I mean, it was indeed a hot mess in many ways, but it was also a mostly functioning online community. So functional it became a great source for information and individual opinions on just about anything.
It could have been preserved and profited from with little effort, but some suits saw a bigger payday opportunity and tried to wring it dry, accidentally squeezed too hard, and drove a wedge into the community.
If they were regulated as a common carrier, wouldn't this be a non issue for them? Shame they fought that so hard, it seems like it would have saved them some money.