The context of this sign being in a sushi restaurant would be the key here. In higher-end, "omakase" sushi restaurants, you'll be served a set of sushi piece by piece as the chef makes it in front of you. Typically you'll want to eat it as soon as it is placed on your plate.
Depends on the type of model it is, a lot of the time. Anime egirl/eboy-styled avatars tend to be some of the worst offenders (often kitbashers who don't know any better), while furry avatars tend to be really well optimized most of the time.
If you aim for medium, that's generally sufficient.
It certainly doesn't subtract from the experience, that's for sure.
Typically needs to be magically-infused calcite chalk for that traditional feeling that your new demon friend will appreciate and respect you for. If you can't infuse the chalk yourself, store bought is fine but you might end up with unexpected results based on the source.
Google dropping support for XMPP is what put it one foot in the grave. They abused the protocol to gain the lion's share of users for Google Talk, and then cut off any resistance that remained. It exists still, technically, but when's the last time you heard about or used it? I only know about it because EVE Online players used it for large group text communication before Discord became a thing.
XMPP still exists in the same way that critically endangered animals still exist: barely and by the adamant will of some dedicated few.
As someone currently hunting rentals in Calgary: single minimum wage earners, even a bit above minimum wage, are quickly losing their future here. If I made less than I do (about 3100) I would find it very difficult to find a place unless I'm rooming with more people than there are bedrooms.
People working remotely on median-level incomes trying to escape the GTA or Metro Vancouver will find it great though.
It could be leftover credit that people are using up. There's a fair bit of it floating around, giving awards used to give points too so it's hard to say if anyone actually gave them money to give the gold.
As a note for Jerboa users: the above link may instantly crash the app. At least, it does for me.
I'm of the opinion that it has a time and a place, but I do agree that it's exceptionally intrusive to the site's normal experience and should be very rare and short-lived. Any more than a day and its runs afoul of the people who just aren't interested.
Not literally take over a subreddit, takeover advertising campaigns are typically a high-key screen space domination type of advertising. Think of something like a video games news site where the homepage is completely covered in advertising for a new, high budget game. Ads at the top, ads at the bottom, ads in the normally-empty margins, and often a focus on articles about the subject.
How that reflects to Reddit I'd never know, it's likely something that's exclusive to the newer layout that I have no interest in using.