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| Reddit rival Voat buckles under demand | Reddit rival Voat buckles under demand |
| (about 7 hours later) | |
| Voat - a Swiss rival to the news site Reddit - isadva struggling to cope with its new found popularity. | |
| The platform has experienced a surge in visitors, after its US-based competitor dismissed a popular staff member. | The platform has experienced a surge in visitors, after its US-based competitor dismissed a popular staff member. |
| Voat's homepage has displayed an error message for much of Wednesday, and its owners have tweeted: "Everything that could possibly go wrong - went wrong, but we should be back today." | Voat's homepage has displayed an error message for much of Wednesday, and its owners have tweeted: "Everything that could possibly go wrong - went wrong, but we should be back today." |
| One expert said the Voat was risking missing out on a rare opportunity. | One expert said the Voat was risking missing out on a rare opportunity. |
| Reddit is one of the internet's most popular services - last month it received more than 163 million visitors, according to the site's own figures. | Reddit is one of the internet's most popular services - last month it received more than 163 million visitors, according to the site's own figures. |
| The platform allows users to post links to news stories and other online material, and then comment on them. | |
| However, many of the volunteers that moderate its chat sections - called sub-reddits - staged a virtual lockdown last week, blocking access to their pages, after it emerged that Victoria Taylor had been dismissed by the company. | However, many of the volunteers that moderate its chat sections - called sub-reddits - staged a virtual lockdown last week, blocking access to their pages, after it emerged that Victoria Taylor had been dismissed by the company. |
| Ms Taylor had been responsible for the Ask Me Anything (AMA) section of the site, where she had helped arrange interviews with famous people. | Ms Taylor had been responsible for the Ask Me Anything (AMA) section of the site, where she had helped arrange interviews with famous people. |
| Reddit's chief executive, Ellen Pao, later posted an apology, acknowledging that "we haven't communicated well" both about this matter and previous changes to the site. | Reddit's chief executive, Ellen Pao, later posted an apology, acknowledging that "we haven't communicated well" both about this matter and previous changes to the site. |
| However, a petition calling for her to step down has now attracted more than 210,000 online signatures. | However, a petition calling for her to step down has now attracted more than 210,000 online signatures. |
| The affair has led to a surge of interest in and publicity for Voat, an alternative news-focused service founded last year by two University of Zurich students. | The affair has led to a surge of interest in and publicity for Voat, an alternative news-focused service founded last year by two University of Zurich students. |
| They promise not to censor or ban groups on their site, addressing one of the main criticisms of Ms Pao's leadership. | They promise not to censor or ban groups on their site, addressing one of the main criticisms of Ms Pao's leadership. |
| That policy has, however, caused them problems. In June, they said they had had to switch hosting provider after Host Europe objected to "politically incorrect" content posted to Voat. | That policy has, however, caused them problems. In June, they said they had had to switch hosting provider after Host Europe objected to "politically incorrect" content posted to Voat. |
| The site subsequently crashed when it experienced last week's jump in traffic, and its founders appealed for donations to help them cope with demand. | The site subsequently crashed when it experienced last week's jump in traffic, and its founders appealed for donations to help them cope with demand. |
| However, it appears that they are continuing to struggle. | However, it appears that they are continuing to struggle. |
| Users were shown an error message for several hours on Wednesday, saying that the site was under "extremely heavy load". | Users were shown an error message for several hours on Wednesday, saying that the site was under "extremely heavy load". |
| "Voat will be intermittent at best over the next few days," its owners added. | "Voat will be intermittent at best over the next few days," its owners added. |
| "We are thrilled that so many want to join us in our cause to build an open global community." | "We are thrilled that so many want to join us in our cause to build an open global community." |
| It has since become accessible again. | It has since become accessible again. |
| One media industry expert suggested the start-up only had a limited amount of time to make the most of the backlash against Reddit. | One media industry expert suggested the start-up only had a limited amount of time to make the most of the backlash against Reddit. |
| "The issue for a lot of small businesses is that when opportunity knocks, they can't always scale up fast enough to meet demand," said Ian Maude, from Enders Analysis. | "The issue for a lot of small businesses is that when opportunity knocks, they can't always scale up fast enough to meet demand," said Ian Maude, from Enders Analysis. |
| "People may hang on for a while and keep trying to go to the site. But if it can't meet demand, there's every chance they will go elsewhere." | "People may hang on for a while and keep trying to go to the site. But if it can't meet demand, there's every chance they will go elsewhere." |