In a bold strategic move, Reddit has made the decision to abandon its blockchain-based rewards program, Community Points, in order to streamline operations and enhance user experience.
This shift in focus comes as a result of the resource-intensive nature and regulatory challenges associated with maintaining the program.
Despite its unique features and benefits, scaling Community Points proved to be a challenge due to high transaction fees and limited bandwidth.
Reddit aims to transition to more efficient and easily adoptable rewards programs, while prioritizing community governance and contributions.
Key Takeaways
- Reddit is phasing out Community Points due to high resource requirements, regulatory challenges, and difficulty in scaling.
- Community Points offered Redditors a chance to own a part of their community, incentivized better content and conversation, and could be embedded in other sites or apps.
- Scaling Community Points was challenging due to high transaction fees and limited bandwidth with Ethereum, leading to the adoption of Arbitrum Nova for low-cost transactions.
- Reddit has introduced other rewards programs like the Moderator rewards program and Contributor Program, while phasing out the coin system for purchasing Gold and other currency.
Reasons for Phasing Out Community Points
Reddit has decided to phase out Community Points due to various reasons, including the high resource requirements and regulatory challenges associated with the blockchain-based rewards system.
The high resource requirements refer to the significant amount of computing power and storage needed to support the blockchain infrastructure. Additionally, regulatory challenges have emerged, as the use of blockchain technology for rewards may fall under different regulatory frameworks in different jurisdictions.
Another reason for phasing out Community Points is the difficulty in scaling the system to accommodate the growing number of users and communities on Reddit.
Moreover, Reddit aims to transition to other rewards programs that are easier to adopt and understand, ensuring a seamless experience for its users.
Features and Benefits of Community Points
After phasing out Community Points, the features and benefits of this blockchain-based rewards system can be explored:
- Ownership and Incentivization:
- Redditors had the opportunity to own a portion of their community, fostering a sense of belonging and empowerment.
- The rewards system incentivized users to contribute better content and engage in meaningful conversations.
- Interchangeable Tokens and Reputation:
- Community Points were Ethereum tokens that could be stored in Reddit’s Vault, providing users with a tangible digital asset.
- Reputation was displayed next to usernames in participating subreddits, allowing users to showcase their contributions and credibility.
These features aimed to create a more inclusive and rewarding environment for Redditors. However, challenges in scaling, such as high transaction fees and limited bandwidth with Ethereum, led Reddit to explore alternative scaling technologies like Arbitrum Nova.
Despite the discontinuation of Community Points, Reddit continues to focus on improving community governance, empowering contributions, and integrating the benefits of the rewards system into the platform.
Challenges in Scaling Community Points
Scaling Community Points presented several challenges due to high transaction fees and limited bandwidth with Ethereum.
The decentralized nature of Ethereum resulted in high costs and slow processing times, making it infeasible and expensive to put all Reddit users on the main Ethereum network.
To address these challenges, Reddit decided to explore alternative scaling technologies and low-cost transaction options.
As a result, they have chosen to move to Arbitrum Nova, a layer 2 solution, to improve scalability and reduce transaction fees.
This transition will allow Reddit to continue offering Community Points while addressing the limitations of the Ethereum network.
Other Rewards Programs Introduced by Reddit
To diversify its rewards offerings, Reddit has introduced additional programs for incentivizing user contributions and community moderation. These programs aim to improve community governance and empower users to contribute more effectively.
Here are the details:
- Moderator rewards program:
- Designed to recognize and appreciate the efforts of moderators in maintaining and managing subreddits.
- Offers incentives such as special badges, access to exclusive features, and even monetary rewards.
- Contributor Program:
- Allows users to convert their Reddit gold and karma into cash.
- Provides a way for users to monetize their contributions and encourages high-quality content creation.
Phasing Out of Other Rewards Programs by Reddit
Reddit is gradually discontinuing its other rewards programs in order to prioritize programs that benefit more users and are easier to scale. This decision comes as a result of the challenges faced by the Community Points program, which required high resources, faced regulatory challenges, and had difficulty in scaling. As Reddit shifts its focus, it aims to improve community governance and empower contributions through the integration of benefits from the Community Points program into the platform. The phasing out of other rewards programs includes the end of the coin system for purchasing Gold and other currency, as well as the unpopularity among Reddit users. However, subreddit karma and special features like gifs will still be available to all communities.
| Challenges | Features and Benefits |
|---|---|
| High resource requirements | Chance for Redditors to own a piece of their community |
| Regulatory challenges | Incentivized better content and conversation |
| Difficulty in scaling | Interchangeable Ethereum tokens stored in Reddit’s Vault |
| Transition to other rewards programs | Reputation displayed next to usernames in participating subreddits |
| Focus on programs that are easier to adopt and understand | Points could be embedded in other sites or apps |
Focus on Improving Community Governance and Contributions
As Reddit’s focus shifts towards improving community governance and contributions, efforts are being made to enhance the platform’s functionality and empower users. This is being achieved through a two-pronged approach:
- Enhancing Community Governance:
- Introduction of the Moderator rewards program, recognizing the crucial role moderators play in maintaining healthy communities.
- Integration of the benefits of Community Points into the platform, allowing users to have a stake in their communities and promoting better content and conversation.
- Empowering Contributions:
- The Contributor Program has been introduced, enabling users to convert their Reddit gold and karma into cash.
- Eligibility criteria have been put in place to ensure fair earnings through the Contributor Program, encouraging active participation and quality contributions.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Reddit’s decision to phase out its blockchain-based rewards program, Community Points, comes as a strategic move to enhance user experience and streamline its rewards system.
While Community Points offered unique features and benefits to Redditors, challenges in scaling, high resource requirements, and regulatory issues influenced this shift in focus.
Reddit aims to integrate the benefits of Community Points into its platform through other rewards programs and prioritize initiatives that benefit a larger user base and are easier to scale.
