What will happen to the Internet if Reddit shuts down

[Commentary] If Reddit went offline tomorrow, you would see immediate ripples across the Internet. First, and perhaps least importantly, traffic to porn sites would plummet. Later, major news, entertainment and e-commerce sites, including YouTube and Amazon, would feel a notable, if not debilitating, hit. And then, concur a dozen Reddit power-users, academics and social media experts, life would go on as normal across the Internet.

To be clear, no one actually expects the Internet’s “front page,” and its 35th most popular Web site, to shut down -- not now, anyway. But in the wake of Reddit’s latest and most traumatic bout of internal drama, several pundits have found themselves pondering the hypothetical worst case: one in which the tensions between Reddit’s leadership and its user base topple the site, entirely.