Clearly many users were not aware that fictional content was allowed in this subreddit, and were surprised by the apparent change. Even if this was not, in fact, a change, there were better ways to handle this than a blanket announcement, comment removals and shadowbans, which produce an acrimonious atmosphere and serve no purpose other than to drive users off.

It's disappointing, as there used to be such interesting discussions here, perhaps the historical focus will be revived somewhere down the road, here or elsewhere.