No way. Forums should never be run by the people the forum is discussing, for the same reason that newspapers should never be government-owned.

It’s hard to imagine that situation wouldn’t always lead us here. The advertiser-centric internet has got to go.

Why wouldn’t they want to stay? It works for them. Before ideology, before morality, before any other thing you can conceive of is plain, simple convenience. And Reddit is certainly convenient. Once enough users leave, they’ll leave, too.

I’m not paying for YouTube. It’s algorithm sucks, it routinely sells your personal data, and virtually none of the money you spend goes to its creators–that YouTube pretends otherwise is repulsive. How did we get in the situation where we’re being asked to pay more and more for worse and worse services? I’m not gonna be a part of it.

It’s worth remembering that morality has little to do with it. Back then, sharing was simple and consequence-free. Now it’s not. If you want to create a community like that, it needs to be a curated space where only people who are able to share can join.