Reddit’s popular r/Place returned Thursday, described as a “collaborative digital canvas” where Redditors can add pixels every five minutes and create designs. Past iterations have seen users organize to plant their flag on the map, which ultimately closes and is archived as digital artwork.
But in light of controversial API changes to the online platform, more than a few Redditors have taken to r/Place to air their grievances with Reddit CEO Steve Huffman—known as “u/spez” on Reddit.
By Thursday morning, more than a few corners of the r/Place canvas sported pixelated “Fuck Spez” imagery, and thousands of users took to the subreddit’s comments to dunk on the embattled executive.
“Would be great if we could get the whole thing to say ‘fuck spez,’” wrote a user named Dirty_Microwave.
Previous r/Place events were wildly popular among users, who took to the subreddit to design nation’s flags and pixelated memes in 2017 and 2022, both released on April Fool’s Day. The most recent release appears to have been delayed numerous times before its launch on July 20.
Reddit announced changes to its API—its Application Programming Interface—in April, meaning users would have to start paying to access Reddit's API. The API had previously been free for seven years, allowing users who wanted to build applications to use publicly available data from Reddit.
The company seemingly followed in Elon Musk’s footsteps after the "chief twit" started charging for Twitter’s API earlier this year.
Goodwill crumbled between users and Reddit’s board after the changes, and Reddit’s administrators seem well aware of the tensions. In a video about the latest r/Place iteration, the firm cheekily dubbed the release “right place, wrong time,” and more than a few users commented on its poor timing.
“I'm gonna have to exercise some critical thinking skills to figure out why Reddit brings back r/place weeks after the blackout,” posted u/Presidentofyes12 Thursday morning.
“Google distraction technique,” u/HoaiBao0906 snarked.
Users have also protested the changes by temporarily shutting down popular subreddits, such as r/BayArea and r/SanFrancisco.
Reddit was contacted for comment on the message from users against Huffman but did not respond by publication time.