Some people would write books for free if they didn't need to work to support themselves. Fame and the prestige of being a recognized expert are enough reward.
The problem is like the boiling frog analogy. Its never easy to get consensus on whether the latest insult is too much and so inertia holds everyone in place until its too late.
OK good point but think about your tone dude! You're coming across like you think we are stupid and I'll offer the benefit of the doubt that you don't intend that side effect.
This needs to be the way forward. The community needs to own itself, support itself, etc. The alternative is what just happened where the community is abused for someone else's gain.
I was an active user there for something like 16 or 17 years. I watched it grow up from when it was smaller than digg. It was my goto, a place where I felt at home, where there were great displays of cleverness and compassion. It has slowly decayed from its early greatness but pockets of it kept me going like tolkienfans and askhistorians. This latest thing feels like spez just took a shit on the entire concept of Reddit, declared war on it and I will never forgive him for that. He never understood the creation he participated in. You don't own Reddit. You can only be its custodian. Reddit is not a place. Its a community. Now that community needs to be here, which is a good thing because clearly any corporate ownership of a community will only end badly.
I CAN HAZ CHEESEBURGER?