None of those rules are traditional. Those rules are adhoc, constantly changed at the whims of whoever is in charge of the copyright office in any given administration, and heavily lobbied by the media companies. These rules are many things: bureaucratic, official, overly-complicated, contrary to public interest, etc. but have no basis in "tradition".
>At this point I'd be happy if they'd just pick a lane.
No doubt you'd be happy.
>they would have less of a problem partnering with rights holders
These are the same rights holders that have acted irresponsibly when it suited them, leading to the wanton destruction of material that rightfully belongs to the public. You get that right? Copyright is not ownership, it's just a long-term lease... all copyright materials are in the long run property of the public domain. You don't get to destroy them just because you've got a temporary lease on it. The rights holders are the problem.
>Right now they're asking for $17 donations next to pirated material
What piracy? Did someone hijack a ship at sea and hold its crew for ransom?