ok. took me a few hours to figure this out. it's about money. basically 5 guys took the site away from the rest of them. first they consolidated it away from the original /r/ reddit creators of the subreddit, in a series of shady moves and now the guy they enshrined to be the domain owner was just the last guy to have the rug pulled. they are denying he had any involvement and keep repeating "he just registered a $2 domain." Obviously they and the domain-holder realize this will soon be a major money making opportunity and so all of them are making moves to consolidate that power. it's ranked 2000 in the globe and 400 in the u.s. they have consulted with lawyers and marketing people and will be making changes and rebranding under the Patriot banner. it's kind of pathetic, but I guess goes with the territory. reminds me of facebook.