If there was a cookie cutter reddit alternative and there was no content, would you use it? The network effects of reddit are a reasonably strong barrier of entry.
Exactly. I went on reddit for years until the redesign. Now I can’t stand that site. The reddit redesign is so astoundingly bad and nonfunctional it shocks me to this day.
The network effect has a positive influence on curation but an often profoundly negative effect on conversation. The smaller reddit spinoffs tend to have users that are more passionate about the topic at hand, don't "shit post" as much and the comment threads aren't plagued by low-effort puns. A casual observation of this might have you believe that the engagement is low, but a closer examination often reveals that the conversations are much more on-topic.