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A group of Reddit volunteers who transcribe media from other subreddits are shutting down their community, in part due to changes the company is making to its API. The community, r/TranscribersOfReddit, will close its doors on June 30th, which is one day before Reddit starts charging for API access.

The group transcribes media from around 100 subreddits. Its aim was to provide some temporary solutions for accessibility features that are missing from Reddit, such as alt text, while imploring the company to address such “inadequacies,” according to Rebekah Ginsburg, a Transcribers Of Reddit moderator. As The Verge reports, Ginsburg (aka u/halailah) is also the chair of the Grafeas Group, a nonprofit that provides the technology powering much of the community’s transcription work.

“In light of recent events, we now recognize that Reddit corporate has demonstrated a severe lack of willingness to fix core issues with the platform,” Ginsburg wrote. “It is clear that these problems are coming from the top, and we do not believe they can be fixed. Unfortunately, while this was an extraordinarily difficult decision for us, these circumstances mean that we can no longer operate this project.”

Ginsburg added that “the API changes and the realistic limits on how much work we can take on and our lack of trust in Reddit as a platform and the clear disregard for accessibility from Reddit corporate” made it “impossible” for the team to continue the project.

While Reddit has said it will exempt some third-party accessibility apps from having to pay for API access, members of the community say apps such as RedReader, Dystopia and Luna don’t have “sufficient moderation functions” for blind and visually impaired moderators.

Reddit declined to comment to The Verge on these issues. A spokesperson previously said the company was “exploring a number of things” related to accessibility across its platform. In the meantime, it seems that it’ll soon be more difficult for some people to use Reddit.

Some communities I’m a member of have volunteers that will add alt text for an image in the comments or transcribe a short video. Still, the loss of a larger, coordinated effort to make Reddit more accessible is a blow.

Reddit said last month that it would start charging for access to its API, which third-party developers have used to build apps (such as ones for moderation and accessibility) that hook into the platform. The move caused an uproar in the community, and several third-party apps, including ones that tens of thousands of people use to access Reddit, are shutting down as a result of the changes.

However, Reddit is pressingahead with the new policy. CEO Steve Huffman also said he was planning changes that would allow members of a subreddit to more easily vote out a moderator who makes unpopular decisions. Some moderators have taken similar comments from a Reddit administrator as a direct threat, after thousands of subreddits went private to protest the API changes.

Reddit also reportedly removed moderators from subreddits that were suddenly labeled as not safe for work. Not only did those communities allow porn for the first time in protest against the API changes, making them NSFW meant Reddit was unable to monetize them due to its ad policies.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/a-reddit-transcription-community-will-shut-down-over-a-lack-of-trust-in-the-platform-191008889.html?src=rss 

Those who run fan accounts on YouTube will soon have to make it clear to viewers their channels are not affiliated with the original artist, creator or brand. If it’s not already evident from the channel name or handle that they’re running a fan account, they’ll have to update that information. Adding “fan account” to the channel description alone won’t cut it. The rule will take effect on August 21st.

The directive was announced as part of broader changes to YouTube’s impersonation guidelines. As TechCrunch notes, channels that claim to be fan accounts but instead mimic another channel and upload the same content are prohibited, as are channels that appear almost identical to another only with a minor name change (such as adding a space). Users are not allowed to comment on videos while pretending to be another person, nor can they impersonate an existing news channel.

These new guidelines for fan accounts should help YouTube clamp down on impersonators. “This update should also ensure that viewers won’t be misled by the channels they interact with and follow, and creators won’t have their name and likeness used for malicious purposes,” a YouTube blog post reads.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/youtube-fan-accounts-will-soon-need-a-disclosure-in-the-channel-name-or-handle-035015131.html?src=rss 

If the ease of repairs influences your choice in handheld gaming PCs, you might want to consider the ROG Ally. iFixit just finished a teardown of ASUS’ machine, and it’s noticeably easier to open than Valve’s Steam Deck. For one, the battery is much less painful to remove — it mostly involves removing screws where Valve’s power pack is glued in. It’s also relatively trivial to remove the thumbsticks and their circuit boards on the Ally, so you might have a solution if stick drift becomes a problem. As on the Steam Deck, SSD upgrades are simple if you find a sufficiently tiny drive.

The only truly repair-hostile component is the display, iFixit says. There’s a lot of adhesive that could make removal difficult without the right tools. That’s not a major issue if the entire screen breaks, but may be a hassle if you’re trying to put a screen in a new cover.

There’s one catch: ASUS hasn’t committed to offering replacement parts for the ROG Ally. We’ve asked the company for comment. For now, at least, you’ll have to source parts from other users willing to give up working components from otherwise broken devices. iFixit currently sells some official Steam Deck parts, such as screens, button assemblies and storage.

While teardowns indicate that the Steam Deck is easier to maintain than you’d expect, Valve discouraged repairs early on. It was concerned that merely opening the system created risks, and that third-party components could cause problems. ASUS isn’t inviting do-it-yourself repairs as of this writing, but the modularity may be useful when right to repair policies are becoming more commonplace.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ifixit-teardown-reveals-asus-rog-ally-is-easier-to-pry-open-than-the-steam-deck-165911557.html?src=rss