There was absolutely a phase shift in the atmosphere of Reddit when it grew exponentially.

Used to be, people were willing to discuss topics in ways that had at least some nuance. But nowadays you get attacked for discussion that doesn't fit the narrow guidelines of "acceptable".

Still, the smaller communities of Reddit retain some of the open-minded discussion that's lost in big subs.

Hopefully here we can grow to a respectably sized community, while still allowing the freedom of dissenting opinion.

Without algorithms that target division to increase numbers, that might actually be possible here in a way that's non-existent on the corporate platforms. But it'll be a difficult achievement.