Hadn’t even considered this, but I think you’re onto something. Even if it’s not the main goal, that could definitely have factored into the decision.

I agree. Reddit has been trying to sweep all this under the rug, and as pathetically transparent as their efforts are they have worked well enough that a lot of “casual” users probably have no idea what’s coming. When the 1st rolls around and they suddenly can’t use Reddit (as far as they know it) then quite a few will be looking for somewhere else to go.

I mean a lot of them will probably just grab the official Reddit app, but 30 minutes using that ad-infested garbage pile may dissuade them from sticking with it.

Voat died because they took a max free speech approach, even allowing racism and stuff.

It cannot be stressed enough how core this was to Voat’s identity, and also how much it poisoned the entire platform. When even objecting to bigotry is against the ethos of the site then there’s no way to build a healthy community, much less an inclusive one.

Also if anyone is curious how much of a cesspool Voat became, here’s the most “upvoated” for the month just six months before the site shut down. Warning: lots of bigotry.