Has anyone else noticed Reddit being taken over by shills/bot/trolls

with very little help by mods in the last year? Blocking tons of perp accounts is tiresome but really the only way to use it now. Will it eventually become some really odd platform where 90% of the posts/accounts are shills/bots/trolls shitposting narratives devoid of any critical thought? That does seem to be where it is currently headed.

Online discourse has been declining in quality for many years in my opinion. I think as a consequence of more platforms where more specialized conversations are happening now in private: Facebook groups, discord channels, livestream chats, etc. I think it’s hard to say if the junk has gotten worse on Reddit or the good stuff now has dwindled. However all the popular sites, including this one, are gamed by companies. There’s even strategies for when to post on HN, at what time and with what kind of title to get the most engagement.

I only subscribe to about 15 mid-sized niche hobby subreddits and one location subreddit. I haven't noticed any issues with shills/bots/trolls.

Definitely. The Overton window on Reddit is tightly managed. Anything outside of it is shadow banned at admin level and whatever is inside is amplified by bot comments. Been going on for years.