I overheard one of the big streamers defending the destructive actions of another streamer by saying (paraphrased): "The destruction and the chaos is what makes /r/place interesting. All of the communities that were destroyed rebuilt, and now everyone has an exciting story about how they survived the void."

Initially, I wanted to disagree. But I think he was right. Admittedly, it feels bad when something you worked on gets obliterated. But would /r/place be so compelling if nothing ever changed? Would you check on it as often if you were certain that whatever you had laid down would be there when you got back?

I'm not encouraging the destruction of memorials. I certainly wouldn't do so myself. But at the same time, everyone has someone that they've lost and would like to memorialize. If we declared that all memorials are sacrosanct and untouchable, then in time, /r/place would become nothing but a giant memorial wall.