Reddit is going to let you turn gold into money

Reddit goes to let customers spin Reddit gold into actual cash as a part of its new “Contributor Program,” the company announced on Monday. It additionally shared particulars on the alternative for its previous Reddit Gold system that allow customers present further appreciation for posts or posts that they preferred.

Let’s begin with the Reddit Gold replace because it’s a crucial a part of that Contributor Program. Underneath the brand new gold system, you possibly can long-press an upvote button on cellular or hover over it on desktop to have the ability to purchase gold. Reddit will supply six totally different buy choices for awarding gold, beginning at a $1.99 possibility to purchase one gold and going as much as $49 for 25 gold. After you give your gold, you’ll see what Reddit calls a “golden upvote” subsequent to the remark or submit.

The earlier system allow you to give a bunch of various awards along with Reddit gold, together with awards customized to particular person subreddits. However Reddit Cash formally went away as of September twelfth, so you possibly can’t use them to award gold underneath this new system.

I requested Reddit why it didn’t let individuals switch over their cash to spend within the new system. “Previously, there have been each paid and free cash that had been distributed, making it extremely difficult,” spokesperson Tim Rathschmidt stated. “After a number of consideration, we decided it was higher to begin from scratch.”

Crucially, should you earn a golden upvote, it’d contribute to your capacity to earn actual cash from the Contributor Program. When you’re eligible for this system and undergo a verification course of, you’ll get month-to-month funds primarily based on the gold and karma you earn on “eligible contributions.”

Right here’s how Rathschmidt defines “eligible contributions”:

Gold may be given to posts and feedback, until they embody sexual content material, content material with graphic violence, or characteristic sure mature themes (e.g., alcohol, playing). As well as, gold can’t be awarded on content material posted in a Not Secure for Work (NSFW), quarantined, or trauma assist group. Equally, content material on a redditor’s profile web page isn’t eligible to obtain gold — you possibly can solely buy it in communities, in feeds, and on the submit web page. 

Right here’s how Contributor Program payouts will work, in accordance with info Rathschmidt shared with The Verge: 

• In the usual “contributor” tier, you’ll get 90 cents for each gold you earn. However to have the ability to money out, you’ll must have earned a minimal of 10 gold and obtained between 100 and 4,999 karma over a 12-month interval. 
• As a “high contributor,” you’ll get $1 for each gold you earn. To money out, you’ll need to surpass that 10 gold minimal and earn greater than 5,000 karma over a 12-month interval.

To be eligible for the Contributor Program, you’ll must be older than 18, reside in a “supported location” (which at first is simply the US), and your account will must be in “good standing.” If you’re eligible, the verification course of ought to solely take a couple of minutes to get by, Rathschmidt stated. Each common customers and moderators can take part.

With the introduction of the Contributor Program, thanking a kind stranger for giving you gold takes on a brand new which means. The system appears designed to encourage individuals to submit high quality content material to Reddit (just like the forms of posts you employ Google to seek for) and probably earn cash for that work.

However I’m apprehensive the system may change the tradition of Reddit. A part of what makes Reddit so helpful is that almost all nice posts aren’t made with an expectation of fee, which means that folks share their experience, a useful tip, or a humorous joke simply because they wish to. That makes me belief them extra. The carrot of actual cash for posts may change the location in a significant method; simply have a look at the way in which X (previously Twitter) has modified partially due to the annoying posts from verified X customers attempting to earn money from its revenue-sharing system.

I’m additionally apprehensive that dangerous actors may discover methods to abuse the Contributor Program to earn a fast buck with out truly making significant contributions. Once I requested how Reddit may forestall dangerous actors from profiting from the system, Rathschmidt stated Reddit will use issues like inside security alerts, Know Your Buyer screenings, gold buy limits, consumer reporting, and audits by admins (Reddit workers). I additionally requested how Reddit will guarantee moderators, who can set guidelines for posts of their communities, don’t sport the brand new program, and Rathschmidt stated that moderators who’re eligible for this system should abide by the Moderator Code of Conduct and the contributor monetization coverage.

Reddit’s new gold system begins rolling out on Monday, and it will likely be accessible on “eligible content material” on Reddit’s native cellular apps in choose communities, with extra communities getting it in “the approaching week.” The characteristic will probably be accessible on the net “later this yr.”

The Contributor Program can also be rolling out beginning Monday, and it will likely be accessible on the net and Reddit’s cellular apps. You’ll have the ability to see should you’re eligible to be verified for this system by checking your profile.

Some Reddit customers weren’t proud of the choice to drop the previous Reddit Gold system, which added to frustrations over the corporate’s introduction of usage-based API pricing that finally made some main third-party apps shut down. Whereas the protests throughout the location over the API pricing have largely died down, some customers expressed their unhappiness towards CEO Steve Huffman in the course of the current run of the r/Place interactive canvas.