It would be more resilient if it is distributed too, if 1 of 100 instances was temporarily offline the Mega-Magazine (or whatever you want to call it) would still function with 99% of the content.
That may be true, but it is still presenting a distorted picture. The power users who interact with Reddit most are almost certainly more likely to have at least tried other (i.e. 3rd party) apps - furthermore it doesn't seem to be being debated that the official app is missing key tools moderators find useful which would suggest moderators are are more likely to use 3rd party apps too.
Not all users are equal, some are more equal and others!
It would be more resilient if it is distributed too, if 1 of 100 instances was temporarily offline the Mega-Magazine (or whatever you want to call it) would still function with 99% of the content.