What do you mean, “How did we get there?” We got there the moment they hired a big-shot editor from Time, started pushing locked stories, and stopped promoting free ones instead of giving the writers a donation button and taking their cut from every donation made. Paying the writers the way they do and putting up paywall was an idiotic idea they, for some inexplicable reason, needed, wanted, decided to test and now we are where we are. I only hope they see the light and make a U turn while they still can.