I don’t think many objected to monetizing the API.

The issue is cost, and the lack of time for transition.

The Apollo developer said it clearly: How the hell do you put millions of dollars on a credit card. Oh and I am pretty sure a debit card would not allow a million dollar transaction even IF the user had the money to pay it.

If Reddit had announced reasonable pricing 6-12 months in advance, most apps could have transitioned, including Apollo.

Reddit also could have required Reddit Premium for API access and offered revenue sharing for app developers that onboarded users.

There were so many better ways to handle this.