Today I checked the pmos sub and was quite surprised it was closed. And for what reason? API change is ancient history.
Clearly, the protest amounted to nothing and frankly once I figured out that reddit api change wasn't about preventing foss apps, but about squeezing paid apps out of the market, I didn't care about it at all.
What's important for any project is the community, and reddit is simply the only place where such community can grow. So why not open it back up?
I don't know their area of research, but I'm already rooting for the puppy shredder machine!