Reddit created a way to drive more people to its native apps (where Reddit shows ads and generates revenue) as of July 1. But we can't overlook that Reddit was built on people's willingness to provide free content and labor, and the API battle has driven away some of the most popular content and veteran volunteer mods.

Reddit won the battle for API fees, but the war for desirable content—something no social media platform can ever be complacent about—is at risk. And that's not the type of problem that ousted mods and forcibly reopened subreddits can fix.

Advance Publications, which owns Ars Technica parent Condé Nast, is the largest shareholder in Reddit.

This is too good.