As someone who really only went on Reddit for memes and techie discussions, I think I can say this: for my use-case, there was nothing special about Reddit itself. In fact, one thing I have realized is just how little the nature of the host matters beyond ease of use. Sure, certain formats lend themselves better to certain use-cases, but ultimately humans are social creatures, and even in the most inconvenient of circumstances, we find a way to make it work.
And once you realize that, it becomes less about the medium, and more about the people who lead the discourse. From what I can gather, Reddit lost that discourse a long time ago. And as such, their downfall was only a matter of time.
Fun fact: I recently learned life insurance can be used as a mechanism for really wealthy people to dodge taxes. Basically under the right circumstances you can pull money from life insurance policies with little to no penalty (and no, I’m not talking about when you die). High Deductible Health Plans and their corresponding Health Savings Accounts also work the same way, because they accumulate interest and have no tax penalty when used under the right circumstances.
See here: https://smartasset.com/insurance/how-to-use-life-insurance-to-build-wealth
In essence, insurance is a scam to rob those who don’t have much means, while simultaneously acting as a money laundering vehicle for those who do.