Get ready to clutch your pearls, Redditors, because it looks like the days of scrolling through memes and conspiracy theories without a price tag might be coming to an end. In a recent ‘Ask Me Anything’ session, CEO Steve Huffman dropped the bombshell that Reddit may start charging for certain Subreddits. Yep, you heard that right. Grab your wallets and prepare for the financial devastation that is inevitable in this capitalist construct.

Let’s take a moment to mourn the potential downturn of one of the few social media platforms that hasn’t been odiously ruined by the likes of Zuckerberg and Musk. Facebook is all about algorithm-driven ads that know you better than your mom does, and Twitter, rebranded as ‘X’, because apparently, letters aren’t cool anymore, is now a circus of far-right influencers spreading misinformation faster than you can say “fake news”. Meanwhile, Instagram decides we’re all content creators now, whether we like it or not, and TikTok? It’s a never-ending scroll of dance moves and death spirals.

But Reddit, by some miracle, has kept it mostly real. You dive into your chosen Subreddit, see posts in chronological order, and have an upvote/downvote system that mimics a kindergartener’s grading scale. But alas, that sweet ol’ way of life may soon be behind us as the Chronicle reported Reddit is preparing to put a few Subreddits behind a paywall.

The announcement was made during an earnings call disguised as an AMA, classic Reddit, where Huffman vaguely mentioned that “paid Subreddits” are in the works. Is that a hint that they will choose which communities go premium, while the rest of us are left groping for free content like hungry raccoons?

So, here we are, left to ponder what happens to our beloved moderators, those shining beacons of community spirit, who currently do their noble work for the sheer joy of it. If Reddit starts handing out checks for paid content, are we finally going to see moderators getting the compensation they deserve? Who knows? Let’s just sit back and watch while they sell our posts for AI training and give us the digital equivalent of pennies for our thoughts.

Last we checked, Reddit recently discovered the joys of profitability, conveniently coinciding with their IPO. But at what price, Reddit? At what price? Time to buckle up, folks, because the digital landscape just got a whole lot murkier.