I really think a lot of this is driven by $$$, although some part of it probably is, yes, the CEO trying to gain control of Reddit, although judging by Yishan W

I really think a lot of this is driven by $$$, although some part of it probably is, yes, the CEO trying to gain control of Reddit, although judging by Yishan Wong's exit, that hasn't been possible for this site previously. As someone mentioned in another HN comment about the issue (I forget which thread), advertisers are scared of content they can't control, content that is in the hands of users who could go off-message at any moment. That's why small, "indie" sites never make money and why the most popular sites, such as Buzzfeed, as I mentioned, are so bland and universal as to offend as little of their demographic as possible. As to the first part of your question, I'm hoping some people more qualified in historical analysis than me can jump in :)