but I doubt there will be any one-to-one direct correlation between placing a pixel and putting one more penny in scrooge mcducks dragon hoard

It indicates an ability for the site to attract eyeballs on demand. /r/place started as an experiment, it’s now just a gimmick reddit can pull out at any time to attract traffic. Being able to pull engagement like that is valuable to advertisers and therefore make the site more valuable overall.

But more importantly, I think you’re right in assuming any of us individuals using Reddit right now isn’t swinging any pendulums. That said, the overall point is everything spez is doing right now is about demonstrating Reddit’s value, the potential profit to be made, and its reach. The more people interact with the platform right now, the more active it appears, the more the protests seem irrelevant. “See? No one left. We’re as strong as ever.”

Granted, it’s probably true that reddit’s traffic is not much lower than it was, it’s just not getting the API calls anymore, but those weren’t valuable to them anyway. But at the same time, Reddit’s recent moves clearly indicate they need to keep engagement up right now. It’s all about appearances. Investors and advertisers are likely side eyeing spez a lot after the last few months and they need reassurances the site is OK. Tanking these efforts by users trolling /r/place proves that it isn’t.