I don't think it ever held a really dominant position. It was never famous or well known. It seems content to have a loyalish fan base who either see ads or pay to remove them. That seems to pay to keep it alive and a smallish staff to keep it running, and it doesn't seem to desire any more than that.
The comments right from the beginning of that thread are sarcastic about how everyone else seems to act as if the world has ended at every redesign. It's hardly user hostile. It just gives enough for a decent conversation on news items that rarely merit more than a few laughs and sarcastic comments. They keep it light with aggressive moderation, and that seems to suit the people who fund it. And it doesn't have any aspirations higher than that.