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> No company wants to be the most lax company in the space

Honestly, in my opinion having such a public image can also be a market advantage for such a company. For example in its early days, Reddit attracted a huge initial audience by being perceived this way and being perceived as a very pro-free-speech website.

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This was easier back before the proliferation of increasingly niche subreddits. It didn't even have them to begin with. A policy that works when the most niche sub is /r/technology doesn't hold up so well once subs practicing free speech increasingly come into conflict over what speech they consider acceptable. People who genuinely believe in unrestricted free speech are few and far between and tend to find some exceptions are reasonable once they see how bad people can be.

Your comment lacks any distinction between limits which are set by users or at least very decentralized vs limits set by what is mostly centralized authority.

I will fight to the death to protect your right to yell obscenities in a public place, but I'll kick you out of my house for doing the same. Nothing hypocritical about that.

Did you click on the wrong reply link? I didn't say it was hypocritical for policies and norms to adapt to the realities of the situation. It was an observation without judgement.

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