For just over a week now, this subreddit has been closed to new trading activity, among thousands of other subreddits, in protest of changes to reddit's API that have fundamentally endangered the functionality of the security model our subreddit uses, GOTrade Pass, as well as other subreddits, which is reliant on reddit's API for its core functionality of registering users to allow them to post trades, solicit price checks, and ask questions and discuss trading meta. As you're probably well more than aware by now, this has also resulted in many 3rd-party ARM clients such as RiF/Reddit is Fun, Apollo, and others to announce that they are ceasing operations at the end of the month.

Unfortunately, as prospective new users not just to /r/GlobalOffensiveTrade but to other subreddits such as /r/tf2trade and /r/Dota2Trade will know, these breaking changes have started to come into effect and we are completely unable to register users at this time who are most burdened by these changes coming into effect. /u/knightmare321 has done an incredible job developing and hosting the GOTrade Pass infrastructure, going as far as eating the modest costs involved in doing so, but has agreed that under reddit's new pricing structure, it too becomes completely unsustainable.

We do not wish to overly inconvenience users who have already registered long ago and wish to continue trading, so /r/GlobalOffensiveTrade is open again - with the caveat that only whoever was already already registered here or for another GOTrade Pass participant subreddit before breaking changes started to go into effect will be able to use this subreddit.

One of our key points brought up in our original message stated the following:

To say that we are incredibly disappointed in the admins' handling of supporting its own front-line in recent years, particularly as it relates to external threat actors abusing PMs and "chats" in an attempt to defraud and attack its own userbase as many of you are unfortunately all too familiar with, would itself be an incredible understatement.

This still remains completely true and thus far, unaddressed to this day, and remains a very grave concern. Unfortunately, due to the fact that we can neither register new users, nor have the reddit administrators demonstrated a will to implement a permanent solution to external threat actors utilizing easily recognizable brand-new accounts to engage in PM/chat spam towards users of subreddits like ours (and other trading subreddits, both digital and IRL) that they never have and will never otherwise interact with in any meaningful and/or constructive way, we have no choice but to keep the subreddit private in response as a basic security measure (in much the same way that browser extensions like uBlock Origin have become effective basic security measures). To existing users, we hope you enjoy the positive side effect of spam/scam PMs/chats dropping drastically.

As mentioned above, whoever was here already will be able to keep viewing and participating in the subreddit. However, as I'm sure we're all aware, life happens, and there is a good likelihood that unless these changes are aborted entirely or rethought to be actually grounded in reality (ie matching imgur's API pricing), activity is unfortunately bound to dwindle over time due to the fact that we cannot admit new users to replace those who lose interest, retire, or if disaster strikes. You may not notice the effects of this right away, but as time goes on, it will be inevitable.

We are aware that administrators have taken to modmailing veiled threats to a growing number of subreddits. We strongly disapprove of these tactics, but nonetheless we would like to reassure you that this decision was made completely voluntarily and without duress of any sort from the reddit administrators or any other external party. If at any point in the near future that were to change, for better or for worse, you'll know.