Poal was a two man operation ... atko created it, got burned out and left. Puttitout worked with him and took it over when atko left. Then some investor or investors came in and financed the place. No one knows who they are or their intent, which may or may not be benign. But things changed dramatically. Suddenly they paid for Puttitout to do it full time and he has a staff of coders or whatever. The general tenor of Voat itself has changed dramatically since and many old hands have slipped away.