Almost think they wanted to let it die, purposefully not letting in any moderators.
Same here. I think if a relatively small or unused sub has next to no future monetization potential Reddit just wants it gone, so they don’t have to waste any resources on it in any way, and it will never jump out and surprise them.
Reddit, Inc has made it very clear by their actions what is and is not important at the corporate level, and any words to the contrary they spew forth are just a covering fog, so shutting down low potential subs is right on brand, despite all their “but community!” talk.
Yet the admins are also more than happy to let folks beg for it while they already know the answer is gonna be, “No, fool, what were you thinking lol” to anyone who requests it in good faith.