Greetings /r/europe!
It has now been almost a week since the [protest against Reddit’s controversial new policies](https://www.reddit.com/r/Save3rdPartyApps/comments/147cksa/why_the_blackouts_happening_from_the_beginning/) began. The /r/europe community’s response to [our original announcement](https://www.reddit.com/r/europe/comments/144fsi5/reurope_and_the_changes_on_reddits_api_access/) was overwhelmingly positive. As you may know, many participating subreddits returned to business as usual after the pledged 48 hours, but many chose to prolong their participation indefinitely due to Reddit, Inc.’s continued dismissal of protestor concerns – as of publishing this post, over 3800 (40%) of the 8000+ original participants are still private or restricted, while some big-names that have gone public have continued the protest [in unorthodox ways](https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/17/23764729/reddit-users-pics-gifs-subreddits-john-oliver). Meanwhile, protesting subreddits have gotten little official admin communication aside from [barely-diplomatic threats](https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/16/23763538/reddit-blackout-api-protest-mod-replacement-threat) – even when mods’ decisions to protest have strong backing from the subreddit’s user base.
Reddit’s value as a company does not come from the decisions of its CEO or upper management. Its value derives from the millions of ordinary users like you whose valuable posts and comments have made Reddit the treasure-trove of knowledge and entertainment that millions want to come back to (hopefully with a little help from its thousands of volunteer moderators). **This is why we want to ask** ***you,*** **not Reddit admins, what /r/europe’s next steps should be.**
We will hold a vote, which will run for 12h from time it opens (currently projected to be 7pm CET 20/06/2023). While it runs, no other activity will be allowed on the sub. Two options will be available and the vote will be open to anyone who has an account older than 4 weeks and more than 200 sub-reddit karma. We believe these criteria strike a fair balance between keeping out trolls/brigadiers and ensuring as many real /r/europe users as possible can participate.
The options are:
**A. I want /r/europe to continue participating in the protest. (If this option wins, a second vote will be held where you can choose your preferred form and duration of protest.)**
**B. I want /r/europe to return to business as usual as quick as practicable**
Votes must:
* be expressed as a top level comment in a thread we’ll create
* the first line must be either the letter A or the letter B (any other content on the first line will render the vote invalid)
* contain any commentary/rationale **below** the first line
Votes will be counted post the vote closing (explicitly, this means that changes of heart are absolutely fine while the vote is ongoing, but once it closes, whatever is on the first line of top level comments is what gets counted, no exceptions). The results will be announced on the sub and the outcome enacted as quickly as practicable.
Normal sub-reddit rules will apply in the voting thread(s). Please be civil.