Here's a hint: if nobody wants to pay for what you're selling, sell something else.

If anybody listened to your advice then search engines, stack overflow, web forums, news agencies, and Reddit would simply disappear.

Or be replaced by open source alternatives.

And if you are wondering why they haven't already, it's because google/stackoverflow/reddit etc. are already providing the service for 'free'. So as soon as they shut down, someone else will make an alternative.

> So as soon as they shut down, someone else will make an alternative.

They exist already. They're mostly horrible.

I pretty religiously use DDG, but even then I probably use the !g operator every third search or so.

Reddit's already almost entirely open-source IIRC. People have used it to make alternatives. Check out Voat, you can see the alternative in action (you might not like what you find, though).

They're horrible becuase not a lot of effort goes into them. If there's no alternative, then they will drastically improve.

Voat is bad becuase of the users. Not becuase it is an alternative to Reddit. If all Reddit users switched to coat, it would have a pretty similar culture and content, becuase it will have the same users.

I also use ddg but I haven't used a !g in over a year.

> They're horrible becuase not a lot of effort goes into them.

And not a lot of effort goes into them because there's no money to be made off e.g. a Reddit clone without doing the same things Reddit is doing. A vicious cycle.

> If there's no alternative, then they will drastically improve.

Ah yes, monopolies (virtual or otherwise) are well-known for drastically improving their products.

> Voat is bad becuase of the users. Not becuase it is an alternative to Reddit.

Alternatives are often created by people with strong viewpoints, e.g. Voat.

> If all Reddit users switched to coat, it would have a pretty similar culture and content

This makes a lot of assumptions, namely that the admins of Voat wouldn't quash that (and there's little reason to believe they wouldn't).

The big problem with Reddit was that the moderators abused their power to censor. (and in some cases, moderation was infiltrated with bad-actors, trying to create a controversy to manipulate a group of Reddit users to get them to leave).

The problem with Reddit alternatives like Voat; was that there were no responsible moderators who would censor the absolutely indefensible.

In other words: Welcome to the same problem the Internet has known since use-net. Hell. Since the BBS days.