I agree it is damage control but NOT for F95, instead for his Patreon supporters and Picarto Viewes (which intersect).
I also agree this is not a small indie website; DC was kind-of active here before blowing up on other parts of the internet, F95 helped him gain a ton of Patreon subscribers, when he gained enough traction he abandoned F95 and focused on Patreon and Picarto.
While it is true that when new people who haven't heard of SS come here and see the thread as "abandoned" they will think twice about supporting him on Patreon, he has other websites where he is more popular and couldn't care less about the tag here.