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☆ Walmart, Amazon, and others lost millions of dollars to an organized online refund fraud scheme
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Dominick Reuter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Retailers, including Walmart and Amazon, lose millions of dollars to refund fraud schemes. AdvertisementAdvertisementA coordinated refund fraud scheme has cost online retailers like Walmart and Amazon millions, according to Federal prosecutors. If the retailer provided a no-return refund, ARG would take a percentage cut, and the customer would keep the item. Retailers like Amazon, Walmart, and Target sometimes offer no-return refunds when the cost of the return outweighs the value to the seller. 404 Media also found numerous Reddit and Telegram groups openly swapping tips on perpetrating refund fraud, with specific advice for individual retailers.

Persons: Courtwatch, —, Artemis, Kate Spade Organizations: Walmart, Amazon, Service, Media, Watch

☆ Return to Office Mandates Are Making Remote Jobs Impossible to Find
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Aki Ito | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

That's more than twice as frenzied as the rush for remote jobs at the beginning of last year. And third, there's been a dramatic slowdown in tech, the industry that supercharged the boom in remote work. The few remaining employers that continue to offer remote jobs have been overwhelmed by the surge of interest. AdvertisementAdvertisementWith so few openings, candidates for remote jobs are being forced to hustle like never before. The dream of remote work, it appears, will soon be more remote than ever.

Persons: That's, Ashlee Anderson, there's, Angel Medina hasn't, it's, he's, He's, It's, Medina, Atlassian, —, Barbara Matthews, Lisa Nielsen, Slack, they're, Matthews, Anderson, we're, Aki Ito Organizations: Cribl, Harvard, Verizon, Google, subreddits, Meta, Comcast Locations: Ohio, Cribl

☆ Welcome to the rabbit hole of agony aunt-killer subreddits, where users discuss money, love, and villainy
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Kai Xiang Teo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Today, Reddit's subreddits take center stage. But these advice subreddits might not be so different from the agony aunt advice columns of yesteryear. But beyond them is a funky constellation of subreddits where users come to pour out their innermost thoughts and burning questions. The poster wrote, "I feel like even at 28, no matter how hard I try to fit in and be nice, I somehow mess it up." AdvertisementAdvertisementTo be sure, Reddit's public advice columns are not without their detractors.

Persons: Abby, Dan Savage, Reddit's, —, Redditors, University of Tampa's David Gudelunas, Dorothy Dix, Ann Landers, Gudelunas Organizations: Morning, University of Tampa's Locations: London

☆ The Instagram Account That Shattered a California High School
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Dashka Slater | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

It had been lifted from her own Instagram account — her favorite picture from a trip to Lake Tahoe with her best friend. Compared with his sister, who had been both an academic and an athletic superstar in high school, Charles was kind of a slacker — smart enough to take advanced classes like A.P. “We’re going to figure this out,” she assured him when he finally choked out a description of the Instagram account. All things that were portrayed on the account do not actually portray my true feelings about people of color. The account had started at a chain restaurant called the Melt that was known for its grilled-cheese sandwiches.

Persons: Charles, wasn’t, ”, Charles wasn’t, “ It’s, ” Charles, “, “ We’re, Charles scrolled, Charles didn’t Locations: Tahoe, China

☆ Reddit throughout the years: Its rise to prominence, recent revolts and IPO plans
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-30 | by ( Katie Brigham | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

The price hikes have led some beloved third-party Reddit apps such as Apollo to shut down, instigating an uproar among the website's community of volunteer moderators, who often rely on third-party apps to run the site's 100,000+ discussion communities, called subreddits. But tensions remain high, and some say that if Reddit doesn't rebuild trust, its most passionate users will go elsewhere. Ohanian rejoined Reddit as executive chairman in 2014 and Huffman rejoined as CEO the next year. But it's not just tech giants who use Reddit's API. These third-party apps are largely just alternatives to Reddit's official mobile app, which didn't even exist until 2016.

Persons: Reddit, David DeWald, Alexis Ohanian, Steve Huffman, Paul Graham, Ohanian, Huffman, Y Combinator, Condé Nast, Debra Aho Williamson, George Floyd's, it's, Apollo, Jakub Porzycki Organizations: University of Virginia, Advance, Facebook, Insider Intelligence, GameStop, AMC, Google, Getty

☆ How to start an OnlyFans without followers, according to creators
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Ashley Rodriguez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Here's how to start building, promoting, and monetizing OnlyFans content, according to creators. Creators Insider spoke with said they'd found success cross-promoting their OnlyFans content on Twitter, Reddit, and TikTok, among other platforms. Subscriptions are the most basic option for creators looking to monetize their OnlyFans content. The remaining 10% of the accounts earnings comes from tips, which are another revenue stream for OnlyFans creators. See 3 examples of 'tip menus' from OnlyFans creators who shared their strategies for using them

Persons: OnlyFans, Chloe Sasha, it's, Anne, Bryce Adams —, —, Jay, Bryce Adams, Mrs, Robinson, they'd, Reddit, Farrah, Read, Morgan Edwards, Kitty K, Edwards, That's, Alanah Cole, Cole Organizations: OnlyFans, Twitter, YouTube Locations: OnlyFans

☆ Minecraft developers quit Reddit after company's controversial changes
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Hayden Field | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

In the latest blow to Reddit after its controversial billing changes, the makers of Minecraft — one of the best-selling video games of all time — have quit the platform. "Reddit management introduced changes recently that have led to rule and moderation changes across many subreddits," a tech lead at Mojang Studios, the Microsoft-owned company behind Minecraft, posted on the r/Minecraft Reddit community Tuesday. "Because of these changes, we no longer feel that Reddit is an appropriate place to post official content or refer our players to." An update to the post clarified that it is not an official policy for all of Mojang Studios, Xbox or Microsoft. The protests included the wildly popular r/Funny, with more than 40 million members, along with r/Music and r/Science, each boasting more than 30 million users.

Persons: Minecraft, —, Reddit Organizations: Mojang Studios, Microsoft, Java, Xbox, Reddit, Guinness World Records, CNBC

☆ Thousands of Reddit Communities Stay Dark as App Policy Protest Continues
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Michael Levenson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Thousands of volunteer-run message boards on Reddit remained dark on Tuesday, a week after moderators of the communities began what they called a 48-hour protest against Reddit’s planned changes to its business model. More than 3,200 message boards, known as subreddits, remained restricted or private, down from nearly 9,000 last week, according to a website tracking the revolt. Others were flooded with memes mocking Reddit’s chief executive, Steve Huffman, as anger continued to bubble on the site over changes to the company’s business model. Moderators of some of the communities that reopened said they had done so after Reddit threatened to replace them. “We want the best for this community and have no choice but to open it back up — or have it opened for us,” the moderators of the Apple enthusiast forum r/Apple wrote in a message in which they called on Mr. Huffman to resign.

Persons: Reddit’s, Steve Huffman, Apple, Huffman Organizations: Apple

☆ Hackers who say they stole Reddit data demand the platform reverses its API pricing policy and pay $4.5 million ransom it previously asked for
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Hackers are demanding Reddit policy changes amid an ongoing battle over its API pricing. As well as the funds, they are now demanding Reddit reverses its API pricing plans, per The Verge. Hackers are threatening to publicly release 80 GB of Reddit data they say they have stolen. Last week, the hackers followed up by continuing to demand the money and additionally asking Reddit to reverse its planned API pricing changes, per The Verge. The planned API pricing changes have proved controversial, sparking protests and blackouts across the site.

Persons: Reddit, Dominic Alvieri, Steve Huffman Organizations: Twitter, NBC

☆ A NSFW Reddit community is now a 'Christian Minecraft server' as moderators attack the site's 'disgusting' and 'disrespectful' monetization moves
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A popular NSFW Reddit community has been transformed into a "Christian Minecraft server." An adult content community on Reddit says it's turned into a "Christian Minecraft server" in protest over the platform's "treacherous" pricing policy. Its moderators said it's "bidding farewell" to its NSFW content and is attempting to become an "amusing" place instead. "The important takeaway here is Reddit does not care about this community and Reddit does not care about you," they wrote. Another moderator for the community r/IndianSkincareAddicts said it's making its subreddit private "indefinitely" from June 23 and called the company's actions "disgraceful, disrespectful and downright disgusting."

Persons: subreddit, it's, subreddits, Reddit, Steve Huffman, VinlandSaga, IndianSkincareAddicts, Reddit didn't Organizations: Financial Times Locations: Reddit

☆ Reddit sent messages to its protesting mods threatening to boot them if they don't get in line and end their virtual protest, The Verge reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Grace Eliza Goodwin | Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Verge reported that Reddit admins reached out to protesting mods to urge them to work or be removed. Critics argue the move is punishing users for protesting changes to the platform. Reddit administrators sent messages to protesting moderators threatening to kick them out of their roles if they don't get in line and end their virtual blackout, The Verge reported. Rathschmidt told Insider that mods currently being removed from their posts were being removed for violating the code of conduct, not for protesting. As if the mod code of conduct is some kind of moral or legally binding document.

Persons: Reddit, Tim Rathschmidt, That's, Redditors, Rathschmidt, Reddit's, Casey Newton, Newton

☆ People are starting to place bets on Reddit's civil war
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Hundreds of punters have placed a bet on whether Reddit will reverse its API pricing move. BetUS told Insider that people are "undecided" about the site walking back that decision. Almost all bets think Steve Huffman will still be CEO of Reddit by the end of the year. Hundreds of people are putting money on whether the company will back-track on its new API pricing policy or oust its CEO Steve Huffman, BetUS told Insider. Almost all bets have been on Huffman still being CEO by December 31, BetUS added.

Persons: BetUS, Steve Huffman, Huffman, Christian Selig, Reddit, Reddit didn't Organizations: Financial Times

☆ One of Reddit's largest communities is protesting changes to the platform by posting only photos of John Oliver 'looking sexy'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Kenneth Niemeyer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

r/Pics now only allows photos of British comedian John Oliver "looking sexy." Users of one of Reddit's largest communities are protesting statements from the social media site's CEO and changes to its API by only allowing posts of photos of "Last Week Tonight" host John Oliver "looking sexy." A moderator for r/Pics on Friday posted a message telling the site's users that they would vote between letting the subreddit continue operating normally or only allowing images of "John Oliver looking sexy." Users voted 37,331 to 2,329 in favor of sexy John Oliver. Representatives for John Oliver did not immediately return Insider's request for comment on Saturday.

Persons: Steve Huffman, John Oliver, Huffman, didn't, subreddits, they've Organizations: NBC Locations: British, Reddit

☆ Reddit’s fight with its most powerful users enters new phase as blackout continues
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —After nearly a week of mass protests on Reddit directed at its management, the company’s strategy appears to be simple: power through. That approach was reflected Thursday in a series of media interviews conducted by Reddit CEO and co-founder Steve Huffman. In response, some moderators have vowed to put pressure on Reddit’s advertisers and investors. Some 100,000 forums remain open, the company said in a blog post, including 80% of its 5,000 most actively engaged subreddits. In addition, one company administrator said Thursday, Reddit may soon view communities that remain private as an indicator that the moderators of those communities no longer wish to moderate.

Persons: Reddit, Steve Huffman, Huffman, ”, ” Huffman, they’re, Greg Doherty, Omar, ” Omar, “, “ Reddit, They’ve Organizations: CNN, Reddit, Variety, Wynn Las, NPR, NBC News Locations: Wynn Las Vegas, Las Vegas , Nevada

Then, a deep dive into MrBeast and what his YouTube empire says about the future of the internet. Reddit came along and said, oh, we need to protect Reddit from the rise of these large language models. So I don’t think they’re totally out of the woods. But I don’t think people would say it was a golden age for how safe the platforms fell to use. But I want to challenge you on this, because I don’t necessarily think that it’s a bad thing if we have past peak trust and safety.

Persons: kevin roose, you’ve, casey newton, casey newton Yes, I’ve, there’s, kevin roose I’m, Kevin Roose, ” casey newton, Casey Newton, Casey, Reddit, casey newton Right, roose, Steve Huffman, you’re, Kevin, It’s, They’re, casey newton Well, they’ve, we’re, Huffman, “, Redditors, We’ve, Everyone’s, we’ve, I’m, let’s, Sam Walton, Max, kevin roose Hey, kevin roose Oh, kevin roose Max Read, MrBeast, it’s, Jimmy Donaldson, He’s, Willy Wonka, he’s, somethings, haven’t, kevin roose We’ll, We’ll, kevin roose She’s, she’s, kevin roose MrBeast, Jeremiah, jeremiah howard, Jeremiah Howard who’s, Jimmy, Burger, You’re, Stefan Molyneux, PewDiePie, Paul, Let’s, Raman, kevin roose It’s, MrBeast financials, doesn’t, Logan Paul, they’re, Vincent Miller, Jon Hamm’s, Matthew Weiner’s, kevin roose Max, Will, Max Read, ” kevin roose, casey newton Max, Robert F Kennedy, COVID, Kennedy, Instagram, Connor Roy, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Robert F Kennedy Jr, Elon, Donald Trump, We’re, Jim Jordan, kevin roose Totally, Alex Jones, casey newton Totally, Kate Kalanick, Trump, Tucker Carlson, aren’t, — casey newton, hasn’t, Rachel Cohn, Jen Poyante, Caitlin Love, Alyssa Moxley, Dan Powell, Elisheba Ittoop, Marion Lozano, Sofia Lanman, Rowan Niemisto, Paula Szuchman, Tam, Nell Gallogly, Kate LoPresi, Jeffrey Miranda Organizations: The New York Times, Twitter, YouTube, Lamborghini, Netflix, Walmart, News, Producers, Meta, Instagram, COVID, Democratic, Washington Post, Apple, Republicans, Facebook, 4chan, Republican Party, Trump, Fox News, Stanford, Davis Locations: Hawaii, Reddit, Greenville , North Carolina, hysterics, New Jersey, New York, Greenville, North Carolina, Central, United States, Bay, San Francisco, Stanford

☆ What’s Going On With Reddit?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

If you tried to find information on Reddit over the last week, you might have had a hard time. The platform recently announced it would begin charging other companies that want to access its content using an API (Application Programming Interface). Reddit announced the changes earlier this spring after the rise of generative artificial intelligence companies like OpenAI, which used Reddit’s rich trove of human conversations to train ChatGPT for free. Once Reddit starts charging at the end of the month, Apollo has said it will close down rather than pay an estimated bill of $20 million per year. Reddit has long been bolstered and operated by a network of unpaid moderators who keep subreddits from disintegrating into chaos.

Persons: Reddit

☆ Reddit’s golden geese foul up its IPO plans
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Anita Ramaswamy | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

It’s a wrinkle in Reddit’s plan to go public, and a sign that plan is premature. And unlike counterparts elsewhere, Reddit’s mods are unpaid. Researchers at Northwestern University estimate that Reddit’s mods perform at least $3.4 million worth of labor annually. Some third-party apps using Reddit content make money, which an owner of the still-unprofitable Reddit would probably prefer to share. A bigger target is artificial intelligence companies such as OpenAI that create value by scraping Reddit’s forums to hone their own products.

Persons: Steve Huffman, Willing, Huffman’s, Huffman, John Foley, Streisand Neto Organizations: YORK, Reuters, Northwestern University, Starbucks, Twitter, Thomson

Budrul Chukrut | Lightrocket | Getty ImagesAt midnight on Tuesday, the moderators of the Reddit community r/Gaming decided to go dark. "We're talking hundreds of thousands of volunteers putting in hours a day to keep the site safe, entertaining and enjoyable for community members. As a private company, Reddit doesn't have to disclose its financials or provide revenue and profit projections. "You have a lot of people, both professionals and general community members, who are running the numbers on this," Croach said. Jacqueline Sheeran, known as "MCHammerCurls," is the head moderator of r/Fitness, which has more than 10 million members.

Persons: Budrul, Dacvak, Slack, weren't, Croach, Reddit, Christian Selig, Selig, Steve Huffman, Huffman, Horacio Villalobos, subreddits, they're, –, David DeWald, subreddit, Shane McCarthy, McCarthy, Meepster23, ModCoord, Omar, Jacqueline Sheeran, Sarah Gilbert, Gilbert, Huffman's, RamsesThePigeon, that's, there's Organizations: Lightrocket, Reddit, CNBC, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google, Amazon, Yahoo, Microsoft, Corbis, NBC, Wall, NBC News, Cornell University, school's Citizens, Technology Locations: U.S, Lisbon, Portugal

☆ Reddit CEO says the mods leading a punishing blackout are too powerful and he will change the site's rules to weaken them
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Lindsay Dodgson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Reddit CEO Steve Huffman thinks the site's mods are too powerful. So a politician needs to be elected, and a business owner can be fired by its shareholders," he told NBC. Reddit mods hold a lot of power, and many believe it has been earned due to the amount of unpaid labor they put into the site. He told NBC it was "really important" to ensure "protests, now or in the future, are actually representative of their communities." Huffman told NBC there was no set timeline for his proposed changes.

Persons: Steve Huffman, subreddits, Reddit, Christian Selig, Huffman, We've Organizations: NBC, Ars Technica, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Northwestern University Locations: Reddit

☆ The Reddit blackout shows no signs of stopping
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —A widespread Reddit blackout affecting some of the site’s largest communities has continued into its third day with no signs of stopping, as a number of groups on the site vowed to remain closed off indefinitely to protest changes to the platform’s data policies. The blackout includes popular forums such as r/aww, r/videos and r/music, each of which claims more than 25 million subscribers on the platform. For Reddit, the stakes are also high to grow revenue, as the company reportedly looks to go public later this year. Huffman reportedly dismissed the blackout in a leaked internal memo obtained by The Verge. As of Wednesday morning, many groups participating in the blackout had lifted their self-imposed restrictions.

Persons: didn’t, Reddit, Steve Huffman, ” Huffman, Elon Musk, Huffman Organizations: CNN Locations: Reddit

☆ Reddit CEO warns employees not to wear Reddit swag in public as users revolt
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Paul Squire | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Reddit's CEO is warning employees not to wear branded gear in public as users stage a mass revolt. "Like all blowups on Reddit, this one will pass as well," Huffman told employees. In an internal memo obtained by The Verge, Huffman told employees to "please be mindful" of wearing Reddit gear. The developer of Apollo, a hugely popular third-party app, said the changes would cost them millions and force them to shut down. The loss of third-party apps would force users onto the official Reddit app, where they'd have to deal with advertisements.

Persons: Steve Huffman shrugged, Huffman, Steve Huffman, Reddit, they'd, hasn't Organizations: Morning, Wall Street Journal

☆ Explainer: Reddit protest: Why are thousands of subreddits going dark?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Subreddits such as r/Music, r/gaming, r/science and r/todayilearned - all with more than 30 million subscribers - are participating. Unlike most other social media platforms, Reddit is heavily dependent on community moderators, "or mods", who police their subreddits for free to weed out offensive or illegal content. What are third-party app developers saying? Elon Musk's Twitter in January restricted all third-party clients and apps and updated their rules for developers accessing its APIs. Reporting by Tiyashi Datta, Akash Sriram and Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika SyamnathOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Reddit, Steve Huffman, Christian Selig, Huffman, Elon, Tiyashi Datta, Akash Sriram, Jaspreet Singh, Devika Organizations: Apple Inc, Microsoft, New York Times, Elon Musk's Twitter, Twitter, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ Reddit Communities Go Dark to Protest New App Policy
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Michael Levenson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The moderators of hundreds of Reddit forums, known as subreddits, closed off access to their groups on Monday to protest the company’s plan to charge for access to the data that outside developers need to run apps on the site. Many said the new pricing scheme could kill off some of the most popular third-party apps that many users rely on to browse and comment on the site. Others said the charges had sowed uncertainty about the tools that moderators use to manage discussions. An estimated 57 million people a day visit the platform. Reddit said it no longer wanted to give away such a valuable asset to companies like Google, OpenAI and Microsoft, which have been using Reddit’s data to develop artificial intelligence systems that many in Silicon Valley see as the next big thing.

Persons: Reddit Organizations: Google, Microsoft Locations: Silicon

☆ Reddit API charges spark community outrage, dayslong blackout
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Steve Huffman, CEO of Reddit, delivers remarks on 'Redesigning Reddit' during the Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal, Nov. 8, 2017. More than 6,000 Reddit communities have gone dark and are restricting access to protest the changes to the company's developer billing structure, beginning Monday morning. The blackout comes after Reddit told developers that it would begin to charge thousands of dollars for access to an application programming interface, or API. Among the concerns for the blackout organizers is allowing third-party apps to run advertising for the third-party developer's benefit. Developers use APIs to communicate directly with a website's software or infrastructure, and they allow Reddit's third-party developer ecosystem to build applications and services for users.

Persons: Steve Huffman, Reddit, Condé Nast, Elon Musk, Christian Selig Organizations: Advance Publications, Charter Communications, Warner Bros ., Twitter Locations: Lisbon, Portugal

☆ 10 Things in Tech: Amazon's AI scramble
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Hallam Bullock | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The OpenAI CEO says he is losing sleep over the fear that "we already have done something really bad by launching ChatGPT." When ChatGPT launched, Amazon managers asked staff for ideas on how to leverage the chatbot at work. "Amazon must be really scared about being late on all of this," an Amazon employee told Insider. Odds and ends:Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, showed off his guitar skills at Apple's WWDC conference this year. During the company's Worldwide Developers Conference, Craig Federighi, Apple's senior vice president of software engineering, stole the show with a guitar solo.

Persons: Hallam Bullock, Victor Frankenstein, Sam Altman, ChatGPT, Eugene Kim, Insider's Ben Bergman, We've, we've, Thrasio, doesn't, Read, Craig Federighi, Apple’s, Apple's, Dad, Jack Sommers Organizations: Amazon, ChatGPT, Getty, Elon, SpaceX, SpaceX's Starlink, Tech, LA Tech, The Washington Post, Netflix, Apple, Conference Locations: London

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