THIS! Just make it so the third party apps only work for reddit gold users, or have limitations for non-gold users, and now they've converted a bunch of the apollo users into paying members. Instead they're lying and slandering people, getting caught, and doubling down.

I'm getting the impression that reddit isn't profitable not because of any fundamental issue, but because the leadership of the site have absolutely no idea what they're doing.

I have to wonder if this is just the same cross-society trend of employees seemingly checking out and doing the bare minimum, manifesting in the C-suite. One would think top management should be doing the work of coming up with several different monetization strategies, analyzing what different types of backlash they each might cause, how to market them, simulating revenue given various levels of attrition, etc. Instead it's like they (he?) have chosen a single course of action and are just going to force it through at all costs, and they're in charge so why isn't everyone just doing what they say damnit.

Best summary of the whole saga I've read so far.