They famously abused the stickying bug for years to get their content to the homepage. Reddit even changed the /r/all algorithm to specifically address gaming and exploitation by TD. The quarantine system was also introduced to isolate TD from the rest of the site, like a gangrenous limb. It's simply not the case that they were rule abiding.
That was not against the rules and was nerfed pretty fast - certainly not for years. And then they were artificially censored, held down, attacked and lied about and doxed.
Subs like /r/OurPresident are still using this mechanism to this day to get election-influencing agitprop to the front page. It hasn't been nerfed. Meanwhile Reddit sits on their hands and sighs wondering if anything can be done about this, on the site they administrate.
Is this satire? I've never heard of that sub. And all conservative or even center political subs are massively manipulated and will never show up on the frontpage ever. Which is their good right of course, but Reddit is absolutely overwhelmingly left with all the major default subreddits bought.
Please tell me you remember all the conspiracies coming out of that place
wait until you hear about r/russia! Err I mean r/politics!