>The real question is this: is their poorly thought out and even more poorly executed plan actually accomplishing their goal?
You're assuming that the politically convenient goal of "improving the community" is the primary motivation behind the decision. Banning those subs makes a hell of a lot more sense if it's viewed as a political favor. Imgur staff recently had a tiff with the admins of FPH, /r/neofag criticizes a specific forum that's popular with the social-justice crowd.
That's certainly a possibility. I wanted to give the admins the benefit of the doubt. Even in such a best case scenario they come across as grossly incompetent. In your case scenario they come across as corrupt.
You're assuming that the politically convenient goal of "improving the community" is the primary motivation behind the decision. Banning those subs makes a hell of a lot more sense if it's viewed as a political favor. Imgur staff recently had a tiff with the admins of FPH, /r/neofag criticizes a specific forum that's popular with the social-justice crowd.