It’s exactly this. And no matter how much one wants to reframe this (or hold out hope it isn’t implemented), the die has already been cast. The very fact that this ever made it out of early discussions should tell everybody it’s the end of reddit for them.

I don’t know how many communities this has to happen with before the message sinks in: gatekeeping can be good, and it needs to be done more often. Because the moment an entity, like Reddit, can replace its original core audience with drama-chasing slop consumers, it’s over.