Find it hilarious how perfectly this solution solves all of the problems reddit spoke about.
Reddit not profitable enough? Not enough premium subs? Third party app users can't view ads? Api use is too high and you're not making money off of it? Making premium a prerequisite for third party app use hits all 4 birds with one stone lol.
Not even "fair pricing", because no one can know what is truly fair unless they have access to the P&L statements. Maybe this pricing really is based on the lost opportunity cost Reddit is paying as a result of third-party apps -- we honestly don't and can't know for sure, even if it seems completely absurd.
The devs and users of the site were lied to. Repeatedly. We were told one thing while the C-suite planned something else. We were gaslit and lied to about timelines, pricing, and intentions, and more. We were told our opinions are just worthless noise and that the only goal of the site is profit, not community.
It's our job to believe they don't want us, at this point, no matter how much they do or do not backtrack in the coming days, weeks, and months.
It's absolutely a fuck you price, reddit doesn't want the press of saying they wan't rid of 3rd party apps. But they're trying to do it anyways. IDK why though, because it's nakedly obvious to even people not involved in reddit.