo client for iOS devices, said he was told that 50 million API requests would cost $12,000; to keep Apollo running to keep Apollo running would cost about $20 million per year.

"We are deeply disappointed with this price, and Reddit has repeatedly reiterated that a) it is reasonable and based on reality, and b) it will not operate like Twitter," Selig wrote. 'Twitter's pricing was derided by the public as an outrageous $42,000 for 50 million tweets; Reddit is still at $12,000.' For reference, I pay Imgur (a site similar to Reddit in user base and media) $166 for the same 50 million API calls.

"Reddit remained communicative and courteous throughout this process, through half a dozen phone calls, which I thought went really well, but I don't think this pricing is based on reality or even remotely reasonable. Needless to say, I don't have that much money and don't know how to charge it to my credit card. I will have to give this some thought. I asked Reddit if there is any flexibility in this pricing or not, and he said, "No, I understand that this is the pricing.

Selig is not alone: developers of other popular Reddit apps are in a similar situation, he told Vice: "We were expecting something bad, but when we saw [the pricing] we thought, 'This must be a joke.'"

The r/Blind subreddit shared similar concerns, saying that many of its members are visually impaired and "depend on these third-party apps to keep this community a safe, fun, and productive place." Like Selig, the moderators also noted Reddit's inflexibility.

"We who are blind are not ignorant of the need for collective action," the r/Blind moderator team wrote. From the protests that got the ADA passed in the U.S. to the global protests promoting accessibility of the Internet's largest websites, collective action has been a step our community has taken in the past, often with some success. It is with a heavy heart that we now come to you and say that it is time to once again take this tool out of the toolbox.

"In solidarity with the thousands of other subreddits affected by this change, we are closing the /r/Blind subreddit for 48 hours from June 12 to June 14. You will not be able to view or post during this time. Our Discord server will remain open, so if you would like to interact with the /r/Blind community, please join us there."

Blind is, in fact, one of the smaller subreddits participating in the protest. According to this "incomplete and growing list of participating subreddits," the Aww, Music, and Pics subreddits (each with over 30 million registered users) are also participating in the action, as are EarthPorn, LifeProTips, explorelikeimfive, videos, tifu, to niche subreddits like AssholeDesign, retrogames, idiotsinplanes, freesoftware, and HardwareSwapUK, with hundreds more participating. Many subreddits with adult content are also included in this list, as changes to the data API will also restrict access to sexual content by third-party apps.

There are some differences in the actions being taken by the various subreddits. Most seem to be opting for a 48-hour blackout period, but some are doing it for shorter spans of 12 or 24 hours, while others are taking a wait-and-see approach: for example, the pcgaming subreddit is doing a 48-hour blackout on June 13, the Xbox Extended Showcase, which means the subreddit will be closed to the public during the Showcase, and they are asking for user feedback on their decision.

What might happen after the first round of protests remains to be seen: for example, the Videos subreddit has stated that it will use "community and buzz" as "a tool for further action" if the protest period ends without any change.

Of course, all of this was predictable. As Selig said, Twitter has faced widespread ridicule for its high API pricing structure, and it is not at all surprising that the Reddit maneuver provoked a similar reaction. 'We all understood that Twitter's API pricing hurdles were comically high,' he said. 'We thought as long as Reddit didn't come close to it, we'd be fine. But they came right up to it. Everyone I talked to got whiplash."

Reddit still seems unwilling to change course: a representative told Vice that after speaking with developers after the API changes were first announced, "our stance on third-party apps has not changed."

"Reddit data for commercial use must comply with the updated API Terms of Service and Premium Access Program," the rep said." Our past terms and conditions had long-standing policies that outlined commercial and non-commercial use, but unfortunately some of those agreements were not being followed, so we reached out to selected organizations to clarify the terms and work with them on compliance and paid premium access tiers ."