What happened to NBA Subreddit? Community shares reason behind indefinite closure

The NBA subreddit has blacked out as part of an ongoing protest against third-party app charges. Reddit intends to monetize the data available on the app. The new changes in the site's API are also under scrutiny with moderators unable to work on the app like they did before. The change also allows other companies to use Reddit data in their products.

The protest will reportedly start on June 12. Some communities may keep their pages blacked out for 48 hours, while others plan on permanently shutting down if the issue isn't resolved. Here's what one of the group statements from various moderators on the platform said about this (h/t The Guardian):

"On June 12th, many subreddits will be going dark to protest this policy. Some will return after 48 hours: others will go away permanently unless the issue is adequately addressed, since many moderators aren’t able to put in the work they do with the poor tools available through the official app.

"This isn’t something any of us do lightly: we do what we do because we love Reddit, and we truly believe this change will make it impossible to keep doing what we love."

In an interview with the New York Times in April, Reddit's founder and chief executive, Steve Huffman, laid out his reasons to make the changes, saying:

“The Reddit corpus of data is really valuable. But we don’t need to give all of that value to some of the largest companies in the world for free.”

Huffman was talking about AI companies extracting large amounts of information from Reddit hassle-free.

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NBA Subreddit's absence could be huge with Game 5 of finals on June 12

On the first day of the protests from Reddit communities, the NBA Finals Game 5 will also take place. With the NBA Subreddit joining the protests, fans won't have access to finals-related information via Reddit.

It will significantly impact fans considering this is a closeout opportunity for the Denver Nuggets. They are up 3-1 against the Miami Heat. With Game 5 at home, they will have an ideal opportunity to win this contest and the 2023 championship.

The NBA subreddit has been a great platform for fans to discuss threads and exchange information, so the blackout coming on the same day is a huge blow.