Tldr: money

Reddit's draw was content. Could have been from users or aggregated from different sources. Content was provided for free by users. Content was moderated for free by mods.

Now reddit is complaining that users consuming content via means bypassing monetisation are entitled while reddit has been freeloading for years. They're basically infrastructure. Important but not the lifeblood.

I hope they wither and perish.

Somehow, Cory has done a ton of amazing writing, speaking, and other work, but his best work is a single word.

In the step between being good to their users and abusing their users, eternal September occurs. Early adopters tend to be curious and technically minded sorts of people, and the users that follow them, less so. Right now I'm enjoying that posts here tend to be more thoughtful and in good faith than what one usually finds on reddit.

I enjoyed this 3-part interview with Cory about the subject: https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/projects/enshitification

I wonder if we could find a better word than "enshittification". Maybe something more descriptive?

Welcome to capitalism, have a seat! That'll be $250

It's a basic monopoly move. Why is Google making it's search function shitty? Because it's a monopoly and you won't go to a competitor. Reddit assumes that it can make these moves because it doesn't have a competitor, and if it did, it could buy out the competitor right now.