Why does Reddit have to become a media empire?

The formula for doing that is pretty well-known by this point:

We'll see a ban on throwaway accounts and a push for real names, then a ban on third party URL shorteners, then interruption ads, and finally some sort of paywall.

Reddit is a useful piece of internet infrastructure, and I'd be pleased if it would stay that way. It doesn't need to become its own media empire with its own Rupert Murdoch, etc.

Some things that could be improved:

- opt-in home pages that are tailored at specific audiences. The standard one is pretty low quality.

- more detection/policing of voting rings and vote fraud in general.