> What’s the point?

to keep the noise ratio at a bearable level? I'm not against gatekeeping but the way it is done needs to be transparent and those at the gate must have the right experience/background otherwise it's just grandstanding by mods and high-karma accounts that have no qualification other than having been there first (and perhaps louder than others).

What's wrong with gatekeeping?

That it severely limits new influences, because gatekeeping is usually taken to mean contend moderation on "we only accept more of what's already inside" style principles.

So what's wrong with that?

There are a lot of people these days that believe everyone should be included in every group, unless it's their own special group which is a special exception to that rule.