I feel users don't have to be nefarious to have negative effect on the network. Example, you and your 4 friends in middle school are hanging out and having fun.

I feel users don't have to be nefarious to have negative effect on the network. Example, you and your 4 friends in middle school are hanging out and having fun. One of your friends mom shows up and sit next to you guys. Suddenly you can't talk about 80% of the stuff you'd in absence of her, even though the mom isn't spamming or trolling. But yes as network grows it attracts marketers and spammers. But also kind of audiences matter too. A large network of only consisting hardware enthusiast is really useful. But a large network of general population would affect what posts make it to front page, how they get reported, and how slowly they get answered as they will drown against cat photos, political rage, and personal success stories. Even people with all specialized skills and relevant interest won't get to see those niche posts. On reddit there is concept of subreddits. But regardless you are more likely to be distracted with other subreddits then interact with niche you are an expert in. why more coding questions are asked on stackoverflow than r/webdev