But was it ever supposed to?

If I remember correctly, one of the main element of the product vision was to allow better moderation, to have a "safer" online experience.

Provided it is a very relative concept, the community approach makes a lot of sense.

In a way, it is very similar to how forums used to be.

Can it be improved? 100%. Many UX elements would make the product more popular, but was it meant to be a twitter replacement? not sure.