I’m hanging on to my account until June 30th—so I can say a bittersweet goodbye to Reddit is Fun—and then I’m deleting it; Reddit is only going to get worse from here, and I don’t want to be around to see it. I’m grateful that this mess has driven so many of us to seek out kinder, more thoughtful communities, and I hope said communities can retain their exceptional cultures as the Reddit exodus continues to escalate.

Here’s a link to Cory Doctorow’s article on the ‘enshittification’ of TikTok, which reads as supremely relevant here.

I finished reading Love’s Executioner by Irvin Yalom recently, and it has immediately become one of my favorites! Yalom is one of the foundational thinkers behind Existential Psychotherapy, and the book is a collection of ten case studies presented in a short-story format revolving around themes of love, grief, and authenticity.

It’s pretty refreshing to read case studies where the therapist doesn’t present themselves as an all-seeing, all-knowing genius; Irvin Yalom is very open about his uncertainties and mistakes with his clients. The cases he presents are fascinating, and he does a great job of illustrating his philosophical and therapeutic principles throughout. I highly recommend it for anybody interested in psychology, the human condition, or personality-centered short stories!

A few of my favorite poets that come to mind:

Charles Baudelaire

Arthur Rimbaud

Paul Verlaine

Ezra Pound

Gregory Corso

Sappho

Sylvia Plath

Li Bai

Dostoevsky is one of my all-time favorites! The Idiot made me weep the first time I read it.

I’m in the same boat as you in regards to Reddit; there are certainly some niche places that I will miss but there are already good alternatives growing. I’m taking this opportunity to both re-evaluate how I engage with the internet and take the time to choose communities that better align with my values.

I support the blackouts, and I’m happy to see some of the larger subreddits starting to join, but I highly doubt this will change the API policy. The Reddit administration knew they were committing to a destructive course of action; they are not stupid, they’re pursuing an aggressive, purposeful corporate monetization strategy. That said, I do hope more major subreddits speak out, and I think the 48-hour blackout will open some users’ eyes to Reddit’s questionable philosophy.

Glad to see a Xenosaga mention! Those games were masterful and I still give them a shout whenever I can. I had just gotten into Nietzsche when I played it for the first time, so it was incredible to stumble upon so many references to his philosophy built right into the game world!