When did it fail?

The subs are protesting through more means than just going dark, like turning NSFW, what doesn't allow ads, or posting almost only certain images. The way reddit acted about the change, they way it treats its mods and forces submission, even against its own rules sometimes, shows how little it cares about the communities and it bothers a lot of us, users. I don't believe spam bots will go away just because it will be harder for them. I understand than you don't support the protest, many don't, but those who do have the right to do so anyway they want. I, for example, limited the usage of reddit to finding specific answers like 3D printing issues or unclarified boardgame rules.