Either way, reddit is unlike twitter and more like a network of networks, so the same result might not occur there.
> At the same time, Reddit has been trying to increase monetization. In the aftermath of Taylor's firing, reports surfaced that the company was planning to add more video interviews and other sponsored content to generate more money with popular features on the site, something that Taylor apparently advised against.
You're talking about the obvious in your face censorship and bans that were going on at the same time as these other changes to become attractive to advertisers (and their target demographic) fleeing facebook. But these changes all happened at once and they came from the same source. They cannot be separated.
My perspective isn't more valid than yours, but I think you might underestimate how many people literally fled reddit due to the deluge of hate and highly antagonistic posts about US politics.
Indeed, if Elon Musk takes Twitter private and uses his power to force 'free speech' on the rest of us, and I start seeing references to kikes and fags and such in every casual tech discussion, I'll just close my Twitter account and walk away.
I want a moderated forum. I like what dang does for HN. I don't want a free speech heaven, because it reliably turns into hell. I used to run my own BBS back in the 80s, and even then it was obvious. If you don't put in guardrails, the assholes take over and suck all the oxygen out of the room.
While HN is moderated, you can have pretty much any fair view as long as it contributes to the discussion. Which is nice and the ideal middle ground. Although I will say, I never have any issues with Twitter and the moderation is just fine besides some high profile cases I disagree with. I would say it's even to lax.
I remember that, and just like most other times there is a mass protest on a social media site about social media itself, the uproar and discontent was largely weak, reactionary, and disturbingly out-of-touch with the business realities of the company. There's a very good reason the complainers didn't get what they wanted.