do you really think reddit is a model of what a web community should look like? genuine question, because if that's the case then you're not exactly the intended audience
MetaFilter has taken a different approach. The market is telling its team that approach is not economical. Perhaps there's some ideas they can borrow from sites like Reddit that baked more crowd-power and automation into their models from the get-go.
Hopefully mefi can find a way to operate within their means without compromising their important characteristics.
Well, from the cited stats, it's not enough of a valuable service to generate sustainable revenue.