I think it's very on-brand for Reddit to announce that they are removing a feature without having a replacement ready for primetime.
Why on Earth would you announce this now when you're not ready for whatever is coming next? It's like they are purposely trying to kill Reddit.
I'm only half joking that I'm expecting Mark Zuckerberg to announce a new app called "Links" next week that looks suspiciously like Reddit, because this pattern is starting to feel familiar.