[411111111111111]

> streamlined signup flow

It was more streamlined before. You literally only had to input a username and any password, no policies, email or anything else you had to adhere to/provide.

I stopped using reddit back then after using it several hours daily for years, so not every power user ignored these changes

[minsc__and__boo]

Sign up flows serve more purposes than just a funnel for new users (which IMO is part of a problem with how we build websites in general, but I digress).

Anti-scam/fraud account identification can rely heavily on inputs up front. I'm honestly surprised reddit went so long without requiring other inputs, despite their rising popularity.

[x0x0]

And account recovery.

People get real sad when you have to tell them that if they forgot a password, their account is simply gone. Email fixes that.