Seems like putting out a public statement downplaying the situation like this is just going to encourage further protest.

Edit: just realized it was addressed to employees, but he had to know it would become public.

I do miss the niche communities and educational ones on Reddit, but Lemmy is great so far.

I hope this response further pisses off the subs who decided to do a fixed time blackout. The user base cannot be taken for granted. Reddit is only good as the content and the creators along with the mods.

I am sorry to say this, but please be mindful of wearing Reddit gear in public. Some folks are really upset, and we don’t want you to be the object of their frustrations.

meaning: the users are our enemy and they hate us....

No Steve, we just hate management, that's who better not wear reddit gear in public... Not the rank and file who don't make the braindead decisions that kill platforms.

Well he threw us the gauntlet. Let's pick it up.

Reddit is going to be a ghost town in a few months at this rate. If they wanted to push the website and app so hard, why not just make using a client a premium feature and charge for it? Give the users the option. Instead they had to go the worst route possible with this.

Here's the source article from The Verge

"In an internal memo sent Monday afternoon to Reddit staff, CEO Steve Huffman addressed the recent blowback directed at the company, telling employees to block out the “noise” and that the ongoing blackout of thousands of subreddits will eventually pass.

The memo, a copy of which was obtained by The Verge, is in response to popular subreddits going dark this week in protest of the company’s increased API pricing for third-party apps. Some of the most popular Reddit clients say the bill for keeping their apps up and running could cost them millions of dollars a year. More than 8,000 Reddit communities have gone dark in protest, and while many plan to open up again on Wednesday, some have said they’ll stay private indefinitely until Reddit makes changes..."

An anagram for Steven Huffman is ‘Tuff Shaven Men’.

Imagine trying to fight the internet...

So tone deaf

I don't think anyone would care about someone wearing reddit gear but who the hell was doing that in the first place?

I am sorry to say this, but please be mindful of wearing Reddit gear in public.

Lol, good ole fearmongering. Also,

The only long term solution is improving our product

Loading shit with ads is hardly improving it. I mean it will make you more money, and thats all that matters under this shitty system of ours, but thats still not improving.