2 upvotes, 0 direct replies (showing 0)
View submission: Sunsetting Secret Santa and Reddit Gifts
People have built community on Reddit but Reddit itself is not the community. Reddit is a for-profit corporation beholden to a board and investors paying salaries and server costs and taxes and leases.
Reddit IS community. Its brand literally relies on it. On their company website: "Reddit is home to thousands of communities, endless conversation, and authentic human connection. Whether you're into breaking news, sports, TV fan theories, or a never-ending stream of the internet's cutest animals, there's a community on Reddit for you."
People have countless other apps and websites where they can consume media, but Reddit stands out BECAUSE of its community and the sub-communities within it.
It is NOT a single consumable product (soda) or a company that provides necessary consumable goods and services (Costco). Reddit does not exist without the community engagement surrounding its user-generated content.
Secret Santa/Reddit Gifts is one of the most special unique sub-communities on this website. It attracted celebrities, won several World Records, and it brought joy to countless people all over the world. Corporate-wise, it demonstrably upped the overall value of the company.
Shutting it down goes against its own mission statement. If they value community as much as they say they do, it would make more business sense to give it back to the community to run independently and keep the space open. It makes better business sense, keeps the community happy, and is overall just a better look.
There's nothing here!