It is a thought-provoking analogy. To take it further, would Reddit be like a shopping mall, and the apps would be the shops and the moderators be the sales staff? Or would the subreddits be the shops, and the apps be ... yes what would they be?

It is just a fun thought experiment. But I think Reddit the company has been more than just a landlord. They have made more than just rented out space to make Reddit what it is.

Reddit have used VC money to artificially put rent at zero, destroying community driven forums in the progress.

In a landlord analogy, it would be like opening a big mall and lure shops and consumers at a loss, making the city centre a void, then raise prices when the original functional community in the city is lost.